For those students who want to engage in learning more about legal procedures but are not interested in competing, the Mediation Team is a great opportunity. During this process, students learn about a simulated case and then speak with the opposing party to come to a peaceful resolution of their differences.
As Advocate, students learn client management skills and how to work out an agreement for their client. As Mediator, students will learn to resolve a disagreement between two parties and come up with ideas for solutions where each party is happy with the results.
Mediation teaches skills that will be useful no matter what career goals you may have. Students are recruited in the fall to participate in various invitational tournaments as well as the National Tournament at Brenau in Gainesville, Georgia.
The University of Texas at Arlington Pre-Law Center entered the world of mediation competition for the first time in 2016 when UTA was privileged to host the International Intercollegiate Mediation Tournament in 2016. At this competition, students from all across the country competed for the title of All American Mediator. At the 2016 International Intercollegiate Mediation Tournament, UTA was named the Best New Mediation Program in the country.<
Teams are composed of three students, each having the responsibility of taking on multiple roles during a tournament: Mediator, Advocate or Client. In competition, there are three preliminary rounds where students will rotate playing one of the designated roles. In semi-final and final rounds, students will have the opportunity to choose the role they like best.
Mediators are evaluated on their ability to get the parties to come to a peaceful resolution and their ability to get parties to admit things that will help the two parties come to an agreement. Students must work with a co-mediator (student from another school) to get parties to work together and negotiate.
Advocates and Clients are evaluated together on their ability to say what is important to them while understanding how to work with the other party. Each advocate/client is given a secret set of facts that either help or hurt their position. Advocates get points for their team when they use those facts to help their client.
Registration and travel costs (if necessary) are covered by the Pre-Law Center. Students must cover the cost of their meals.
Participation in Mediation is open to anyone. Students interested in participating on next year’s Mediation team should email prelaw@uta.edu.
