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Straus Institute Hosts Mediation Skills Conference for Judges From Around the World

Forty-two judges from 17 countries are due to attend the "Mediation Skills for Judges From Around the Globe" conference at Pepperdine University School of Law’s acclaimed Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution from July 26 to 31. The countries represented include Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Spain, Switzerland, and those from the United Kingdom.

The mediation skills training will focus on the mediation process, identifying and working with different mediation styles, and facilitating problem solving for pending court cases. Other topics include managing attorney advocates, the parameters of confidentiality, and how judicial philosophies and ethics inform this area of practice. The program offers participants the opportunity to practice mediating simulated disputes and to observe judges and retired judges mediating at the Los Angeles Superior Court and JAMS.

The six day course will be taught by distinguished professionals in the area of judicial mediation, including the Honorable Louise Otis, a retired judge from the Quebec Court of Appeal; the Honorable Alexander Williams III, a retired judge from the Los Angeles Superior Court; John ‘Jay’ Welsh, the executive vice president and general counsel for the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS); Peter Robinson, an associate professor at Pepperdine's School of Law; Lee Jay Berman, a private practice mediator; and Denise Madigan, a mediator for ADR Services.

The Conference for International Mediation for Justice is an NGO committed to the advancement of mediation among the judiciary around the world. Pepperdine’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution has been ranked the number one program for dispute resolution by U.S. News and World Report for the past six years.

For more information, contact Lori Rushford at (310) 506-6342, or visit the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution website.