Only schools registered with the American Trial Association may compete in the mediation tournament. A student who has already received a baccalaureate degree may still compete provided that the student is not seeking and has not received a professional or graduate degree. The student must still be enrolled as an undergraduate student, but can already have one or more bachelor degrees. Mediation Teams A school may only enter one team in the first national tournament unless the cap of 24 teams is not reached. In that instance, schools will be allowed to enter two or more teams until the cap is reached.
Teams consist of four to six students.
A team competing in each round of the tournament needs two student mediators, a student lawyer, and a student client. A team member may play the role of mediator only once in a tournament, and thus the role of mediator must be rotated among four students. For each of the four rounds, there will be a different case provided, which will be given to the students one-half hour before the mediation begins. Student lawyers will be matched up with a student client from a different school at each round. The mediation tournament will consist of four rounds Friday afternoon, Friday evening, Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon.