How do you prepare future lawyers to resolve conflicts with fairness, skill, and confidence? You put them in the mediator’s chair.
This fall, eleven enthusiastic law students at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law’s Ackerson Law Clinic stepped into the mediator’s role through the American Arbitration Association®’s (AAA) hands-on mediation training program. Designed for second- and third-year students, the immersive program focused on family law and visitation matters, giving participants a realistic, practice-based introduction to one of the fastest-growing areas of legal practice.
Why Mediation Matters
Today, attorneys are more likely to resolve disputes through mediation or other settlement methods than they are to take cases to trial. A quick resolution benefits all and is one of the significant advantages mediation offers both disputing individuals and organizations.
Mediation provides parties with a consensual, confidential, and facilitated process that can lead to resolution at any stage of a dispute. Effective mediators require not only knowledge of the process but also a core set of practical skills, emotional intelligence, and personal attributes that build trust and guide parties toward resolution. In AAA’s University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law Mediation Training, students strengthened competencies such as active listening, reframing, questioning, process management, and facilitation, alongside emotional intelligence, and cultural competency to navigate sensitive dynamics.
Hands-On Learning That Sticks
“Our intent was to give students an authentic taste of dispute resolution and the nuances required to navigate complex conflicts with confidence, skill, and empathy. After all, textbooks can only teach so much,” said Chante Little, Assistant Vice President, AAA.
Through role plays and simulations, students practiced core mediation skills such as neutrality, active listening, and distinguishing interests from positions. The experiential approach proved effective.
“The demand from our law students for hands-on, service-oriented work is growing every year, especially in the field of alternative dispute resolution and mediation. Our jurisdiction requires a 40-hour training of our mediators, and it’s been challenging to find or afford such training for our students. AAA has been essential in providing the tools we need to equip our students to deliver excellent mediations for our underserved community members,” reflects Heend Sheth, Director, Ackerson Law Clinic, University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law.
One student, when asked about the experience, shared, “The course was very comprehensive, a good balance of lecture and activities. Very informative. It made a lot of information very digestible and learnable within a short timeframe. The role plays made it real—I could see how mediation works in actual family law cases.”
Looking Ahead: Expanding the Program
Based on the program’s success, the AAA plans to return to Louisville and expand the training to other law schools. Future sessions will build on feedback, with more role plays aligned to areas of expertise, case studies, instructor demonstrations, and realistic scenarios to further strengthen students’ skills.
“As mediation continues to grow in importance, programs like the AAA’s University of Louisville Mediation Training ensure that tomorrow’s lawyers graduate not only with knowledge, but also with the practical skills to put that knowledge into practice,” said Steve Andersen, Division Vice President, Education Services, American Arbitration Association-ICDR.