November 6 – 10, 2024

To register, scroll to the bottom of this page.

Are you responsible for helping people work through conflict?

Do you manage important conversations between clients, employees, team members, volunteers or other people?

Do you want to improve your ability to facilitate conversations of consequence?

Do you want to learn to mediate or enhance your conflict resolution skills?

In this gold standard mediation training, learn how to support parties working through conflict or engaging in other important conversations in a different way.  Our Understanding-Based model focuses on guiding parties to make knowing and informed choices together in a  respectful manner.  Highlights of our basic training, Working Creatively with Conflict, 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

Who Will Benefit From This Training?

Our participants include mediators, lawyers, collaborative professionals, business consultants, executive coaches, managers and supervisors, human resources professionals, ombuds-people, non-profit staff, and other people whose work will be enhanced by  increased skills in conflict resolution.  Participants report it is one of the top mediation programs they have taken.

What is the Format of the Training?

This hands-on in person training features briefings on the core skills of the Understanding Based Approach, followed by lively demonstrations and role-plays, all of which immerse participants in the learning. Realistic simulations, in which participants work through mediations from beginning to end, with coaching from our teachers, offer participants the chance to hone their skills and experience the emotional challenges faced by parties in dispute. Participants describe these different modes of learning and their interplay as enjoyable as they are engaging and rewarding.

Who are the Trainers?

Gary J. Friedman has been practicing law as a mediator with Mediation Law Offices in Mill Valley, California since 1976, integrating mediative principles into the practice of law and the resolution of legal disputes. Co-founder of the Center for Understanding in Conflict (formerly the Center for Mediation in Law), he has been teaching mediation since 1980. Prior to his work as a mediator, he practiced law as a trial lawyer with Friedman and Friedman in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After several years as an advocate, he sought a new approach to resolving disputes through increasing the participation of the parties in the resolution of their differences. At that time, he and his colleague, Jack Himmelstein, began to develop the Understanding-based model that is now practiced extensively in the United States and Europe. As one of the first lawyer mediators and a primary force in the current mediation movement, he has used this model to complete over one thousand mediations in the last two decades He has mediated numerous two-party and multi-party disputes in the commercial and non-profit realms, in the area of intellectual property, real estate, corporate, personnel, partnership formations and dissolutions, and family law.

Melanie Rowen is a mediator and conflict coach who believes in the power of understanding-based conflict resolution to transform our world. She frequently trains individuals and groups on effective communication in conflict situations and on creating inclusive environments, particularly around gender, sexual orientation, and disability. Melanie previously litigated civil rights cases, including marriage equality, employment discrimination, issues involving transgender and gender non-conforming youth and their families, and issues facing LGBTQ+ elders, at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and served on the Board of Directors of the Transgender Law Center. Earlier in her career, she worked in business litigation at Latham & Watkins LLP, and for many years, she was the Associate Director for Public Interest Programs at UC Berkeley School of Law. Melanie currently works in attorney professional development at the Bay Area offices of a large law firm, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association for Law Placement.

Michelle Exline Minovi, Esq. is a highly skilled divorce and family mediator with 14+ 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. After moving to Brooklyn, Michelle litigated and won sole custody on behalf of a parent of two children who was forced to leave the ultra-religious community because she identified as queer. After three years of intense litigation, Michelle wondered if there was an alternative way to divorce? Michelle knew she had to pivot from litigation to mediation after she took her first mediation training at the Center for Understanding Conflict. As a mediator, Michelle values the process as well as the outcome.

Michelle is on the roster of mediation panels for matrimonial Supreme Court in Kings, New York, and Queens counties as well as the borough-wide custody and visitation mediation panel. Michelle 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 speaks functional Spanish. Michelle volunteers at the New York Legal Assistance Group and the Legal Services of New York as a mediator and as a consulting attorney. Michelle is currently co-teaching the mediation clinic at the Brooklyn Law School.

Registration and program schedule

Registration is between 1:45 and 2:15 on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, with the training beginning at 2:30 pm and running through 9:00 pm. Note that rooms may not be available to put luggage in until 3PM. On Thursday and Friday, the sessions run from 9am – 9 pm (with ample breaks for meals and rest). On Saturday, the session runs 9am – 6pm. The program ends on Sunday, November 10, 2024 with a session from 9am – 12:15pm.

Venue

The training is at Green Gulch Farm, a Zen Center and working farm in Muir Beach, CA. The accommodations at Green Gulch are very unique and set in a beautiful, rustic location. Most participants stay in the Japanese-inspired Guest House.  The gardens are lovely and the delicious vegetarian fare is served in a country style in a health conscious atmosphere.  Three delicious vegetarian meals a day are provided, as well as all-day coffee, tea, and snack service.  There is wireless internet available, but most cell phones do not have reception in Green Gulch proper.  Guests have access to an office phone for emergencies.  Participants should plan ahead for contact through the internet rather than by phone.

Costs

The program training fee is $1,485 plus a fee for the facility, lodging, and meals as follows:

• Private room* at Green Gulch:  $825, for a total of $2,310
• Shared double room at Green Gulch:  $675, for a total of $2,160
• Commuter for those not staying at Green Gulch:  $325, for a total of $1,810

Please note that the bathrooms are shared at Green Gulch. You can find more details about accommodation at Green Gulch by clicking here.

A deposit of $500.00 is necessary to secure registration.

*There are a limited number of private rooms.  After the available private rooms are reserved, we assign shared rooms.

COVID-19 Protocols

As of March 2024, Green Gulch has stipulated the following COVID-19 guidelines:

• Green Gulch is an intergenerational community with a variety of health needs. In order to help keep our community healthy, we require that all retreat participants conduct a rapid antigen covid test in the 24 hours before arrival. Results do not need to be shared. If you test positive, please do not come to Green Gulch.

• Take a second Rapid Antigen Test upon arrival at the temple. Please bring your own test.

• You are welcome to wear a mask if you choose, but we do not require that at this time.

Please note that these are subject to change and we will notify participants of any changes in protocols.

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.

Is there Continuing Education Credit?

California 

The Center for Understanding in Conflict is an accredited provider of California Continuing Legal Education by the State Bar of California.  The Working Creatively with Conflict Training —appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys — will qualify for 32 participatory and 8 self study CA MCLE credit hours.

New York

In New York, The Mediation Intensive Training will fulfill 40 NY CLE credit hours (6.5 Ethics credits; 19.5 Professional Practice credits; and 14 Skills credits).  For continuing legal education purposes, the Mediation Intensive Training is appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys.

This Center’s training has been approved as a basic mediation training under Part 146 by the New York State Unified Court System’s Office of ADR Programs. (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.)

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].

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