Small Claim Mediation - a first timer's experience

Last Monday I was graciously invited to participate in small claims mediation at the Lane County courthouse with my CMS Community Programs partner in crime David Gubernick. David, despite being a seasoned mediator with a busy life, continues to donate his time most Monday mornings at the courthouse as a community service. He thinks its a important way to give back to the community and I agree. I strongly believe the road to a positive change in the world begins at home, with our neighbors, in our local communities. This is the biggest reason I wanted to do an internship with CMS - this "grass roots" approach is so important. I love the local community aspect of conflict resolution.

So, yes, I participated in my first small claims mediation last Monday. I'm not sure "participated" is the right word - "observed" is probably more apt. David is clearly a skilled mediator and knows the system well. We met in a back room behind the courtroom just before 9 am then filed into the courtroom about 9. I was impressed by the judge's intro to mediation and how supportive he was of the process. Several times he encouraged parties to work the issue out in mediation so as to not have to come back to the courtroom.

Our first case was a collection agency tried to recover medical bills for his client. This collection agency actually had several cases on the docket and had sent two representatives. It was obvious the rep from the collection agency had been around the block. We came to a mediation agreement pretty quickly in the first case, and a second case for the agency was waiting in the lobby. By the time we filed the paperwork on the first case the agency rep had already started drafting a settlement agreement in the lobby of the courtroom. So at risk of saying we didn't have "real" mediations, I got the impression that that's the way these things often go in small claims court.

I would like to continue with the opportunity to serve at small claims mediation on Monday mornings so I contacted the court to get more info. I haven't heard back from them yet (its been a week now) so I will send an email to Caitlin Hendrickson who I understand is our contact for the court. Others I've talked to in the cohort are interested as well. It is a great opportunity for a new mediator to work on her skills and get some experience. I'm looking forward to my next small claims experience.