Fran L. Tetunic
Education:
- J.D., Nova Southeastern University, 1984
Professor Tetunic directs the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Clinic, and teaches ADR Clinic courses, Mediation Workshop, and Elder Law. Having created and continuing to direct the law center's Juvenile Mediation Program, she and her students provide pro bono mediation services for juveniles arrested for first-time misdemeanors, their families, and possibly alleged victims. The mediation program allows the juveniles to be diverted from the Juvenile Justice System, and the mediation process allows the families to address the underlying issues that gave rise to the child getting into trouble.
In June 2010, Professor Tetunic completed over eight years of service on the Mediator Ethics Advisory Committee (MEAC), a standing committee of the Supreme Court of Florida. She presently serves on the Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules and Policy Committee, which makes recommendations to the Supreme Court of Florida regarding rules of practice and procedure for court-ordered mediation, court-ordered non-binding arbitration, court-connected voluntary binding arbitration, voluntary trial resolution, and training standards for court-appointed mediators and arbitrators.
Professor Tetunic is certified as a circuit civil, family, and county mediator, having received her first certification over twenty years ago. She provides training for circuit civil mediation certification courses as a subject matter specialist, and also provides Continuing Mediator Education on Ethics. She is active in Florida Bar activities, having previously served as chair of the Public Interest Law Section (PILS), and presently serving on the PILS Executive Council and as the section’s Treasurer. Combining her interests in Elder Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Professor Tetunic is assisting with Florida’s initiative to develop an ADR process for high conflict cases involving elders.
An attorney licensed to practice in Florida since 1984, Fran Tetunic has practiced in the areas of personal injury, medical malpractice and family law, and mediated approximately 2000 cases, including employment discrimination cases for the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She has spoken in England and to foreign delegations to the United States on mediation. Her publications include law review articles on mediation case law and ethics, and a Florida Bar Journal article on mediation myths.
Areas of Interest
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Elder Law
- Mediation and Practice