Review of Basic Mediation * Research and Conflict * Delivering a Proper Opening Statement * Maintaining Fairness and Neutrality * Confronting Biases * Overcoming Resistance to Mediation * Working and Mediating with Attorneys * Moving Parties from a Past to a Future Focus * Working with Emotional Parties * Mediating Virtually, by Phone, and Online * Culture and its Relation to Conflict * Negotiation Skills
Cost: $400.00

May 13, Thursday | 5pm - 7pm PST
May 15-16, Saturday & Sunday| 9:30am – 6pm PST
May 22-23, Saturday & Sunday| 9:30am – 6pm PST
May 29, Saturday |9:30am – 6pm PST

The Basics of Mediation has set the “gold standard” for Northern California’s mediation trainings: comprehensive, practical, topical, and affordable. It introduces core conflict resolution skills over two consecutive weekends: communication, problem-solving, mediation, and negotiation. Participants attend lectures and presentations, work in large/small groups, and practice in multiple, coached role-plays.

Advanced Mediation: Perfecting Our Craft

Faculty: Bruce Edwards

An interactive, skill enhancement course facilitated by an experienced trainer with over 35 years of mediation and training experience in the U.S. and abroad. This course invites you to engage in reflective learning with other experienced mediators as we "drill down" on important topics effecting our profession. You will read blogs on cutting edge topics and be exposed to unique forms of online learning. Participants may select a single class, offered online in an engaging 7-hour course or take multiple courses in the series (see website).
**Course offer 7 hours of MCLE credit.

This presentation will include a brief discussion of what presence means and what changes in a virtual setting. We will cover the tenets of sending a strong first impression as well as maintaining your energy, focus and presence as you enter a video call, and throughout.

We'll explore coaching principles, communication and conflict resolution techniques, and how to create a one-on- one coaching experience to help someone increase cooperation, communication, and productivity. We will demo a short Conflict Coaching session!

Whether you are a mediator or an advocate who appears in mediation settings, this year’s program will take you through effective strategies in order to successfully close the deal.

The program will culminate in an interactive multi-party dispute case analysis where you will work with expert facilitators in discussing best strategies for navigating through impasse, resolving ethical dilemmas, and closing the deal.

This intense one-day class focuses on the ethics and principles of basic arbitration. Emphasis is placed on the importance of communicating for arbitrator success. Explored are the core tenets of arbitration, to include the arbitrator’s opening statement, the oath of all participants, arbitration formats and procedures, the Federal Arbitration and Texas Arbitration Acts, and the enforceability of the provisions. This training program is interactive and participatory.

This intense one-day class focuses on the ethics and principles of basic arbitration. Emphasis is placed on the importance of communicating for arbitrator success. The importance of understanding the terms binding arbitration and non-binding arbitration and the distinction between mediation and arbitration is discussed. Explored are the core tenets of arbitration, to include the arbitrator’s opening statement, the oath of all participants, arbitration formats and procedures, the Federal Arbitration and Texas Arbitration Acts, and the enforceability of the provisions. This training program is interactive and participatory.

LIVE TRAINING with the world's leading online mediation experts! MAY 19 & 22, 2021 with Colin Rule and Clare Fowler

6 hour live course modules for 2 days: 8am - 2 pm PST; 11am - 5pm EST

Up to 5 hours homework - 3 hours pre- recorded "Mediating with Zoom" modules (you will be given access to these modules before the live training)

Recordings of each day's session are also made available within 24 hours

15 CLE/CEU credits available, including 1 credit for Ethics.

Faculty: Peter Robinson and Nina Meierding

Straus is pleased to offer online one of the most popular Professional Skills Program courses! Featuring trainers Peter Robinson and Nina Meierding, this 17 hour mediation course is designed to advance understanding of the mediation process and techniques for advocates and other participants. People interested in becoming a mediator are encouraged to enroll in Straus' Mediating the Litigated Case.
**17 hours of CLE Training

June 3-5 and 24-26, 2021
A sophisticated 40-hour program, Mediating the Litigated Case (MLC), is geared for experienced litigators, in- house counsel, and other practitioners. Professionals can study the mediation of litigated cases to either become a mediator or to be a better advocate. Since 2000 over 3,400 people have participated in the MLC training program and have included participants from 44 states and 32 countries. The online program will take place on a Thursday/Friday/Saturday format from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. PST.
**40 Hours CLE

This program is open to family mediators who want to advance their mediation skills to work more productively with families where cross- border parenting issues arise. This training will help family mediators spot potential issues that require additional discussion and consideration between the parents, and help the mediator have a more sophisticated understanding of how to approach these complex multi-jurisdictional situations. The training will cover the legal and practical aspects of international custody, child relocation, and child abduction that may arise when a family’s background includes more than one jurisdiction.

This virtual 14-hour training will be held in 4-hour blocks over the course of 4 days. Registration will be limited to keep class size small, so register now!

Family Law Mediation:
Faculty: Hon. Irwin Joseph (Retired) and Don Saposnek

Designed for attorneys, judges, therapists, custody evaluators, and others who wish to learn and improve their skills in mediating family law conflicts. It is a condensed version of our highly successful seventeen-hour PSP program at Straus. Special emphasis will be placed on resolving disputes when there is limited time and limited resources available. After exploring an overview of core approaches and principles of mediation, participants, through discussion and role plays, will learn and practice a range of specific mediation strategies. Participants may select a single class, offered online in an engaging 7-hour course or take multiple courses in the series (see website).
**Course offer 7 hours of MCLE credit.

Psychology of Conflict: Topics of the Moment

How do the current COVID technological and sociological adaptations impact the behaviors of litigants and their advocates? What is the impact on conflict in our homes, workplaces, and schools? This course examines the four pillars of the psychology of conflict: attention, empathy, leverage, and decision-making, through a post-COVID lens. Continue to create your own version of mediation "magic" by updating your understanding of human behavior with insights from the areas of cognitive and social psychology, neuroscience, and communication theory. Participants may select a single class, offered online in an engaging 7-hour course or take multiple courses in the series (see website).
**Course offer 7 hours of MCLE credit.

Promoting Civility, Dialogue, and Finding Common Ground
Faculty: Tracy Allen and Eric Galton

Course description coming soon – please check our website! Participants may select a single class, offered online in an engaging 7-hour course or take multiple courses in the series (see website).
**Course offer 7 hours of MCLE credit.

Cross-Cultural Dispute Resolution
Faculty: Sukhsimran Singh and Deep Basraon

Courses are taught by accomplished faculty, thought leaders, and nationally-recognized experts, who are skilled in online teaching, inspiring meaningful dialogue, and building connections in the virtual classroom. The Professional Skills Series courses will include engaging presentations and interactive components that equip professionals with skills they can immediately employ in their practices. Participants may select a single class, offered online in an engaging 7-hour course or take multiple courses in the series (see website).
**Course offer 7 hours of MCLE credit.

Advanced Negotiation
Faculty: Lord Sebastian Coe and Sukhsimran Singh

Courses are taught by accomplished faculty, thought leaders, and nationally-recognized experts, who are skilled in online teaching, inspiring meaningful dialogue, and building connections in the virtual classroom. The Professional Skills Series courses will include engaging presentations and interactive components that equip professionals with skills they can immediately employ in their practices. Participants may select a single class, offered online in an engaging 7-hour course or take multiple courses in the series (see website).
**Course offer 7 hours of MCLE credit.

August 26-28 and September 9-11, 2021

A sophisticated 40-hour program, Mediating the Litigated Case (MLC), is geared for experienced litigators, in- house counsel, and other practitioners. Professionals can study the mediation of litigated cases to either become a mediator or to be a better advocate. Since 2000 over 3,400 people have participated in the MLC training program and have included participants from 44 states and 32 countries. The online program will take place on a Thursday/Friday/Saturday format from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. PST.
**40 Hours CLE