Legal Clinics Contribute to the Development of Mediation: Key Takeaways from the “Mediation & Universities 3.0” Conference

On 16–17 October 2026, West Ukrainian National University in Ternopil hosted the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Mediation & Universities 3.0”. More than 300 researchers, educators, mediators, practitioners and students discussed how mediation is developing in Ukraine and where it is already making a difference: in the justice system, business, labour relations, local communities, education, and the military and veteran sectors. The Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine (ALCU) was one of the conference co-organisers.

The programme combined academic research, the experience of practising mediators and examples from specific professional fields. Education was a common thread running through both days: what place mediation should have in training future professionals, how to integrate it into university curricula, and what students gain from practical work with mediation approaches. For the legal clinic community, these questions are directly linked to what modern practical legal education should look like.

Legal clinics in the conference programme

Representatives of Ukraine’s legal clinic community took part in the conference both as researchers and as practitioners who work with students and real client requests every day.

The role of higher education in developing mediation skills was one of the central themes of the plenary session. It was raised by Liliia Amelicheva, Professor at the Department of Civil Law and Procedure of Vasyl’ Stus Donetsk National University, Head of the Mykola Udod Legal Clinic, mediator and member of the ALCU Board. Drawing on her combined experience as an educator, clinic supervisor and mediator, she approached mediation training from a practical perspective. Students need not only to know how different dispute resolution methods work, but also to understand when each of them is appropriate and how they relate to the protection of rights in court. A legal clinic offers a distinctive learning environment for this: working with real cases, students encounter conflict in all its complexity, learn to identify the interests of the parties and look for solutions acceptable to everyone involved.

Together with Ruslana Havryliuk (Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University), Liliia Amelicheva also moderated the panel “The Mediation Ecosystem amid Current Challenges: From the Corporate Sector to Justice and Social Protection”. The presentations covered labour and corporate conflicts, the defence sector, land and family disputes, restorative and transitional justice, mediation as a social service in communities, and European mediation standards in the context of human rights protection.

Another dimension of mediation was presented by Oleksandra Filiuk, PhD in Law, Associate Professor at the Department of Law and Director of the Legal Clinic of Lutsk National Technical University. At the panel on the institutional development of mediation, she delivered a presentation titled “Mediation as a Tool for Preserving the Business Reputation of Economic Entities”. From this perspective, mediation becomes a way of handling conflict where the parties need to preserve business relationships, trust and reputation. For future lawyers, this is a telling example: the result of legal work can be either a case won in court or a settlement that allows the parties to continue working together.

From justice and business to military mediation

The conference programme covered a very wide range of topics. During the first panel, participants discussed the institutional development of mediation in Ukraine: building a professional community of mediators, trust, mediation training, European standards and new technologies. A separate discussion focused on the emotional intelligence of mediators and the limits of automating work with conflicts as artificial intelligence develops. The third panel was devoted to the military sector, veteran policy and inclusive environments. Speakers addressed conflicts within the Defence Forces, communication with military personnel during mediation, work with veterans and their families, and the potential of mediation in communities and inclusive education.

The second day took a practical format: a colloquium and the Mediation Theatre “Something Is Wrong with This Mediation”, during which participants analysed mediation cases through specific scenarios.

Why this matters for legal clinics

A significant share of the requests that legal clinics receive involve conflicts — family, labour, neighbour or business disputes. In such cases, legal assistance does not always mean going to court. Sometimes the best outcome for a person is an agreement with the other party, reached with the help of a mediator — a neutral intermediary who does not decide who is right, but helps the parties find common ground on their own.

For legal clinics, therefore, mediation is first and foremost part of a modern understanding of access to justice. Court proceedings are only one way to protect a person’s interests, and future lawyers need to see other options as well and understand the limits of each. This also changes the logic of practical legal education. Students need to learn to assess conflicts more broadly: to identify their legal dimension, to know the available resolution mechanisms and to match them to the needs of a particular person.

Legal clinics are well placed to do this. Learning here takes place alongside real practice, and new approaches can be built into work with students, public legal education programmes and training modules. Mediation thus naturally becomes part of the wider conversation about the development of clinical legal education, and ALCU’s role in organising the conference is one contribution to that conversation.

We thank the Ukrainian Academy of Mediation, West Ukrainian National University, and all co-organisers and partners for their joint work and warm welcome.

The conference was held with financial support from the Charitable Foundation “Help from Ukrainians in Europe”.

Photo: Ukrainian Academy of Mediation