Part of being in the mediation clinic requires all students to serve as mediators several times throughout the semester. All of the cases I helped mediate were at the Columbus Small Claims Court. I talked to people about a huge range of issues - from fighting dogs to the goods held by the Liberian Port Authority. I valued these mediations as an opportunity to make the parties feel empowered and to find ways to connect on a human level. Movement on the issue often comes through the parties empathizing with the others’ concerns and seeking compromise between themselves instead of an outside authority handing down a judgment.