1. What does the ADR Society do?
The vast majority of civil claims settle through alternatives to adjudication such as arbitration and mediation. Courts now order mediation for many cases. The ADR Society provides speakers who practice in these areas of the law, helps administer a State Bar training program for mediators, and mediates about forty cases a month in local county magistrate courts. ADR has mediated over one thousand cases since 2005.
2. How do I participate in the ADR Society?
Anyone at the law school can come to our meetings and events, can add ADR’s TWEN site as a course, and can observe mediations in the Fall. To join ADR as a full member, pay dues of $15.00 for the year to Treasurer Tom Norton. To be trained in January as a mediator, sign up in December.
3. What good does mediation do?
Mediation helps the courts, the litigants, and the mediators. By mediating and reaching an agreement, the litigants free up court resources. The civil claims we mediate are “small claims court” cases, often involving pro se litigants (with no lawyer) whose legal issues may be tied together with non-legal, personal issues better dealt with in mediation.
Mediators get hands-on experience they need as practicing attorneys, resolving live disputes using all their talents. They see plaintiffs and defendants the way a judge sees them, as a neutral third party, and they learn better how ordinary people see the law. It also looks pretty good on a résumé to have significant experience mediating live claims in the court system. The College of Law, on one’s diploma at graduation, grants a “community-service” distinction to any student performing twenty-five hours (eight evenings) of magistrate court mediation.
5. How can I participate in the mediation program?
7. How do I add ADR Society to TWEN?
8. How shall I dress for a mediation or observation?
The training for mediator certification is a full-day, catered affair, usually in January. Experienced mediators speak in the morning to give us some background in mediation and alternative dispute resolution; to describe our state bar mediation program; and to give us some of their personal experiences in mediation. A significant part of the day is spent in guided role-playing mediation exercises, using some excellent materials designed for that purpose. People seriously enter into their roles as disputing parties and as mediators. Finally, we explore some of the legal underpinnings of the process. You will receive a certificate indicating that you have completed training for the W.V. State Bar Magistrate Court Mediation Program if you fulfill the day’s training requirements.
4. How does mediation help mediators?
Mediators get hands-on experience they need as practicing attorneys, resolving live disputes using all their talents. They see plaintiffs and defendants the way a judge sees them, as a neutral third party, and they learn better how ordinary people see the law. It also looks pretty good on a résumé to have significant experience mediating live claims in the court system. The College of Law, on one’s diploma at graduation, grants a “community-service” distinction to any student performing twenty-five hours (eight evenings) of magistrate court mediation.
5. How can I participate in the mediation program?
You can observe mediations in the Fall even if you are not yet trained. Sign up on one of the ADR TWEN sign-up sheets for Harrison, Mon, Preston, or Marion Counties. Once trained, you can sign up on TWEN and advance as quickly as you feel comfortable from observation to co-mediation or mediation on your own.
6. What if I did the training my 1L year? Can I still mediate?
YES! Even though you trained in your 1L year, but have not yet mediated, you can still participate. Simlpy sign up to observe a mediation and then let the county coordinator know that you would like to mediate or co-mediate. You can also observe on one day and mediate on another.
7. How do I add ADR Society to TWEN?
Log in to Westlaw, click on the TWEN tab along the top of the page, then on the TWEN MY Course page, click on Add Course. Check the box for ADR Society, then scroll all the way to the bottom of that page and click Submit. (You don’t need to pay ADR dues to add ADR on TWEN.)
8. How shall I dress for a mediation or observation?
Business casual is the dress code. If you want to wear a coat and tie or a suit, please feel free to do so!
9. What is State Bar mediator training?
The training for mediator certification is a full-day, catered affair, usually in January. Experienced mediators speak in the morning to give us some background in mediation and alternative dispute resolution; to describe our state bar mediation program; and to give us some of their personal experiences in mediation. A significant part of the day is spent in guided role-playing mediation exercises, using some excellent materials designed for that purpose. People seriously enter into their roles as disputing parties and as mediators. Finally, we explore some of the legal underpinnings of the process. You will receive a certificate indicating that you have completed training for the W.V. State Bar Magistrate Court Mediation Program if you fulfill the day’s training requirements.
