This presentation proposes the inclusion of corporate monitors in settlement agreements negotiated by mediators or recommended by arbitrators, in complex commercial disputes where injunctive relief of complex financial arrangements are contemplated. The presenters will discuss the history of corporate monitoring and will address the issues of selection, compensation, and supervision of corporate monitors. Sample corporate monitor agreements from specific criminal cases will be provided and discussed.

This presentation will explore and address issues that come with multiparty mediation, which often require that a mediator conduct multiple simultaneous mediations. These mediations present significantly heightened complex difficulties and conflicts not found in the simple one plaintiff / one defendant mediation.

This workshop will focus on high emotions including studies by Matthew Lieberman at UCLA for effective techniques for de-escalating high emotions. Mediators will learn about the technique of affect labeling.  Mediators will have an opportunity to watch demonstrations and practice the technique.

Parents often seek a parenting plan that is “fair,” while feelings of anger, resentment, and blaming their co-parent or the legal system may still be present and compound the problem. Parental attitudes and expectations of fairness, the expectation that common sense and pragmatism are sufficient for decision making, and the expectation that leaving it up to the child to decide is a valid course of action will be discussed.

Unlike Family, Tort and Home Owner Association/Developer mediation where the focus is on termination of relationships, commercial mediation, somewhat like probate mediation, should focus on the opportunity for reconciliation and additional business between the parties. The commercial mediation opportunity should be seen as a place to structure future relationships NOT terminate and preclude future relationships.

The Direct/Inferential model of communication explains how people both speak and listen in ways that are clearly stated and in ways that are transmitted and received nonverbally.  Participants will explore how to utilize this knowledge to best keep parties engaged. The model has as a goal the minimization of errors in communication which often result in misinterpretations.

The presenters will discuss the unique challenges presented by post-divorce disputes and offer suggestions for resolving these difficult conflicts. Having hoped or believed that the issues in their divorce were finally resolved, parties find that even years after the end to their marriage, conflicts arise. Unless clearly resolved, these post-divorce conflicts result in multiple filings, multiple mediations and multiple court appearances.

This workshop will explore the areas of cultural metaphor, speech paradigms, metonymic systems, “speech events” and discourse analysis as they relate to conflict resolution. It is designed to increase sensitivity to the subtleties and complexities of spoken interaction and to their sometimes unintended effects on conflict resolution.

This workshop will provide information on shifting people from resistance to a willingness to take action. The workshop will introduce mediators to ways to instantly develop rapport and formulate positive impressions by creating an environment that fosters collaboration. The workshop will review the cycle of persuasion while reviewing the core elements mediators can develop to position themselves to yield productive solutions. The cycle of persuasion is integrated with the subtleties of body language including facial expressions, gestures and other body movements. The aim of this knowledge is to assist mediators in modifying interactions based on what is being communicated directly and indirectly.

This workshop explores the ways that yoga may help a mediator grow in awareness of the parties’ needs and interests in order to facilitate creative and flexible solutions based on self-determination. In addition to joining in the discussion, participants will have the option of joining in simple yoga movements from their seats.  

Programs on avoiding impasse often cover familiar tools but fail to incorporate the entire mediation framework. This presentation will address the importance of respecting ethical limits and cultural diversity, and discuss the importance of mediator skill. This interactive program relies on scenarios and audience participation to provide strategies for taking the full scope of mediation into account, and allowing the mediator to empower the participants to resolve their issues and avoid impasse.

ENE occurs at the pre-trial stage; it assists parties in
identifying the most important issues in a case, to
understand better the support for their respective
positions, to narrow and focus discovery and motion
practice, and to explore prospects for settlement before wasting time and resources on unproductive pretrial excursions.

The presentation outlines and explores ten common mistakes new, and not so new mediators make during mediation. It is based on real life experiences of two full-time mediators who are also father and son. The object of this presentation is to explore examples of things mediators do that hinder the mediation process and keep parties from reaching a resolution.

Throughout the mediation process effective communication is essential. In this workshop, the presenters will seek to expand participant’s understanding of themselves and the communication patterns of others. Based on the success of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) in improving negotiations and minimizing conflict, this workshop will teach participants important tools and techniques to enhance their abilities as successful mediators.

After the long and prolonged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, trained Mediators are needed to work with Veterans, their families, employers and others to figure out their own solutions. This presentation will introduce mediators to the issues and concerns often confronted by veterans.

An introductory presentation to familiarize participants with the Peer Mediation model and encourage participants to become Peer Mediator Coaches. This presentation is designed to present the elements of a fully-operational and sustainable ADR program to address school conflicts.

George Knox has utilized his talents for peacemaking to build a successful practice as a mediator, arbitrator, negotiator, and mentor. Long recognized as one of Miami's most respected business and community leaders, he was named one of Miami's 100 Most Powerful People. He has been designated a Legal Legend by the 11th Judicial Circuit Historical Society.

Art Hinshaw’s research and teaching interests lie in the field of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), primarily mediation and negotiation. His research bridges ADR theory and practice, and his teaching responsibilities include the Lodestar Mediation Clinic and Negotiation among other ADR courses.

Professor Hinshaw is active in the ADR community having served on several academic and professional committees at the state and national levels. Currently, he serves as a member of the ABA's Standing Committee on Mediator Ethical Guidance. Additionally, he is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution at the University of Missouri School of Law and is a contributor to Indisputably, the ADR Prof Blog. Outside of the ADR realm, Professor Hinshaw is a member of the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Professor Hinshaw joined the College of Law faculty after teaching at the University of Missouri School of Law and at the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. Before his academic career, he practiced law in Kansas City, Missouri.

Do you remember the training when you became a County Mediator? The workshop will use
the R.O.P.E. method in helping us recall the practices of a County Mediator. This training will be
interactive with group activity.

This session will include a brief presentation of trends in court administration and the practice
of law that impact the work of mediators. From courts, the pressures may include courts’
adoption and publication of performance measures and case flow time guidelines (as in
Michigan) and other “CourTools” adopted and advocated by the National Center for State
Courts. From litigants, trends will be drawn from works by Julie Macfarlane, Richard Susskind,
and others. Among changes in legal practice frequently reported in articles and blogs are
perceptions of atrophy in lawyers’ negotiation skills, declining understanding of potential trial
outcomes, and increased “gaming” of the mediation process. In an era when approximately
1 percent of cases reach trial, and mediation becomes the focal point for resolution, what
evolving challenges do mediators face, and how can they be addressed? Session participants
will be invited to share their own challenges and to collectively identify possible strategies and
solutions for preserving the integrity of the mediation process.

This highly interactive presentation is designed to identify the natural extension of mediators
into the Organizational Conflict Management consulting field. Mediators are well equipped
to conduct conflict assessments, identify effective organizational intervention points, support
culture change, implement Conflict Management Systems, and provide organizational
consulting. Participants will learn several organizational assessment techniques, consulting
tools and skills, and state-of-practice consulting technology with legal, practical, and theoretical
grounding. The focus will be on assessment, facilitation of change management, and most
importantly, conflict prevention. Participants will form small “consulting groups” and come
away with new tools to assess and propose a CMS.

Organizing and structuring the complex issue, multi-party mediation session - from initial
acceptance of the case and defining terms of engagement, to final follow up procedures,
this program explores different ways to make the mediation of complex multi-party cases
manageable and productive. The program will explore methodology for pre-mediation
organizational sessions with counsel and facilitating a mutually acceptable session format,
agenda and schedule, as well as appropriate sequencing of discussion and resolution of claims,
counterclaims, and third party claims.

This is a ADVANCED presentation.

This workshop will give both the novice and the intermediate an opportunity to learn, discuss,
and improve the process of court-ordered non-binding arbitration. Through a mix of lecture
and audience participation, the attendee will gain knowledge of the non-binding arbitration
process, compare it with other ADR processes, discuss the benefits and detriments of the
process to parties, counsel, and the courts, and make suggestions about how to improve the
process.

The Florida Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (FLAFCC) has created
a Task Force to address cases in which family conflict resurfaces when the parents age, or
evolves from decisions being made on behalf of an aging parent or other loved one. In an
unprecedented effort involving 20 Florida Statewide organizations, the FLAFCC Task Force on
Eldercaring Coordination is collaborating with a national/Canadian effort spearheaded by the
Association for Conflict Resolution Task Force to transform parenting coordination to cases
with concerns about an elder. Participants will have an opportunity to provide input to this
developing field, becoming a resource to the Task Forces in this groundbreaking project. This
project supports interdivisional court collaboration to fill this gap in ADR processes, broadening
the definition of high conflict families in the court.

This interactive workshop for Circuit Civil Mediators will cover: (1) how to lay the groundwork
early in your communication with participants to assist them in framing their preparation
for mediation with both strategy and persuasion in mind; (2) how to encourage initial and
subsequent negotiation signals, resolution ranges and making concessions; and (3) methods
designed to sustain negotiation momentum and some gap-closing techniques. Ethical pitfalls
and considerations will be woven through the presentation; party self-determination does not
need to be sacrificed to help people negotiate. Attendees are encouraged in the last segment
of the workshop to query the presenter and audience about negotiation stumbling blocks and
dilemmas they have encountered.

Some mediators find themselves stuck and don’t know how to ask an appropriate question.
Some mediators are afraid of silence. This program gives the mediator tools for asking the right
questions at the right time during mediation, and allows the mediator to fulfill his/her role as
facilitator of the parties’ discussions. By learning how and what to ask -- and understanding that
mediations have three basic stages -- will allow the mediator to avoid the awkward silences and
move the process forward in a substantive way. By asking questions in the right way at the right
time, the mediator is causing the participants to be introspective and to evaluate facts and
circumstances, strengths and weaknesses, in a more realistic way. Presenters Robin Caral Shaw
and Amy Wolsky have brought valuable tips and tools to the DRC since the turn of the century.

Three presenters all critical to the collaborative process (one lawyer, one facilitator, and one
neutral financial expert) discuss how this process is used to facilitate communication between
divorcing spouses and to problem solve issues raised in dissolution of marriage and other
matters in such a way as to both protect clients’ relationships with family and friends, while
enabling the two parties to create the foundation for their post-dissolution relationship with
each other. A comparison with the traditional court process will explain why the collaborative
process is usually preferable, both from the individual perspective, as well as from a societal
point of view.

This session will teach mediators: (1) iPhone and iPad apps for mediators in order to run a
more efficient mediation practice; (2) mediation technology to meet your clients’ needs; (3)
understanding the technology which lawyers are trying out in mediation before they try the
case; and (4) how to maintain your mediation documents on an iPad and have participants sign
the deal digitally on your iPad.

For the benefit of mediators, family law attorneys and prospective parent coordinators, this
presentation will shed some light on the role and responsibilities of parent coordinators as they
pertain to working with parents who are struggling to co-parent and follow their parenting plan.
Most parents who are referred to work with a parent coordinator are usually in “high conflict”
and present for PC work after months or years of battling with an ex-spouse or partner. During
this presentation, we will address and problem-solve the common challenges and obstacles
that parent coordinators face in helping parents work through their conflict and learn to
effectively co-parent.