24-Hour Basic Mediation Training (East Coast)

Tuesday, June 2 through Thursday June 4, 2026.

9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern

(Scroll to bottom of this page to register)

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Join the Center for Understanding in Conflict for a comprehensive 24-hour Basic Mediation Training designed to transform the way you approach conflict. In this dynamic, experiential program, you’ll learn the core principles and skills of the Understanding-Based model — a humane, relationship-centered approach that helps people work through conflict with clarity, respect, and connection.

This certificate program provides both the theoretical foundation and practical skills to help people navigate conflict constructively.  Participants will learn how to shift the way parties view their conflict, empowering them to work cooperatively to find mutually acceptable solutions. Core skills include deescalating unproductive arguments, understanding conflict dynamics, and guiding parties toward productive dialogue and effective decision-making. The training also explores the role of law and lawyers in mediation, and prepares participants to mediate conflicts in a range of  settings–from private and workplace disputes to court-referred cases, and community disputes.

Upon successfully completing this training, participants will have satisfied the requirements for the Basic Mediation Training of Part 146 of the NYS Rules of the Chief Administrator of the Courts (“Part 146”) and be eligible to pursue any part 146 advanced mediation training, including the 16-hour Advanced Matrimonial Mediation Training course offered by the Center for Understanding in Conflict on June 17, 18, 25, & 26, 2026. Together, these two programs satisfy both the Basic and Advanced Matrimonial trainings portions required to apply for Part 146 certification.

While this program meets the training requirements for those seeking  to apply as mediators on NYS court rosters, we welcome professionals across other disciplines – jurists, lawyers, collaborative professionals, business consultants, executive coaches, managers and supervisors, human resources professionals, ombuds-people, non-profit staff, and anyone who works with parties in conflict will gain invaluable conflict resolution skills that they can put to work in many aspects of their professional and personal life.

Core Concepts

In this 24-hour program, adapted from our gold standard 5-day mediation training, you will learn how to support parties in conflict or in other important conversations in a new and transformative way.

Our Understanding-Based model focuses on helping parties make knowing and informed choices together in an atmosphere of respect.  Highlights include:

• Positive neutrality –supporting all parties without taking sides.
• The Loop of Understanding – enhancing understanding and empathy.
• Creative Options — innovating to meet differing needs and interests.
• A Foundation for the Future — building the groundwork for the parties to make effective and lasting decisions together now and in the future.

What is the Format of this Training?

This hands-on in person training features short lectures on the core skills of the Understanding Based Approach, followed by lively demonstrations and immersive role-plays. Realistic simulations, in which participants work through mediations from beginning to end with personalized coaching from our teachers, offer participants the chance to hone their skills and experience the challenges faced by parties in dispute. The combination of theory, observation, and practice creates an engaging and rewarding learning experience that participants consistently describe as both enjoyable and deeply impactful.

Logistics

The training runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 2 through Thursday June 4, 2026.

On Thursday night, we have an optional informal discussion over dinner nearby from 6:15 pm to 7:45: p.m. Dinner is not included in the price; participants will have an option to pay for their own meal.

All participants will enjoy lunch, coffee, tea and snacks during the breaks.

Who Can Participate?

This basic training is open to anyone whose work involves conflict and will be particularly interesting to lawyers who wish to apply to be on the mediator court rosters for divorce and family work.

Who Are the Trainers?

Ivan Alter is an attorney and mediator with offices in Westchester County, New York, and New York City. Practicing law since 1993, Ivan traded in an early career spent litigating complex commercial matters and high-conflict matrimonial cases in favor of a more rewarding practice using the understanding-based model.

Ivan left the courtroom for good twenty years ago and today empowers his clients to design satisfying resolutions to their conflicts through mediation and collaborative law. He is a graduate of Brandeis University (B.A.), Brooklyn Law School (J.D.), and Columbia University (M.S.). Having participated in countless training programs and symposia, Ivan currently serves on the board of directors for the Center for Understanding in Conflict and the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals.

 Michelle Exline Minovi is a divorce and family mediator with 12+ years family law experience.  As Managing Attorney at the legal services non-profit Ayuda in Washington, D.C., Michelle represented low-income and Spanish-speaking immigrant clients in complex matrimonial cases in the context of domestic violence. Michelle knew she had to pivot from litigation to mediation when she took her first mediation training at the Center for Understanding Conflict.

She is on the roster of mediation professionals approved by the matrimonial Supreme Court in Kings, New York, and Queens counties as well as the borough-wide Custody and Visitation mediation panel and the Child Permanency panel. She sits on the board of the Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York and is a member of the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation. Michelle was chosen to be on the team of domestic violence advocates and NY Court ADR coordinators who collaborated to create a novel tool to help litigants assess their capacity to mediate that goes beyond the traditional screening tool. Michelle is an experienced teacher of mediation and is approved under Part 146 in New York as a mediation trainer. She is currently co-teaching the small claims Mediation Clinic at the Brooklyn Law School.

Is there Continuing Education Credit? Is the training Part 146 approved?

Attending this Training will provide attorneys with 25 NY CLE credit hours (1 Diversity Inclusion and Elimination of Bias credit; 3 Ethics credits; 11 Professional Practice credits; and 10 Skills credits).  For continuing legal education purposes, the Basic Mediation Training is appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys.

Also, this training is approved by the NYS Unified Court System as meeting the Part 146 requirements for 24h Basic (also called Initial) Mediation Training, required by the courts to apply to become a mediator on a court roster. *  It enables the participants to attend any 16H advanced training under Part 146, including the Advanced Matrimonial Mediation Training given by the Center for Understanding in Conflict immediately after, on June 17, 18, 25 and 26, 2026. (Please note that final placement on any court roster is at the discretion of the local Administrative Judge and participation in a course that is either approved or pending approval does not guarantee placement on a local court roster.)

Venue

Subotnik Center, Brooklyn Law School

250 Joralemon Street, 11th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201

• Subways 2,3,4,5,M,R,A,C,F;
• 35 min train ride to Penn Station or Grand Central Terminal;
• 15 min subway ride from NJ Path, Church Street Station

Cost

The program training fee is $1,477 and includes lunch, snacks, coffee and tea (additional dinner not included).

*Financial support may be available for training fees. Please contact us at [email protected] for details or for any questions regarding logistics.

**Those who register both for this course and for the 16-hour Advanced Matrimonial Mediation Training course (June 17, 18, 25 & 26, 2026) are also eligible to receive a 15% training fee discount, applied to both programs, as well as a 40-hour Mediation Training Certificate. Please contact [email protected] if this applies to you.

Cancellation Policy

Please note our cancellation policy: If you cancel 4 weeks or more prior to the program, we return your deposit minus a $250.00 administration fee. Between 4 and 2 weeks prior to the program, we retain 50% of the total cost of the program unless we are able to find a replacement for your seat, in which case we will refund the fee minus the $250.00 administration fee. There are no refunds for cancellations less than two weeks prior to the program unless we can find a replacement.

Photo and Video Notice

We’re excited to have you at our training event! Please note that we may be taking photos and videos to capture the wonderful moments and share them in our promotional materials, including social media, websites, and brochures. If you prefer not to be photographed or recorded, just let one of our friendly organizers or trainers know. We’ll be happy to respect your wishes and ensure your privacy.

PLEASE NOTE THAT REGISTRATIONS RECEIVED LESS THAN 72 HOURS PRIOR TO PROGRAM START WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE TRAINING TEAM DUE TO DEMANDS OF PREPARATION TIME AND ROLE PLAY ASSIGNMENTS.

For additional information, please email us at [email protected].