Workshops

The Future of Mediation and the Frontiers of Conflict Resolution: Toward an Evolving Mediation Model

By Kenneth Cloke

“By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it.
The non-existent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.”

Nikos Kazantzakis

We create our own future, but not entirely as we choose. In this sense, we can describe the future of mediation as mediated or negotiated, in part by our vision, values, attitudes, intentions, and actions; and in part by the natural, technological, and historical conditions in which we live, imagine, and act. For these reasons, it is impossible to bring about a future for which the preconditions have yet to appear; nor can we imagine a future for mediation until we have practiced and experienced it over an extended period of time and recognized its inherent limits.

Conflicts mark frontiers and borders, the places where we weaken, divide, and separate. Yet these same frontiers and borders connect us and contain the forces that strengthen and bring us together; that transform us, and dissipate our differences. Conflicts probe our innermost natures, and the outermost limits of our being. They can provoke both cruelty and compassion, competition and collaboration, revenge and reconciliation. Mediation is the dangerous magic that enables us to move from one to the other.

We need to explore these evolving possibilities and limitations; the internal and external frontiers of conflict resolution; the heart-based, “spiritual,” and relational spaces where things fall apart and come together miraculously. We need to consider political conflicts, systems design, the consequences of AI, robotics, and quantum computing, the ethics and values that inform mediation, and the need for a wide-ranging, systemic, global “conflict revolution.”

Description Coming Soon!

The profession of mediation has never stood still, and today’s pace of change is faster than ever. Artificial intelligence, evolving client expectations, new technologies, and changing business models are reshaping how professionals build and sustain successful practices.

In this interactive program, Susan Guthrie explores what every mediator should be considering today to remain relevant, resilient, and fulfilled in the years ahead. Drawing on her work in practice development and Intentional Practice Design™, Susan will share practical strategies for evaluating your current practice, identifying opportunities for innovation, and making thoughtful decisions about where you want your practice to go next.

Participants will leave with a practical framework for assessing their own practices and identifying one intentional change they can begin implementing immediately.

When standard ethical guidelines offer no clear path forward, mediators are often left navigating high-stakes dilemmas in real time.

Join Professors Robinson and Blondell for an interactive session examining these exact “outlier” scenarios—the complex, split-second decisions that challenge even seasoned practitioners.

Drawing on decades of collective experience as educators and mediators, they will guide participants through difficult ethical dilemmas before they arise at the bargaining table.

Through interactive polling, we will set norms, engage in collaborative debriefing, and practice structured peer supervision.

This workshop is designed to help practitioners refine analytical capabilities, sharpen instincts, and strengthen best practices.

Not every case settles at mediation, but attorneys expect, parties deserve, and reputations are built on effective follow-up. With over 7,000 mediations between them, Wendy Kramer and Mark Lemke will share their tools, tips, and techniques for effective follow-up. Avoid spinning your wheels, rehashing the same arguments, and find what works best to bring cases to efficient, client-pleasing resolutions.

Experienced mediators know that what happens between the words can be just as important as what is said at the negotiating table.

A disputant goes quiet. An attorney becomes increasingly rigid. Someone who appeared ready to negotiate suddenly digs in. Another participant keeps repeating the same argument despite hearing every logical reason to reconsider. What are they communicating that you may not be hearing?

In high-stakes mediation, successful resolution requires more than mastering the facts, evaluating the case, or asking good questions. It requires the ability to read the room: to recognize emotional pressure, behavioral tendencies, communication preferences, decision-making styles, and the subtle dynamics influencing whether people move toward resolution or retreat further into conflict.

In this highly interactive program, Dr. Debra Dupree and Harold Coleman will explore how mediators can combine emotional intelligence, behavioral insight, and ethical influence to better understand the people behind the positions. Participants will learn practical strategies for recognizing verbal and nonverbal cues, adjusting questioning and communication approaches, managing emotionally charged interactions, and building the trust necessary for meaningful negotiation.

And there is an important line to navigate: When does influence help people make better-informed decisions, and when does it begin to compromise mediator neutrality or party self-determination?

Through real-world mediation scenarios and practical applications, participants will leave with new ways to recognize what may be driving resistance, adapt their approach in the moment, and create conditions in which even difficult conversations have a greater opportunity to move forward.

Because sometimes the breakthrough in mediation does not come from changing the offer.

It comes from changing how we read the room.

Jason Harper and Jack Goetz spent a decade together in non-profit leadership guiding two different non-profit mediation organizations, KMC and MC3. Together, they saw benefits in creating a partnership that took the best of each partner to accentuate their strengths and overcome any individual weaknesses they may have had. Their collegial approach to organization building paved the way for success for both organizations.

Many assert that mediator confidentiality provides the foundation for candid and productive conversations during mediation. Today, that assertion is being put to the test. This workshop will explore the past, present, and potential future of mediation confidentiality, from its historical development to the challenges mediators face in a post-Girardi world. Against the backdrop of proposed legislation such as SB 574, this workshop will consider how changes to confidentiality could affect the practice of mediation and the trust at the heart of the process.

Climbing Down the Assumption Ladder: Using Curiosity to Transform Conflict

Conflict is rarely just about what happened—it’s about the meaning we assign to what happened. In real time, we observe behavior, interpret intent, construct a story, and then react to that story as if it were fact.

In this interactive, workshop-style session, participants will work directly with the Assumption Ladder as a practical tool to slow down and unpack this process. Through hands-on exercises, guided reflection, and mediation scenarios, participants will practice distinguishing observations from interpretations, assumptions, and judgments—and see how quickly conflict shifts when curiosity replaces certainty.

Rather than simply discussing the model, participants will use it to explore how mediators can intervene at each step of the ladder to de-escalate tension, surface underlying interests, reframe narratives, and open space for more productive dialogue.

Attendees will leave with a clear, usable framework and practical questioning strategies they can immediately apply in mediation practice to move parties from reactive storytelling to thoughtful exploration.

What changes when we stop treating our story as fact—and start getting curious about what else might be true?

Conflicts often arise in the midst of communal, familial, or business relations that are ongoing. Settling for money, property, or even policy may solve the immediate conflict without addressing the deeper emotional and relational dynamics in need of repair. Drawing from real-life experience navigating disputes in the areas of education, housing, and family law, panelists will explore why settlement-focused mediation sometimes falls short and what restorative justice practices have to offer us. Moderated by Western Justice Center (WJC) Executive Director, Elissa Barrett, with Rehana Jamal (WJC Training & Capacity Building Manager, Adjunct Professor-Straus Institute), Kevin Skipper (The Skipper Group, San Francisco), and a member (to be announced) of the Los Angeles County Superior Court Family Law Division.