Students in Cornell Law School’s Labor Law Clinic recently settled a case involving a terminated worker at a company in the Ithaca area. The case was initiated pursuant to the grievance process in the collective bargaining agreement that required the company to terminate only for just cause.

The final and binding arbitration is the required dispute resolution mechanism established in the contract between the parties. Evan Hall ’19, Jordan Benson ’18, and Austin Case, M.A. ’17, ILR School, had spent weeks preparing for the arbitration hearing when the parties were able to amicably resolve the dispute.

“Preparing for an arbitration was challenging and meticulous work,” said Benson, “but it was great to see our grievant finally get back to work.”

The hearing would have involved cross-examining the company’s witnesses and the direct examination of their own witnesses, along with the introduction of relevant documentary evidence. The students had already prepared their opening statement and started their brief before the settlement was reached.

“Helping Robert get his job back was the single most fulfilling thing I’ve done in law school,” said Hall. “I’ll always be grateful for the experience.”