Prospective lawyers spend their law school years learning how to analyze complex legal questions, research the law, build persuasive arguments, and advocate for their clients. But in practice, understanding a dispute and helping resolve one can require skills that extend beyond classroom instruction. Listening, understanding what drives a disagreement, communicating across differences, negotiating effectively, and helping parties find a path forward can be just as important, and lawyers can draw on those skills throughout their careers.
For five days this August, students at The University of Tulsa College of Law had an opportunity to develop those skills through “Mediator Essentials: Mediation Practice and Peacemaking Perspectives,” an intensive 40-hour training program hosted by The University of Tulsa College of Law in partnership with the American Arbitration Association® (AAA®).
Learning Mediation by Doing It
The program was designed to help students move from understanding mediation concepts in a classroom setting to applying them in real life. Students began by examining where mediation fits within the broader dispute resolution landscape and by looking more closely at the role, responsibilities, and skills of a mediator. From there, students shifted their focus to the parties, where they considered how parties experience conflict and how different communication styles, personalities, and approaches to negotiation can influence a mediation.
That progression was intentional, as understanding the process is only the starting point. Through multiple simulations, students had to put the concepts they were learning into practice, including listening for interests beneath stated positions, adapting to different communication and conflict styles, navigating impasse, and considering how their own approach could affect the conversation.
“There isn’t one approach to mediation that works for every dispute or every party,” said Steve Andersen, division vice president of education services at the AAA. “Effective mediation requires the ability to listen, assess what is happening, and adapt to the people and circumstances in front of you. Hands-on training allows students to practice making those decisions and develop skills they can draw on as they navigate conflict throughout their careers. In many ways, this is the culmination of legal education: bringing together the analytical and advocacy foundations of law school with a broad dispute resolution skill set to serve clients better, navigate conflict, and solve problems.”
Over the week, students participated in six mediation simulations involving commercial, employment, construction, personal injury, and international matters. Students rotated roles, gaining experience not only as mediators but also as advocates and participants in the process. This allowed them to see mediation from multiple sides and consider how the choices made by counsel, parties, and mediators can shape the process. Each exercise incorporated preparation, a mediation session, feedback, and a group debrief, giving participants repeated opportunities to practice and refine their approach.
For students accustomed to analyzing cases, advocating for a position, and identifying legal arguments, stepping into the mediator's role requires a different mindset. Instead of deciding who has the stronger argument, students had to listen for underlying interests, recognize communication dynamics, manage the process, and help parties evaluate possible paths toward resolution. The simulations made those concepts, which can feel theoretical in a classroom, tangible and allowed students to test different approaches.
Throughout the week, students practiced skills including:
Preparing for a mediation
Maximizing process management based on the parties and case
Understanding parties’ interests and positions
Recognizing different conflict and communication styles
Working through impasse
Conducting mediation sessions
Navigating mediator ethics
Formalizing settlements
Understanding cross-cultural dynamics
Looking at Conflict Through Another Lens: Indigenous Peacemaking
Alongside mediation training, students were introduced to Indigenous Peacemaking through a session grounded in the traditions and practices of the Chickasaw Nation.
Led by Professor of Law Grace Carson, the session provided students with cultural and historical context for Peacemaking before Chickasaw Nation Peacemakers Wayne Edgar, Linda Sue Edgar, and Tewanna Edwards shared their experiences and guided students through a Peacemaking Circle simulation. Rather than training students to become Peacemakers, the session gave them an opportunity to learn directly from practitioners about a culturally rooted approach to conflict resolution and to consider how it differs from mediation.
The Chickasaw Nation Peacemaking Court uses Chickasaw traditions, customs, and culture as the foundation for resolving conflict, with respect, humility, compassion, spirituality, and honesty among its core values. Its approach reflects a broader view of conflict resolution, one that can encompass relationships, community, healing, and harmony alongside resolution of the immediate dispute.
That distinction gave students another lens through which to consider conflict. While mediation often centers on helping parties negotiate their own resolution, the Peacemaking session encouraged students to consider how culture, community, relationships, and different understandings of resolution can shape the way people approach and work through disputes.
Skills That Extend Beyond Mediation and Peacemaking
By the end of the five-day program, students had done considerably more than learn about mediation. They had prepared for disputes, sat in the mediator’s role, navigated impasse, received feedback, participated in a Peacemaking Circle, and considered how culture, communication, and community can influence the way conflict is understood and resolved.
For students preparing to enter a profession built around helping clients navigate difficult problems, those experiences offered an opportunity to begin developing another set of tools: not simply how to argue a case, but how to understand conflict and help move it toward resolution.
“A well-rounded legal education should prepare students to work effectively with the people and problems they will encounter in practice,” said Lyn Entzeroth, Interim Dean of The University of Tulsa College of Law. “Experiences like this give students an opportunity to develop the judgment, communication, and problem-solving skills that complement their legal training and can serve them throughout their careers.”
Not every participant or law school student will ultimately practice as a mediator. But the skills developed throughout the week extend well beyond the mediation table. Lawyers who work in all areas of the law can benefit from understanding how people respond to conflict, listening for interests beneath stated positions, communicating across different perspectives, and recognizing when a dispute has reached an impasse. These skills not only shape how lawyers negotiate, counsel clients, and advocate, but can also help the dispute resolution process move smoothly.
A Partnership Around Practical Legal Education
By bringing dispute resolution practitioners together with UTulsa Law faculty, the collaboration gave students different perspectives on how disputes are understood, managed, and resolved while helping them develop practical skills they can draw on throughout their careers.
The program also supported UTulsa Law’s broader focus on preparing students for their professional careers. https://utulsa.edu/news/from-the-deans-desk-law-august-2026/
Through AAA Education Services, the AAA works with legal professionals and organizations to provide dispute resolution education and will continue to explore opportunities to collaborate with law schools interested in expanding students’ exposure to mediation and practical conflict-resolution skills.
Law schools interested in mediation and dispute resolution training can learn more about educational programming available through AAA Education Services.