The University of Hertfordshire Responds to Growth of Mediation

Mediation is taking a higher profile at the University of Hertfordshire.

With the Ministry of Justice soon to announce the outcome of its consultation on making mediation mandatory for small claims in the civil justice system, senior lecturer and solicitor Victoria Harris comments that it is vital that lawyers of the future are aware of the benefits of mediation and how it works.

The University of Hertfordshire has had a long standing co-curricular module in mediation and plans to pilot a mediation centre alongside its Law Clinic to support students to gain practical experience of mediation both as an observer and practitioner.

The Law Clinic currently provides pro bono legal support to members of the public and the mediation pilot will look to help to resolve workplace disputes and intra student disputes within the University itself, supporting staff and student wellbeing.

Experience of working in the mediation centre will add employability skills to a student's CV as well as provide a taste of this growing area of work for both aspiring solicitors and barristers.

In addition to the new mediation centre, the University is investing in research to support the role of mediation outside of the legal system. In partnership with local Community Mediation provider, Mediation Hertfordshire, and co-funded by The Tudor Trust, this new research project will look at the cost of community conflict in the areas of health, housing and community safety.

Victoria Harris comments that with a few notable exceptions, the interdisciplinary nature of mediation has arguably seen it suffer from a lack of research and it is great that the University is playing its part to address that deficit'.

The University are also members of the Civil Mediation Council's new Academic Forum which provides a platform for Higher Education Institutions to share their work around mediation. The most recent event gave focus to mediation clinics and the next event in June will concentrate upon research. The Forum in September will look at how Higher Education institutions can assist with public engagement for mediation, so critical to the success of the expansion of mediation within the civil justice system.

Whilst mediation clinics are opening within Law Schools across the UK, the next opportunity will be to identify how mediation is best introduced into the core curriculum of a law degree and the University of Hertfordshire will be at the forefront of that work to ensure that its students are well equipped for the future.

For more information about the University of Hertfordshire's new mediation research project please contact v.harris2@herts.ac.uk

To learn more about the Civil Mediation Council Academic Forum please contact projects@ civilmediation.org