The core faculty for this hands-on seminar are tenured professors from Pepperdine Law’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.

All are outstanding teachers and skilled corporate trainers with extensive experience in the settlement of legal, employment, and sales negotiations.

This seminar will feature instructors per 40 registered attendees. Based on enrollment, they will be from the following:

Core Faculty Bios—

Peter Robinson

Peter Robinson is Managing Director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and associate professor at Pepperdine University School of Law. He has presented advanced negotiation and mediation skills courses in more than 39 states and foreign countries.

Robinson serves a wide range of clients from government agencies and various private sector companies in the legal, real estate, consulting, manufacturing, and insurance industries.

Tom Stipanowich

Thomas Stipanowich is the William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution and professor of law at Pepperdine School of Law. He is also the academic director of the Straus Institute. Stipanowich brings a long and distinguished career as a scholar, teacher, and leader in the field along with wide-ranging experience as a commercial and construction mediator, arbitrator, federal court special master, and facilitator.

From 2001 until mid-2006, he served as CEO of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR Institute). He has authored two of the leading books on commercial arbitration and many articles on ADR. Recently he coauthored a groundbreaking book and materials entitled Resolving Disputes: Theory, Practice, and Law.

Nina Meierding

Nina Meierding is an Adjunct Professor at Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution providing courses in Negotiation, Domestic Relations Dispute Resolution, Advanced Mediation, and Cross Cultural Issues in Dispute Resolution.

She has been a full-time mediator, trainer and professor for nearly 30 years and has conducted trainings throughout the world.

Timothy Pownall

Timothy Pownall is the Assistant Director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Director of the Pacis Project in Faith Based Diplomacy, and adjunct professor at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine School of Law, and co-founder of the Agency for Dispute Resolution.

He formerly held senior executive positions with Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (JAMS), the Follet Corporation, and Barnes & Noble.

Denise Madigan

Denise Madigan is Director of the Public Dispute Project at the Straus Institute. She teaches courses in mediation and negotiation at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution as and Adjunct Professor of Law at Pepperdine Law School.

John Lowry

John Lowry, son of Randy Lowry — founder of the Straus Institute — is the assistant dean of the Lipscomb University College of Business and founder of the School of Executive Education.

He has also completed graduate work in dispute resolution at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law and in public policy at California State University, Sacramento.

Bruce Edwards

Bruce Edwards is an experienced attorney with extensive mediation experience having mediated over 4,000 disputes in 42 states. He has extensive experience handling complex, multiparty cases with emphasis on construction, business, environmental, and traumatic personal injury matters.

He received his bachelor’s degree from University of California, Davis and his law degree from Hastings College of Law.

Stephanie Bell

Stephanie Bell is assistant professor of law and assistant director of the Straus Institute. She supervises the Mediation Clinic and teaches courses in mediation theory and practice and criminal law.

Bell earned her BA with honors in American Civilization from Brown University and her JD from the University of Washington School of Law.

*Please note: In addition to using the faculty listed here, on some occasions, we retain other skilled associates that have specific knowledge and in-depth expertise on related subject matters.