Join The Agency

As a State Bar certified MCLE provider, we offer onsite and online professional skills and legal education programs to educate and empower interested parties, the public, counsel, and clients alike.

Our Education Resources group regularly offers informative online webcasts, organizes in-person presentations, facilitates onsite professional skills training intensives, prepares accompanying handouts, and delivers substantive educational courses tailored to the needs of ADR practitioners, legal (in-house and outside counsel), risk management, and HR professionals.

Sample List of Topics—

Law Firm Clients
  • Drafting Clauses in Success That Work In Failure
  • Advanced Negotiation
  • Elimination of Bias
  • How to Prepare for Mediation
  • Interest-based Mediation
  • ADR Ethics under California Law
  • Mediation Advocacy (“How To Get Results For Your Clients”)
  • Negotiations: Elements of Distributive Bargaining
Corporate Legal Departments
  • Pitfalls & Promises of Negotiating Sponsorship Agreements
  • Drafting Clauses in Success That Work In Failure
  • 7 Steps to Prevent Lingering Employment Claims from Becoming Class Action Nightmares
  • How To Beat Mediators At Their Own Game
  • Buying Legal is a Luxury, Buying ADR is a Must
  • Let’s Make a Deal: High-Stakes M&A Negotiations
  • Transforming Your Legal Department From (“Perceived”) Cost Center Into An Actual Profit Center
  • Mediating with Apology & Forgiveness in a Transactional Context

Upcoming Presentations—

ABA’s Mediation Week 2015
  • Tuesday, October 13, 11:00 - 1:00 pm PST: Join us at our offices at 9595 Wilshire Blvd, 2nd Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212 for CLE presentations with simultaneous live broadcastWebcast Details Forthcoming
  • Thursday, October 15, 11:00 - 1:00 pm PST: Join us at our offices at 9595 Wilshire Blvd, 2nd Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212 for CLE presentations with simultaneous live broadcastWebcast Details Forthcoming
Neutrals’ Weekly Wisdom
  • Friday, December 12, 12:00 - 1:00 pm PST: “Drafting Clauses in Success That Work In Failure” - webinar presented by Eric van Ginkel, Esq., LL.M.; >> Webcast Details Forthcoming

Recent Workshops / Presentations—

ABA’s Mediation Week 2014
  • Monday, Oct 13, 10:00 - 11:30 am PST: “Let’s Do Lunch: Mediation in the Entertainment Industry” - presented by Terri Lubaroff, Esq.; Joe Markowitz, Esq.; Recording Forthcoming
  • Thursday, Oct 16, 10:00 - 11:30 am PST: “Mediation Ethics” - presented by Phyllis Pollack, Jan Schau and Joan Kessler; Onsite panel at US District Court’s Central District of California, room 1145
Negotiation Nexus Chicago
  • Monday & Tuesday, July 14th & 15th: “How would learning the settlement secrets of elite negotiators empower you?” - Negotiation Nexus Chicago / Professional Skills Training Seminar brought together two power forces — the proven techniques from the #1 ranked Straus Institute faculty plus the experience of litigators and in-house counsel — a one-of-a-kind training specifically designed to take your negotiation skills to new levels. >> Join us at our next one!
Negotiation Nexus Atlanta
  • Wednesday & Thursday, April 23rd & 24th: “How would learning the settlement secrets of elite negotiators empower you?” - Negotiation Nexus Atlanta / Professional Skills Training Seminar brought together two power forces — the proven techniques from the #1 ranked Straus Institute faculty plus the experience of litigators and in-house counsel — a one-of-a-kind training specifically designed to take your negotiation skills to new levels. >> Join us at our next one!
Neutrals’ Webinars
  • Friday, April 4, 12:00 - 1:00 pm PST: Preparing Heirs: Techniques to Engage, Educate and Retain Affluent Families From One Generation to the Next - webinar to be presented by entertainment mediator and Institute for Preparing Heirs’ advisor coach, Terri Lubaroff, Esq. — eligible for 1 hour CLE credit; >> Access Webinar

    [Call in # (267) 507-0003 Access Code: 189-678-733]

  • Friday, March 28, 12:00 - 1:00 pm PST: Improve Your Outcome and Your Income - Use ADR to Resolve Your Credit Damage Claims - webinar to be presented by skilled mediator and arbitrator, Scott Van Soye, Esq., LL.M., and special guest, independent credit damage evaluator, Georg Finder — eligible for 1 hour CLE credit; >> Access Webinar

    [Call in # (213) 289-3427 PIN: 07 507 761]

  • Friday, February 7, 12:00 - 1:00 pm PST: “How Does An Arbitrator Decide Who To Believe?” - webinar to be presented by veteran arbitrator and mediator Eric Epstein, Esq. — eligible for 1 hour CLE credit; >> Access Recording
ACC’s 2013 Annual Meeting
  • Monday, Oct 28, 9:00 - 10:30 am PST: “ACC Chair’s Choice — Fixing Commercial Arbitration: Making It Work for In-House Counsel Around the World” - to be presented by Kathy Bryan (CPR); Thomas Sabatino (Walgreen Co); Timothy Pownall (Agency for Dispute Resolution); PD Villarreal (GlaxoSmithKline); Hon. Charles B. Renfrew (Emeritus) (Former US District Court Judge & Deputy Attorney General); >> Track 101
  • Tuesday, Oct 29, 9:00 - 10:30 am PST: “Mediating an EEOC Case: Unique Aspects and Opportunities in Employment and Labor Disputes” - to be moderated by J. Carlton Sims, Esq (Agency for Dispute Resolution) and presented by Commissioner Constance Barker (EEOC); Brett Rawitz (McDonald’s Corp); Richard Rufolo (United Parcel Service); Peter Robinson (Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution); Gary Atchison (Agency for Dispute Resolution); >> Track 503
ABA’s Mediation Week 2013
  • Monday, Oct 14, 10:00 - 11:00 am PST: “Problems, Problems Everywhere: Early Intervention Techniques to Help Prevent Litigation” - to be presented by Terri Lubaroff, Esq.; Joel Fishman, Esq.; >> Recording Forthcoming
  • Tuesday, Oct 15, 10:00 - 11:00 am PST: “The True Cost of Unresolved Litigation” - to be presented by Scott Van Soye, Esq, LLM; Jeffrey Benz, Esq, MBA; >> Recording Forthcoming
  • Wednesday, Oct 16, 1:00 - 2:00 pm PST: “Why Bringing Diversity to ADR is a Necessity” - to be presented by Laura Kaster, Esq; Deborah Masucci, Esq (AIG); >> Recording Forthcoming
Mediating an EEOC Case
  • Thursday, Sept 12, 10:00 - 11:00 pm PST: “Mediating a US EEOC case: Early Intervention Mediations - During Charge Handling Process” - presented via ACC Webcasts by J. Carlton Sims, Esq (Agency for Dispute Resolution); Natalie Abbott, Esq (Saint Gobain Corporation); Barbara Ross, Esq (BNY Mellon); Eric de los Santos, Esq (TrueBlue); >> Access Playback