Division of Regional Affairs

Nassau Regional Office

Student Mediator

Reference No. NAS_PUGS_SPR_2021

Paid, Part-Time Placement for Undergraduate Students

The New York State Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is seeking an undergraduate student to serve as a student mediator in the Nassau Regional Office, located in Mineola. In addition to its other activities, the Nassau Regional Office’s Consumer Frauds and Protection Unit prosecutes businesses and individuals engaged in fraudulent, misleading, deceptive or illegal trade practices, and mediates thousands of complaints each year from individual consumers. A large percentage of these complaints are resolved satisfactorily through an informal mediation process. The student mediator is an integral part of this mediation process.

Student mediators act as consumer advocates in negotiating consumer complaints with merchants. Each student mediator is assigned a number of consumer complaint files covering a broad range of consumer issues including retail sales, mail order transactions, credit transactions, telemarketing, warranty problems, home repair and automobiles.

The student is exposed to the Office’s procedures and philosophy and deals directly with consumers and merchants to resolve the complaints. Students are taught interviewing techniques and will have the opportunity to develop analytical skills as they learn to focus on the underlying issues to reach a resolution of each complaint. While each complaint is reviewed by a member of our professional staff, the students typically exercises significant discretion and independent judgment. Consumer Representatives, experienced volunteers or lawyers, supervise the students.

The selected student also have the opportunity to assist attorneys with their affirmative investigations including but not limited to the following: document review and analysis; responding to discovery requests; interviewing witnesses; preparing spreadsheets; and performing some clerical work.

Position Details

· Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the OAG be hosting an exclusively remote spring program.

• Applications from students entering their first year of college/university will not be considered.
• To be eligible for a paid placement, applicants must be full-time undergraduate students in good academic standing as defined by their schools.
• Students hired for the spring may begin their placements on January 20, 2021 or later.
• Applicants must be available to work 15 hours per week during regular business hours for 10-12 weeks. Please be advised that reappointment for additional semesters/terms is possible but neither automatic nor guaranteed.
• The selected candidate will be hired as a student assistant at the undergraduate student hourly rate of $13.86.
• Applications will be accepted online and this position will be filled on a rolling basis.
• Applicants must be available by video conference for interviews.
• U.S. citizenship and NYS residency are not required, but applicants must be eligible to be employed in the U.S.
• Applicants are encouraged to learn more about the OAG prior to submitting their applications by visiting the Divisions and Bureaus and Media sections of the OAG website.