National Finals of the Representation in Mediation Competition – Mediators and Judges Needed

In conjunction with the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference that will be in Denver on April 13-16 this year, the ABA will be hosting the National Finals of the Representation in Mediation Competition. In this competition law students play the roles of lawyers and clients in mediation and demonstrate the skills needed to effectively represent clients in the mediation process. We need volunteers to serve as judges and critique the performance of the law students as well as mediators to serve as the volunteer mediators for the role-play. Volunteer mediators are not judged! The ten best teams of law schools from across the country will be competing in the finals. Volunteers get to experience a great law school competition and the ABA offers volunteers registration at the spring conference at the faculty rate.

More information about volunteering for the Competition is in the announcement below. For more information about the Representation in Mediation Competition click here:

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/dispute_resolution/awards_competitions/law_student_national_representation_in_mediation_competition.html

If you would like information on the Section of Dispute Resolution spring conference, please click here: http://apps.americanbar.org/dispute/conference/2011/home.html

2011 ABA National Representation in Mediation Competition

Sheraton Downtown Denver

Denver, CO April 13-14, 2011

Want to help law students learn how to be representatives in mediation? Want to enhance your resume? Get free CLE credit? Want to be of service? We need you!

The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution seeks experienced mediators and lawyers for the judges and mediators for the Representation in Mediation Competition. In this competition, law students role-play as attorneys and clients in a mediation setting. The competition measures how well law students model appropriate preparation for and representation of a client in mediation. Lawyers and mediators are encouraged to volunteer for this competition in which the law students are judged on their skills as advocates in the mediation process. We need lawyers experienced with interest-based negotiation to judge the students in the competition. Mediators (lawyers and non-lawyers) are needed to serve as mock mediators within the competition role-play.

In many states, volunteers for law student competitions may be eligible for CLE credit. Volunteers are also offered a registration discount for the Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference (National Competition Volunteers may register for the Spring Conference at the Faculty Registration Rate).

Our greatest need is for volunteers to serve as judges for the First Round, scheduled for 8:00 AM – 12:00 Noon Wednesday April 13th, and the Second Round, scheduled for 1:00 – 5:00 PM on the 13th. We will have a training meeting for competition volunteers prior to start of the round.

Invitation to Judge The Competition

Volunteer judges use ABA competition criteria to assess and critique students on their performance in the competition. Past volunteers report learning much that is helpful in their teaching and mediation work, as well as seeing how much the law students learn.

Invitation to Serve as a Mediator for the competition Role-play

We need experienced mediators to serve as mediators in the competition role-play. The law student competitors will be role-playing as the clients and attorneys. The volunteer mediator serves an essential role in the competition in that an experienced mediator allows the students to demonstrate their skills advocating within a realistic mediation process. Volunteer mediators are required to use a facilitative mediation style so that the student competitors see a consistent style throughout the competition.

If you would like to volunteer, please complete the short online form:

https://abanet.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_4HidELq1z3vg5dW

All volunteers will be sent a confirmation and additional information, including the detailed schedule, Competition Rules, Instructions for Volunteers, and the problems assigned to the competitors.

For more information, visit the Competition web site: http://www.abanet.org/dispute/mediationcomp.html

Or e-mail Gina Brown with the ABA staff at browng@staff.abanet.org.

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