PURPOSE OF THE
COMPETITION. The purpose of the competition is to promote greater
knowledge and interest among students in the process of mediation.
We greatly appreciate your being a Judge in the International Law School
Mediation Tournament.
1. Role. Your role is to observe a mediation and to evaluate and
grade the four teams participating in the mediation. Each team is
composed of a co-mediator or an attorney and a client. After the
two-hour mediation, you will score each team and then critique them.
2. Preparation. Each team received the general information for
the mediation problem a week or so in advance of the competition. The
attorneys and clients received the confidential information
approximately 30 minutes before the mediation.
3. Format. There are three qualifying rounds, with the four top
teams in mediation and the four top teams in advocacy going on to the
final round.
4. Teams. Each team is given a neutral designation so you do not
know what school they attend. If you recognize any student, notify the
administrator before the hearing begins. Do not ask any student where
they are from during or after the mediation.
5. Time. Each round includes a 105 minute mediation (with no
breaks), 5 minutes of preparation for Self Evaluation, 20 minutes of
Self Evaluation, and a critique of the students by the Judges. The
students are obligated to keep track of their time, and the judges
should strictly enforce the time deadlines.
6. Procedures. The specific competition procedures regarding the
mediation are contained in the Competition Rules. If you do not have a
copy, ask for one.
7. Evaluation. After the mediation and Self Evaluation, you may
take a brief break and discuss the mediation with your fellow
judge(s).You should independently score each team by completing two
Evaluation Forms – one for the co-mediators and one for the two
advocates and clients.
8. Critique. You should give the students some specific feedback
and critique each team for a few minutes.
9. End. After each round, hand in your evaluation forms to the
competition administrator or assistant and accept our deep thanks for
serving as a judge and helping students achieve a better understanding
of the mediation process.
International Law School
Mediation Tournament
Team Evaluation Form and Instructions
After the mediation and
after the students have left the room, you are to score each team using
the Evaluation Forms. The Evaluation Form is primarily used to determine
which teams advance to the final round.
Grading and Critique
We need your independent judgment, although you are encouraged to
have a brief conversation with your fellow judge(s) after the Self
Evaluation to discuss your impressions. Do not, however, discuss with
other judges your grading on the Evaluation Forms until both forms have
been completed.
During your critique, you may discuss with the students and other
judge(s) your reasons supporting your evaluation of the teams, but do
not tell them the scores you gave them.
Evaluation Form
On the Evaluation Form, the number 10 is at the high end of the
performance scale, and the number 1 is at the low end of the scale. You
should score compared to the performance of a student mediator or
attorney/client, with 5 or 6 being an average score. Write in your score
for each of the categories listed. Do not use half points.
The Comments Section on Page 2 of the Evaluation Form provides the only
written feedback the teams will receive. Please complete each category
and make brief constructive comments, positive or negative, or both.
These comments will be useful during your oral critique of the teams,
and you may tell the students whatever comments you have written. Be
sure during your critique that your oral comments and written comments
are consistent. The written comments will be given to the students at
the end of the competition.
Your Evaluation Form scores should reflect the teams’ performance based
on the stated criteria.
There are six evaluation scales. While you can fill out the first five
scales during the round or during the 5-minute period when the teams are
preparing their Self Evaluations, Scale VI, Self Evaluation, can be
filled out only after you have seen this final aspect of the session.
The Evaluation Form scales attempt to divide what is recognized as a
dynamic and complicated process into discrete components or attributes
that should be present in any approach to mediation.
These standards are also based on the premise that there is no one
“correct” approach to effective mediation in all circumstances. Instead,
the strategies and techniques used will vary with the nature of the
problem, the specific mix of personalities involved, and other
circumstances. Judges may evaluate the effectiveness of the
mediators’ choices and strategies in the context of the particular
mediation, but should not substitute personal preferences as to
mediation styles/approaches for those used by the students.
Whatever approach is used, mediation effectiveness can be judged in part
by its outcome. A good mediated outcome is one that:
- Is better than the
best alternative to a negotiated/mediated agreement (with this
party)
- Satisfies the
interests of:
the client – very well
the other side – acceptably (enough for them to agree and
follow through)
third parties – tolerably (so they won't disrupt the
agreement)
- Is legitimate – no
one feels "taken"
- Involves commitments
that are clear, realistic, and operational
- Involves
communication that is efficient and wellunderstood, and
- Results in an
enhanced working relationship, so the parties and/or their lawyers
can deal with future differences more easily.
While these criteria
are helpful in evaluating a particular mediation and identifying
problems connected with it, they should not be read as requiring that
the parties reach agreement. In some situations, e.g., where the last
offer satisfies few of the relevant criteria, the best outcome might be
no agreement at all. Thus, the judging standards focus on the process,
allowing a team to achieve a high rating even if no agreement was
reached.
*PLEASE BE SURE TO COMPLETE ALL CATEGORIES BEFORE TURNING IN THE
EVALUATION FORM.
