LACBA Civic Mediation Project

The Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) Civic Mediation Project closed permanently on June 30, 2017.“LACBA’s Board of Trustees made the very difficult decision to wind down the Civic Mediation Project because the Project was unable to develop ongoing financial support to sustain its operations,” said LACBA President Margaret P. Stevens. “This was not an easy decision. It came only after many years of unsuccessful efforts to identify appropriate funding resources.” The Civic Mediation Project was founded in 1978 as Dispute Resolution Services in response torecommendations of the Roscoe Pound Conference. Stevens commented, “The Civic MediationProject was one of only three organizations in the country that focused exclusively on conflict resolution, which was an entirely new concept at the time. Today, many organizations offer this type ofalternative to litigation. We are proud of the Project’s contributions, especially its impact on student participants.” Since it was founded 38 years ago, more than 100,000 people have utilized the Project’sservices. These services include: Community Mediation to help resolve neighborhood and small claims disputes before they enter the legal system throughout LA County; Youth Peer Mediation Programs, which teaches students constructive problem-solving and social/emotional skills, as well as early intervention violence prevention, where studentslearn to mediate peer-to-peer conflicts by practicing concrete, positive skills as alternatives to verbal and physical violence.  Training and Consulting in Conflict Resolution on mediation and topics related to conflict resolution theory, practice and skill development;  Day of Hearing Mediation Services for unlawful detainer matters. LACBA has reached out to the Civic Mediation Project’s community stakeholders and other organizations have been identified toprovide similar services.