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n the Civil Litigation and Mediation Clinic, third year law students represent clients and conduct mediations under the supervision of faculty members who are experienced, practicing attorneys and mediators. Students are directly responsible for their cases and serve as first chair at hearings, trials, negotiations, and mediations.


Predatory lending and home repair fraud are significant problems in the Cleveland area. Students represent individuals who have been victimized in this way and may be at risk of losing their homes. In addition to litigating in state and federal courts, students may also represent clients in bankruptcy proceedings, foreclosure, and arbitration. The Clinic offers students the opportunity to put much of their classroom education into practice in a setting which provides assistance to clients while also provides a safety net for students working on their professional development.

In addition to direct representation of clients, students are able to act as neutrals in a mediation. After their basic mediation training, and with guidance and supervision from the faculty, students mediate small claims, housing, and other matters for local municipal courts. In fact, the Clinic provides all the mediators for the Cleveland Heights Municipal Court. Students work under faculty supervision until they are ready to mediate on their own.

The students then take their training and experience with both mediation and litigation matters and address questions relating to the role of dispute resolution mechanisms in our justice system, the role of attorneys as advocates, and the role of neutrals. These considerations result in the graduation of students who are better prepared to conduct themselves ethically and responsibly when charged with addressing the disputes of individuals or entities.

In order to help students develop their own understanding of their professional role, as well as to better understand relevant law and procedure, there is a weekly seminar. In addition to this classroom setting, students meet at least once a week with each of the faculty members who are supervising them in order to talk about their casework and their development as advocates. The goals of the Clinic are to help students develop all the skills necessary to be good lawyers, including legal, critical, and strategic analysis; writing skills in communication directed at clients, lawyers, and courts; ethical practice; balance in professional and personal life; and the ability to become life long learners so that their development continues long after graduation.