Adjunct Professor
Caroline Petrilla
Rutgers Law School
609
217 N 5th St
Camden, NJ 08102
609-372-2373
  • Biography
  • Publications
  • Courses Taught
Biography

Caroline Marie Petrilla, Esq. has provided statewide expert mediation services for 25 years. Formerly Assistant Director of the New Jersey Office of Dispute Settlement, she has mediated well over a thousand civil court cases. Additionally, she has mediated hundreds of foreclosure matters and numerous pre-litigation disputes. She has extensive experience in providing a full range of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services including conflict management training and designing and administering dispute resolution programs. She founded Caroline Petrilla, Esq., LLC Mediation Office in May 2012.

Ms. Petrilla’s wide-ranging mediation experience includes cases involving disputes in the complex commercial, employment, insurance coverage, contract, construction, personal injury, discrimination and estate areas. She is one of the state’s most experienced employment mediators. She has served as court appointed mediator in several complex multi-party public policy cases including intergovernmental infrastructure disputes involving dams, bridges and roadways - successfully addressing public safety concerns and saving stakeholders millions of dollars. Her mediation assistance in resolving a major contract dispute between New Jersey’s largest health insurance provider and a network of inner city hospitals prevented a potential crisis for thousands of residents needing medical care.

Ms. Petrilla has provided extensive ADR training to thousands of public and private sector employees, including hundreds of court roster mediators, lawyers and judges. She is a frequent ADR CLE (Continuing Legal Education) instructor most recently with Rutgers Institute of Professional Education. She was instrumental in launching New Jersey’s mortgage foreclosure mediation program and continues to serve as a state foreclosure mediation practitioner/consultant. She is a mediator on the American Arbitration Association (AAA) roster of New Jersey Super Storm Sandy Mediators. Ms. Petrilla was selected to serve on the United States Bankruptcy Court District of New Jersey revised roster of mediators. She helped create the state’s agricultural mediation program; developed a nationally recognized mediation procedure for the siting of group homes, and managed a court sanctioned medical malpractice mediation pilot. In conjunction with the Princeton Woodrow Wilson School of Policy and International Affairs, she organized a regionally acclaimed conference on school based conflict management initiatives. She has facilitated statewide public policy debates on a wide range of volatile environmental issues including wildlife management.

A frequent presenter on mediator quality and ethics and published author on dispute resolution processes, Ms. Petrilla earned her M.A. degree in Administration from Rider College and J.D. degree from Rutgers University School of Law in Camden, where she has served over the past fifteen years as an adjunct ADR professor. She is also an adjunct professor with Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Leadership Program developing and teaching conflict management curricula. Ms. Petrilla is a member of the American Bar Association, N.J. State Bar Association, NJSBA Sections on Dispute Resolution and Women in Dispute Resolution, Association for Conflict Resolution NJ Chapter, Justice Marie L. Garibaldi American Inn of Court for ADR and a Charter Member of the NADN (National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals) New Jersey Chapter. She served on the New Jersey Supreme Court Rules Committee on Complementary Dispute Resolution for over 10 years representing the state mediation office and chaired its Subcommittee on Education. She has received various commendations including the NJ State Bar Association 2009 James Boskey ADR Practitioner of the Year Award and New Jersey Legislative Resolution recognition. Recent publications include “Primer on New Jersey’s Foreclosure Mediation Program.” New Jersey Lawyer, October 2010, No. 266, pp. 19-23. Ms. Petrilla's volunteer service includes several years as a "Big Sister" with BBBSOC (Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ocean County). She was awarded BBBSOC "Big Sister of the Year" for 2013.

 

Publications

"A Wonderland of Possibilities: Emotive Mediation of Employment Disputes," Presented at New Jersey Institute for Continuing Education Seminar on Reasonable Accommodation Under the ADA & NJLAD: Update 2002.

"The New Jersey Office of Dispute Settlement: Your Rx for Resolving Conflict," published in New Jersey Municipalities, Vol.80 No.5, May 2003.

Courses Taught
  • Alternate Dispute Resolution
  • Civil Mediation