This intensive seminar will meet for three consecutive days over one weekend. Given the abbreviated format of the seminar, attendance at all class sessions is mandatory.The seminar will specifically be focused on Mediation Advocacy, not Mediation. Students will be introduced (through lecture, the text, and class discussions) to the theory, principles and concepts of how to be an effective advocate in the mediation process. More importantly, students will be given multiple opportunities to practice mediation advocacy skills through a variety of hands-on simulations and group exercises. Students will receive feedback from three sources: self, peers and the professor. Topics to be overed include: the Mediation Process, Designing a Mediation and Selecting a Mediator, Preparing the Client and the Case, Opening Statements, Joint Sessions and Individual Caucuses, Developing and Narrowing Options, Using the Mediator Strategically, Impasse and Closure, Ethical Issues, the Law of Mediation and Public Policy Issues. Students will be graded on a 5-page written journal entry analyzing a cyber-mediation simulation conducted after the weekend class, a 10-page written mediation advocacy plan on a topic of their choice, and class participation.