Student Opportunities

"As a student in the mediation practicum, I actually work in the courts. I get the opportunity to interact directly with people who have filed suit in court. It's an incredible experience to take the ideas I learned in the first negotiations class and facilitate a negotiation between two parties who in some cases have had a really tough past. For me, every mediation is about working to find where interests intersect and trying to get people to understand that they can help meet one another's needs. My first mediation in the courts was a landlord-tenant issue. They had family history, but walked in to that mediation certain that they wouldn't be able to settle with each other. Thirty minutes later we had an agreement. I hope that somewhere they're having a cup of coffee together, talking about their grandchildren. I don't think that would have been possible if they had just gone to court."
-- Katherine Hayes

"The opportunity for collaboration between centers in the Bluhm Clinic and with other parts of the law school is a highlight of the Center on Negotiation, Mediation, and Restorative Justice," says founder Lynn Cohn. "For instance, we had the privilege of working with a client from the Center on Wrongful Convictions, who had been released from prison and was reintegrating with his family after 16 years of incarceration. We facilitated a 'peace circle' mediation, whereby our students worked with him and his family, giving them the chance to navigate and resolve issues and conflicts. It was an exceptionally rewarding collaboration and opportunity for our students."

Hearing From Our Students

Teaching Assistants

The Center on Negotiation, Mediation, and Restorative Justice provides students with the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant for the Negotiation Workshop. TAs are selected by the professor based on their mastery of negotiation and their ability to interact with their peers. TAs  provide an additional layer of feedback, allowing students to receive feedback from the professor, other students, or the teaching assistant. In addition, teaching assistants are able to share their experiences from taking the Negotiation Workshop and to relate these experiences to the current class activity. Each section of Negotiation has two TAs.