At Hamline, Professor Coben has pioneered a variety of innovative ADR clinical opportunities for law students, including mediation advocacy on behalf of clients in family law and employment cases. In addition to his law school teaching and administrative responsibilities, Professor Coben is a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court's ADR Review Board, charged with regulating the performance of court-appointed neutrals. His recent scholarship includes Gollum, Meet Sméagol: A Schizophrenic Rumination on Mediator Values Beyond Self Determination and Neutrality, 5 Cardozo Journal Of Conflict Resolution 65 (Spring 2004), Intentional Conversations about Restorative Justice, Mediation and the Practice of Law, 25 Hamline Journal Of Public Law & Policy 235 (Spring 2004), co-authored with Penelope Harley, and Mediation Case Law: 2003 in Review, 15 World Arbitration & Mediation Report 163 (June 2004). He has published numerous other ADR related articles and currently serves as the domestic mediation editor for the World Arbitration & Mediation Report and previously served as ethics columnist and editorial board member for the Journal of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Employment (CCH Inc.).

Professor Coben has made over 100 presentations on ADR topics at conferences and continuing education events in the U.S. and abroad. He is a former Chair of the ADR Section of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). For two consecutive years, he co-chaired the annual Legal Educator's Colloquium sponsored by AALS and the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association (ABA). He also is Chair of the ABA’s Lawyer as Problem-Solver Committee, and a member of the ABA ADR section's Ethics Committee.