NEWS RELEASE
January 12, 2007
Thomas Jefferson Law Student Mediation Program Receives Grant
From San Diego County Bar Foundation
Law Students Mediate Cases in East County Small Claims Court
SAN DIEGO – The Thomas Jefferson School of Law Mediation Program has received a $10,000 grant from the San Diego County Bar Foundation, to fund the program this year, which allows law students to mediate disputes in East County Small Claims Court.
Ellen Waldman, a law professor at Thomas Jefferson and the director of the program, says “I’m very pleased to receive this grant because of the benefits of mediation to court litigants. It shows mediation has come of age.”
Under the program, law students serve as mediators in small claims disputes two days a week at the East County Courthouse. According to Professor Waldman, roughly 100 to 150 cases are mediated each semester and 85% of the cases are settled. She adds that the mediation process also has a positive impact on both parties when the cases do wind up in court – making the cases easier to adjudicate.
“Another benefit of the program,” Professor Waldman adds, “is that it relieves the Superior Court’s crowded calendar and allows room for cases which really need judicial intervention.”
Working in conjunction with San Diego Superior Court to ensure adequate training, supervised mediations will take place at the East County Regional Center in a casual environment where litigants can come to a mutually agreed upon resolution, rather than subject their disputes to the formal adjudicatory process.
"It is our privilege to support the law student mediation program at Thomas Jefferson School of Law,” said Meredith Brown, the Vice President and Chair Grants Review Committee for the San Diego County Bar Foundation, and is a family law attorney in San Diego with the firm Brown & Brown. “This is an exciting grant because not only will it help to develop the highest of ethical standards in the legal profession, but it will also provide much needed quality legal services to our East County residents."
In the small claims court, the parties represent themselves and the law students provide their services on a pro bono volunteer basis, which is an invaluable experience for the law students. “They feel like they are helping people and getting a taste of public service law at the same time,” Professor Waldman says.
Thomas Jefferson law students have been providing mediation services at South Bay Small Claims Court since 1997. The EL Cajon initiative, launched in 2003, gives students additional opportunities to participate directly in the resolution of community disputes. Mediation in the legal community continues to be a growth industry and Thomas Jefferson School of Law has been a community leader in immersing students in the art of conflict resolution through this clinical program.
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