Mediation and Experiential Learning: How a Mediation Clinic Can Inform a Law-based Curriculum

Abstract

The perception that students of Law and Legal Studies should learn about a variety of methods of dispute resolution and not just litigation, has prompted the Department of Law and Criminal Justice Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent UK to establish a mediation clinic as a focus for undergraduate experiential learning. This article will consider the importance of discipline based research and the integration of clinical legal education within the core curriculum, the benefits offered by a combined live and simulated curricula approach in the context of mediation and the importance of providing a practical input during the academic stage of legal education.