The Center for Understanding in Conflict

Your Next Steps: Launching Your Understanding-Based ADR Work
2022-05-13 09:00 - 2022-07-29 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
You have taken a conflict resolution training and want to add consensual dispute resolution to your existing practice or start a new practice— what next?
Our three-part series will help you explore your motivations, professional goals, opportunities and challenges. This will be an interactive process with exercises and briefings on practical aspects of starting and/or incorporating ADR into a practice or your work and bringing people in the door. You will leave with a concrete action plan to develop the next phase of your work.
Who should take this series? People who are excited about incorporating the Understanding Based Model into their work but aren’t sure how or are looking for structured support in taking this step.
Dates: May 13, June 24, and July 29, 2022
Time 9 – 11:30 AM PDT • 12 – 2:30 PM EDT • 6 – 8:30 PM CEST
Logistics
The training session will be conducted through Zoom. After registration, Kayla Hellal (kayla@understandinginconflict.org) will send a separate email with Zoom connection details.
Participants are encouraged to log on ten minutes before the start of each session to troubleshoot any technical issues and help ensure the programs can start on time each day.
Cost
The program training fee is $297.
A 5-10% discount is available for our CUC Connect members. Click here for more information.

Faculty
Melanie Rowen, our President, 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 LGBTQI elders, at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Before that, she worked in business litigation at Latham & Watkins LLP. Melanie serves on the Board of Directors of the Transgender Law Center and is the Associate Director for Public Interest Programs at UC Berkeley School of Law.
Catherine Conner is a mediator, collaborative attorney, a teacher at and a director on the board of the Center for Understanding in Conflict. Her practice focuses on family law alternate dispute resolution, including mediation, collaborative practice and private judging. She co-authored Collaborative Family Law Practice Materials. She was on the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals board of directors from 2008 through 2014 and was the President in 2013.
Cancellation Policy
Please note our cancellation policy for this series: there are no refunds after the start of the series.

Disability Inclusion and Accessibility in Conflict Resolution
2022-06-02 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Date June 2, 2022
Time 12 PM PDT • 3 PM EDT • 9 PM CEST
Cost $47
All webinars are free for CUC Connect members. Click here to learn more.
When we create a container for working with parties in conflict, how can we make sure we’re designing a process that is inclusive of and accessible to people with disabilities? Join Lainey Feingold, disability rights lawyer, public speaker and author of Structured Negotiation: A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits, with the CUC’s Melanie Rowen for a discussion of accessibility culture and mediation. Participants will come away with a better understanding of the intersections of conflict resolution, disability inclusion, and accessibility in the digital and built environment. The 25 year track record of Structured Negotiation as a collaborative dispute resolution process to advance disability rights will also be discussed.
Learning objectives for this webinar include:

Understanding what digital accessibility means and why it is a civil right of people with disabilities
Learning practical steps to make mediation and other conflict resolution processes inclusive for people with disabilities in both digital and built environments
Discovering why Structured Negotiation has been an effective dispute resolution process in digital accessibility cases and beyond for a quarter century and how it integrates with mediation practice

Faculty
Lainey Feingold

Lainey Feingold is a disability rights lawyer, an author, and a public speaker and trainer. She has her own law practice in Berkeley California and has worked in the digital accessibility legal space since the mid-1990s. Lainey and her clients and co-counsel developed and practice Structured Negotiation, a dispute resolution process that focuses on collaboration and relationship building instead of the cost and conflict of litigation. Without filing any lawsuits, she has negotiated complex accessibility settlements with dozens of organizations in the public and private sector, including Walmart, Bank of America, and the City and County of San Francisco.
Lainey’s book is titled Structured Negotiation, a Winning Alternative to Lawsuits. Full of stories and strategies from over 25 years of her collaborative disability rights practice, it was first published by the American Bar Association in 2016. The second edition was published in October 2021.
Lainey has been named a Legal Rebel by the American Bar Association and has twice received a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award — all for her work in Structured Negotiation and digital accessibility. In March 2022 she received the Jim Thatcher Lifetime Achievement Award at the Axe-Con digital accessibility conference.
Melanie Rowen

Melanie Rowen, our President, 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.

Interfering Influencers—What to Do About Them?
2022-07-11 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom webinar
Date July 11, 2022
Time 12 PM PDT • 3 PM EDT • 9 PM CEST
Cost $47
All webinars are free for CUC Connect members. Click here to learn more.
One of the most challenging things that can come up in a conflict resolution process is when there are people outside the room negatively influencing the parties but not participating directly in the process. Sometimes, those influencers are the parties’ professional advisors or lawyers and that problem can often be solved by bringing them into the room. When the outside influencers are friends and family or people who can’t be brought into the room, it is a harder problem to solve. In this webinar, we will address how to identify the interfering influencers outside the room and what to do about them to minimize their impact and focus on the people who matter without making anyone wrong.
Faculty
Catherine Conner and Katherine Miller

Catherine Conner has been a mediation and collaborative practice trainer since 2004. She is a frequent presenter at collaborative conferences and family law workshops. She authored Collaborative Practice Materials with Steven Neustadter and Margaret Anderson. Catherine Conner’s private practice focuses on family law alternate dispute resolution, including mediation, collaborative practice, and private judging. She graduated from the University of California, Boalt Hall in 1982 and is a founding partner of Conner, Lawrence, Rodney, Olhiser & Barrett, LLP. In 1992, Catherine became a Certified Family Law Specialist. She has been honored as the recipient of the Rex Sater Award for Excellence in Family Law, the Eureka award by Collaborative Practice California and was the 2018 honoree for Careers of Distinction. She was on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals from 2007-2014 and served as the President in 2013.

Katherine Eisold Miller is an attorney practicing mediation and collaborative practice in Westchester County, NY. She has been practicing family law since 1987, first as a litigator and now exclusively outside the court system. She has taught family law at the White Institute and NYU as well as with the Center and lectures regularly on mediation and collaborative practice. She is a Board member of the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals.

How Can Contracting Take a Whole Session?
2022-08-15
Date August 15, 2022
Time 12 PM PDT • 3 PM EDT • 9 PM CEST
Cost $47
All webinars are free for CUC Connect members. Click here to learn more.
Contracting is a crucial part of the mediation process and often overlooked or poorly addressed. Inexperienced mediators worry that the parties (and their attorneys) will be so keen to rush into the content of their dispute that they will have no patience for crafting the container that will help carry them through. However, working with parties in mediation requires us to operate differently than parties usually behave in traditional approaches to conflict. More specifically, clarifying that the parties are in charge of making decisions together to resolve their conflict shifts traditional allocation of responsibility from the professional to the parties, calls for the parties to deal directly with each other in the same room (with the help of the mediator) and opens the basis for the decisions beyond law and includes the personal dimensions of the conflict, including fairness.
In order to achieve this shift, parties and mediator need to define and agree on what the mediation will look like and on each participant’s respective role. We cannot assume that the mediation participants have the same understanding of what will happen in the mediation sessions or that their understanding of the role of the mediator comports with our own. Many people coming to mediation think of the mediator as a judge or someone who will advocate for one of them or for both of them alternately, pressuring them to reach a settlement.
It is necessary before we begin to work, for the parties to recognize that they are co-designers of the process with the mediator and active participants in negotiating the mediation process together. This does not mean that the mediator determines the process or that the parties determine it, but that the mediator and parties negotiate the process together. The “contract” between the mediator and the parties is the container for the process and can be adjusted by agreement as the process continues if the need to change becomes apparent.
By participating in this webinar, you will learn how to:

Interact with the parties to create the contract
Avoid slipping into a mediator dominated process
Maintain mutuality of participation of both parties throughout the process

Faculty
Gary Friedman

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.
Katherine Miller

Katherine Eisold Miller is an attorney practicing mediation and collaborative practice in Westchester County, NY. She has been practicing family law since 1987, first as a litigator and now exclusively outside the court system. She has taught family law at the White Institute and NYU as well as with the Center and lectures regularly on mediation and collaborative practice. She is a Board member of the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals.

Self Reflection for Conflict Professionals
2022-08-31 14:00 - 2022-09-03 16:00 (Europe/Paris) | Priory (Tufts European University Center)
August 31 – September 3
Talloires, France
Download registration Form
Compassion and Conflict
The Center for Understanding in Conflict will once again be offering an intensive program in Talloires, France in Self-Reflection and its relevance to working as a professional helping people in conflict.
All conflict professionals are welcome to attend, including mediators, lawyers, therapists and anyone who works with people in conflict. Our working language will be English and fluency is a requisite for getting the most out of the program.
Program Overview
We are living in an age of outrage and division. Many of us feel called upon to stand up for our beliefs–and to find ways to reduce the animosity that we see online and all around us. This is difficult work, and it can’t be done without clarity about ourselves. During this Conflict and Compassion retreat we will explore how our emotional reactions to the problems of the external world—from climate change to politics to interpersonal conflicts—influence our outward responses. Together, we will investigate how deeper internal work can make us more resilient and useful in the complicated world we inhabit.
People who work in conflict experience powerful emotional currents, whether they want to or not. From mediators to journalists to politicians to therapists, we can’t help but carry judgments and gut feelings into our work. Exasperation, fear, anger and other difficult emotions go with the job. But they don’t have to drain our spirit and motivation. We can learn to use these reactions to help us form deeper connections to the problems and people we encounter. And with connections come new possibilities for helping people find their way through conflict.
The program will be a combination of self-reflection exercises, role-plays and didactic explanation.
This seminar can host up to 16 participants.
Fees
€1,250 for 24 hours of training, coffee breaks, and buffet lunches.
Faculty
Norman Fischer is a poet, author, Zen Buddhist priest and former abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center. As founder of the Everyday Zen Foundation (www.everydayzen.org), his work with meditation practice has taken him into many corners of contemporary American life including the arts, education, hospice training, education, and lawyering as a spiritual path. Recently, he began offering meditation training to engineers at Google. Norman has worked with the Center for Understanding in Conflict on inquiries that focus on bringing the calmness and insight of meditation practice directly into conflict situations. Norman has written 29 books. His latest books are Untitled Series: Life As It is and The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path.
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.
Accommodation
The event will be held at the Priory of the Tufts European University Center in Talloires, France on the shores of Lake Annecy, 45 minutes from Geneva, Switzerland.
Talloires has several charming small hotels within a few minutes walking distance from the Priory. Here are some suggestions:

Hôtel Beau Site: Tel +33(0)4 50 27 00 65 www.beausite-talloires.com
Hôtel du Lac: Tel +33(0)4 50 60 71 08 www.hotel-du-lac.com
La Villa des Roses: Tel +33(0)4 50 66 88 90 www.villaofroses.com

A few kilometers from the center:

La Catarina (gite de France) : Tel +33 (0)6 22 99 75 73 www.lecatarina.com
Tourist office : Tel +33 (0) 4 50 66 76 54 www.talloires.fr

Cancellation Policy
We strongly suggest that all participants contract cancellation insurance and select transportation options and hotel reservations that can be cancelled without consequences in case pandemic related health restrictions or any other crisis make it impossible to travel to Talloires or to participate in the program.
If the program does need to be cancelled, as was unfortunately the case in 2020 and 2021, any course fees that have been paid will be entirely reimbursed by the organizers.
The program’s organizers and instructors shall not be held responsible for any financial consequences that may be incurred due to the program having to be cancelled due to border closings or other pandemic related measures taken by the public authorities in France or in the country of residence of the participant.
Registration
Please note that registration is being managed by Atout Mediation and Interstices Mediation.
To register for this program, please complete the registration form and send to:
Arlene Weingart – a.weingart@atoutmediation.ch
Sylvie Adijes – sylvie.adijes@interstices-mediation.co
Download the registration form

Working Creatively with Conflict: 40 Hour Basic Mediation and Conflict Resolution Training (Online)
2022-09-08 08:00 - 2022-09-12 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
To register, scroll to the bottom of this page.
September 8-9 and 14-16
8:00 AM – 4:30 PM PST | 11:00 AM – 7:30 PM EST | 5:00 PM – 1:30 AM CEST
All sessions include breaks throughout the day

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 online 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?
Catherine Conner has been a mediation and collaborative practice trainer since 2004. She is a frequent presenter at collaborative conferences and family law workshops. She authored Collaborative Practice Materials with Steven Neustadter and Margaret Anderson. Catherine Conner’s private practice focuses on family law alternate dispute resolution, including mediation, collaborative practice, and private judging. She graduated from the University of California, Boalt Hall in 1982 and is a founding partner of Conner, Lawrence, Rodney, Olhiser & Barrett, LLP. In 1992, Catherine became a Certified Family Law Specialist. She has been honored as the recipient of the Rex Sater Award for Excellence in Family Law, the Eureka award by Collaborative Practice California and was the 2018 honoree for Careers of Distinction. She was on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals from 2007-2014 and served as the President in 2013.

Melanie Rowen, our President, 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 LGBTQI elders, at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Before that, she worked in business litigation at Latham & Watkins LLP. Melanie serves on the Board of Directors of the Transgender Law Center and is the Associate Director for Public Interest Programs at UC Berkeley School of Law.

What are the Logistics – When, Where, Cost?
The training session will be conducted through Zoom. After registration, Kayla Hellal (kayla@understandinginconflict.org) will send a separate e-mail with Zoom connection details.
Participants are encouraged to log on around 7:50 AM PST / 10:50 AM EST to troubleshoot any technical issues and help ensure the programs can start on time everyday.
Each session will begin at 8:00 AM PST / 11:00 AM EST, with several breaks during the day to allow for a rest from being online and for meals. The sessions end each day at 4:30 PM PST / 7:30 PM EST.
Cost
The program training fee is $1,350.
A 5-10% discount is available for our CUC Connect members. Click here for more information.
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 MCLE 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.
The Center’s in-person and online training has been approved 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.)

For additional information, please email us at admin@understandinginconflict.org or call us at (844) 242-3428.

Finding Value in Conflict: Navigating Workplace Mediation
2022-09-22 09:00 - 10:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join us for a stimulating and informative roundtable discussion featuring industry leader insights from three of the world’s most advanced technology firms: Intel, Roche, and SAP.
Panelists will discuss how the Understanding-Based Approach to Conflict has helped address human resource challenges while increasing Return on Investment (ROI) in people management systems through mediation programs that mediators can implement in small firms, non-profits, large corporations or other organizations.
Date September 22, 2022
Time 9 AM PDT • 12 PM EDT • 6 PM CEST
Cost $47
All webinars are free for CUC Connect members. Click here to learn more.
Panelists
Patrick Lau, Intel
Verena Neuhold, Roche
Carsten Pöschl, SAP
Facilitated by Catherine Conner

As SAP’s Global Ombudsperson, Carsten Pöschl and his team are the first port of call for the company’s 100,000 employees when it comes to the confidential handling of work-related complaints and conflict situations. Before he became Global Ombudsperson, Carsten spent several years at SAP working in strategic HR roles and, before that, led international teams in the areas of Sales and Consulting. Carsten Pöschl is a qualified conflict resolution expert, mediator, coach, and mindfulness trainer with more than 15 years of management experience. His original studies include degrees in Industrial Engineering and Business Administration from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, the Royal Institute of Technology and the Stockholm School of Economics in Stockholm, Sweden.

Catherine Conner is a mediator, collaborative attorney, a teacher at and a director on the board of the Center for Understanding in Conflict. Her practice focuses on family law alternate dispute resolution, including mediation, collaborative practice and private judging. She co-authored Collaborative Family Law Practice Materials. She was on the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals board of directors from 2008 through 2014 and was the President in 2013.

Interest-Based Negotiation: Exploring Interests to Identify Opportunities for Compromise
2022-10-20 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom webinar
Interest-based negotiation is at the heart of leveraging the Understanding-Based Model to help those in conflict reach a mutually beneficial outcome. However, guiding people to look beyond their positions and see what matters to them can be challenging for even the most experienced conflict resolution professional.
Being asked to go deeper and understand the root of why interests matter can be challenging to those entrenched in the emotions, history, and desired outcomes surrounding the circumstances of the conflict. To facilitate a fruitful conversation, we must help people understand their needs and motivations in a way that honors the strength of their feelings.
What questions do we ask as conflict professionals? How do we help people who seem stuck in their positions and reframe interests in ways that don’t feel diluted or incomplete to the party?
Join Katherine Miller and Ivan Alter on October 20th to learn how to approach these challenging yet fundamental questions.

October 20, 2022
12 PM PDT • 3 PM EDT • 9 PM CEST
Cost $47
All webinars are free for CUC Connect members. Click here to learn more.

Katherine Eisold Miller is a Collaborative Lawyer and mediator with a practice located in Westchester County NY and New York City. Katherine is immediate past president of the Center for Understanding in Conflict, as well as the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals. Katherine is author of the New Yorker’s Guide to Collaborative Divorce (2015) and co-Author of the #1 Amazon bestseller A Cup of Coffee with 10 of the Top Divorce Attorneys in the United States (2014).

Ivan Alter is a collaborative attorney and mediator with offices in Westchester County and New York City. Practicing law since 1994, Ivan previously had a career as a commercial and matrimonial litigator before discovering the understanding based model at the CUC. Since then, Ivan has focused all of his professional energies on practicing, promoting, and teaching mediation and collaborative law. He is member of the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals, the Family and Divorce Mediation Council, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, and Northern Westchester Collaborative Divorce.

Working Creatively with Conflict: 40 Hour Basic Mediation and Conflict Resolution Training (West Coast)
2022-11-02 14:30 - 2022-11-06 12:15 (America/Los_Angeles)
November 2-6, 2022
The venue requires that participants have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations at least two weeks prior to the start of this program.
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 Friedman
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
Melanie Rowen, our President, 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 LGBTQI elders, at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Before that, she worked in business litigation at Latham & Watkins LLP. Melanie serves on the Board of Directors of the Transgender Law Center and is the Associate Director for Public Interest Programs at UC Berkeley School of Law.

Registration and program schedule
Registration is between 1:45 and 2:15 on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. The training begins on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 2 at 2:30 pm through 9:00 pm. 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 6 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 $1,350 plus a fee for the facility, lodging, and meals as follows:

Private room* at Green Gulch: $775, for a total of $2,125
Shared double room at Green Gulch: $625, for a total of $1,975 (1 spot left with male roommate)
Commuter for those not staying at Green Gulch: $300, for a total of $1,650
Waitlist: $150 (deposits will be returned in full if you are no longer able to attend when a spot opens up or if a place does not become available)

Please note that the bathrooms are shared at Green Gulch. You can find more details about accommodation at Green Gulch by clicking here.
A 5-10% discount on the registration fee is available for our CUC Connect members. Click here for more information.
A deposit of $500.00 is necessary to secure registration. (Reduction in fee available based on economic need.)
*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 2022, Green Gulch has stipulated the following COVID-19 guidelines:

Proof of full vaccination and a booster is required to come to Green Gulch

Indoor mask protocol is subject to county guidelines.

Guests will be asked to only use the indoor spaces and bathrooms assigned to their group.

Meals will be served separately from residents and enjoyed either outdoors, in the meeting space, or in the private dining room.
Upon arrival, participants will need to provide a negative COVID test taken within 24 hours of the start of the program. At home rapid tests are acceptable.

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?
Legal: 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.
For additional information, please email us at kayla@understandinginconflict.org or call us at (844)242-3428.

Climate of Conflict: Common Ground to Constructive Conversation in an Increasingly Divided World
2022-11-16 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom webinar
It is natural to surround ourselves with like-minded people while avoiding the discomfort and tension that comes when we engage with those with beliefs and opinions contrary to ours. These days pumping gas or going to the grocery store can put us on the defensive, not to mention talking with relatives at the dinner table or co-workers around the water cooler.
The problem with this avoidance is that we rob ourselves and others of increasing the richness of our lives through lost, meaningful connections. In this webinar, we’ll explore how we can have these conversations in a constructive and meaningful way that is personally satisfying while fostering growth by deploying the principles of the Understanding-Based Model in our everyday lives. Benchmarks will help test these conversations’ value while building on our shared commitment to understanding as a way-station to intimacy.
November 16, 2022
12 PM PDT • 3 PM EDT • 9 PM CEST
Cost $47
All webinars are free for CUC Connect members. Click here to learn more.

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.

Internal Experience: Understanding Ourselves to Authentically Connect Clients to Each Other
2022-12-15 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom webinar
Using our inner experience in the presence of conflict and unblocking ourselves from parties can open channels of communication that help parties understand their problem at a deeper level. Recognizing internal reactions that can get in the way of connecting to a client and working with that reaction to open our connection to the client can also open the way for the parties to communicate better.
Reactions to clients and their situations are essential to our relative effectiveness with them. Stories that clients bring into the room, filled with pain, frustration, anger, hope, and desire, can cause unconscious reactions that remind mediators of their own life. These reactions favor one side over another, create judgments, and lead to positive or negative bias.
Join Gary Friedman and Hansa Patel on December 15th to learn the importance of the inner work required to be open and aware of our internal reactions and steps for using these insights to bring clients closer together in their efforts to resolve conflict.
December 15, 2022
12 PM PDT • 3 PM EDT • 9 PM CEST
Cost $47
All webinars are free for CUC Connect members. Click here to learn more.

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.

Hansa Patel is an attorney, mediator, and teacher. As an attorney, Hansa zealously advocated for abused and neglected children or defended their parents’ rights in the San Francisco juvenile dependency court for fourteen years. Hansa is passionate about serving the underprivileged community. Feeling depleted by the court system, Hansa explored new ways to empower her clients to resolve conflict. Mediation empowers Hansa’s clients to choose how they want to engage with conflict, co-create resolutions, and even transform a relationship. In the USA, Canada, and Africa, Hansa teaches mediation, including integrating mindfulness skills into conflict resolution. Hansa wants her clients to have the same tools she cultivates in her children: a mindful approach to resolving challenges in life.

Starting at Sorry: Apology to Accountability on the Path of Forgiveness
2023-01-17 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom webinar
Forgiveness can be a powerful force for restoring harmony and wholeness. A harmed person can find their freedom in practicing forgiveness. It can also empower them to move toward an amicable solution and allow the rebuilding of a fractured relationship.
An apology is a fragile beginning without accountability or a plan that acknowledges a release from guilt and responsibility for new or altered behavior that commits to better outcomes. However, many of us have a powerful instinct that a process that does not support accountability can be problematic, unhelpful, or worse. As conflict professionals, how can we create a process that supports taking responsibility and creating space for forgiveness?
Join Catherine Conner and Armine Baltazar on January 17 at 12:00 PM PST to discuss how to define apologies, forgiveness, and accountability while exploring how they intersect, and how a conflict professional can build awareness, contract about the process, manage risks, and have conversations about harm, apologies, accountability, and forgiveness.

Date: January 17, 2023
Time: 12:00 PM PT • 3:00 PM ET

All webinars are free for CUC Connect members. Click here to learn more.

Catherine Conner has been a mediation and collaborative practice trainer since 2004. She is a frequent presenter at collaborative conferences and family law workshops. She authored Collaborative Practice Materials with Steven Neustadter and Margaret Anderson. Catherine Conner’s private practice focuses on family law alternate dispute resolution, including mediation, collaborative practice, and private judging. She graduated from the UC Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall in 1982 and is a founding partner of Conner, Lawrence, Rodney, Olhiser & Barrett, LLP. In 1992, Catherine became a Certified Family Law Specialist. She has been honored as the recipient of the Rex Sater Award for Excellence in Family Law, the Eureka award by Collaborative Practice California and was the 2018 honoree for Careers of Distinction. She was on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals from 2007-2014 and served as the President in 2013.

Armine Baltazar was born in Bucharest, Romania, to a family of Armenian origin, grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from UCLA Summa Cum Laude with a Political Science degree, then attended the UCLA School of Law. During law school, Armine excelled in her studies, receiving the American Jurisprudence Award in Constitutional Law. After graduating from UCLA Law, Armine practiced corporate finance law at a large, New York-based law firm. Dissatisfied with the impersonal nature of the corporate practice, she turned to family law and has been practicing family law since 1999. Armine is currently the managing partner at the family law office of Hammers & Baltazar, LLP, with offices in Los Angeles and Orange County, California. She has completed multiple mediation training programs across the country and is an Adjunct Professor of Mediation at Monterey College of Law.

Spirit of Collaboration: Starting and Managing a Peer Group
2023-02-21 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
In this interactive webinar, Gary Friedman and Kim Gordon will discuss the value and benefits of starting a peer group for mediators and ADR practitioners. Drawing from decades of experience in conflict resolution and mediation, centered on the understanding-based model, Friedman and Gordon will share their process for forming peer groups and their foundational importance for developing mediation practices and guidance for creating excellent sources of support in collaborative professional support and self-reflection groups.
Topics will include best practices for:

Defining the group’s purpose and intent
The initial formation and leadership structure and meeting facilitation guidelines
Developing practice and roleplay opportunities
Promotion and marketing to increase participation and growth
Leveraging local resources for expertise
Nurturing a group for long-term sustainability
The benefits and challenges of in-person and online meetings

Join Gary Friedman and Kim Gordon on February 21, 2023, from 12 PM – 1 PM PST for an interactive webinar for those looking to share questions and personal experiences. (Attendees are not required to participate and may remain anonymous).
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.
Kim Gordon has been an attorney and mediator for over 30 years and a collaborative law practitioner for over 20. She started her legal career as a clerk for US Federal District Judge Helen Frye and not long afterward found her calling in Family Law. Kim now works exclusively in Collaborative Law and Mediation. She began training others in collaborative practice in 2004 and now teaches basic and mastery-level work from workshops to several month and yearlong programs. Kim is an international collaborative law and conflict resolution speaker and educator, serving on the Training Faculty for the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals for eight years. Kim has co-taught comprehensive courses for collaborative professionals on understanding-based conflict resolution based on the work of Gary Friedman, explicitly focusing on Inside Out work, and co-taught a conflict resolution class at Maitripa Buddhist College. Currently, she is working to bring the Insight approach to the conflict resolution community.
*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Workplace Mediation: 40-Hour Conflict Resolution and Mediation Training
2023-02-23 08:00 - 2023-03-03 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
To register, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Feb 23 & 24 and March 1 thru 3, 2023
8:00 AM – 4:30 PM PST
ONLINE
All sessions include breaks throughout the day
Do you facilitate important conversations between clients, employees, team members, volunteers or other people?
Do you want to manage conflict conversations productively?
Are you responsible for creating or managing workplace mediation teams and practice at a corporation, business, or nonprofit organization?
In this gold standard conflict resolution training session focused on the workplace, participants 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, Workplace Mediation, include:

Positive neutrality –supporting all parties without taking sides
The Loop of Understanding – enhancing understanding and empathy
Ground of Understanding – helping people in conflict reach the heart of the dispute to move towards resolution
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 human resources professionals, ombuds-people, mediators, business consultants, executive coaches, managers and supervisors, non-profit personnel, 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.
Previous participants include employees from the following organizations and others: Intel, Roche, SAP, San Francisco Zen Center and Kaiser Permanente.

What is the Format of the Training?
This interactive online 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?
Catherine Conner has been a mediation and collaborative practice trainer since 2004. She is a frequent presenter at collaborative conferences and family law workshops. She authored Collaborative Practice Materials with Steven Neustadter and Margaret Anderson. Catherine Conner’s private practice focuses on family law alternate dispute resolution, including mediation, collaborative practice, and private judging. She graduated from the UC Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall in 1982 and is a founding partner of Conner, Lawrence, Rodney, Olhiser & Barrett, LLP. In 1992, Catherine became a Certified Family Law Specialist. She has been honored as the recipient of the Rex Sater Award for Excellence in Family Law, the Eureka award by Collaborative Practice California and was the 2018 honoree for Careers of Distinction. She was on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals from 2007-2014 and served as the President in 2013.

Pat Lau has been a workplace mediator at Intel Corporation since 2010. After his first conflict management class many years ago, Pat became fascinated with alternative ways to address and resolve workplace conflict, especially after discovering the understanding-based model. Ten years ago, he co-founded – and continues to lead – Intel’s Collaborative Mediation Program, an in-house workplace mediation program to help resolve challenging conflicts between co-workers, peer managers, team members, supervisors, and subordinates. Pat has presented at numerous national conferences, published in the Corporate Mediation Journal, regularly volunteers as a mediator for small claims cases in the Portland Multnomah County Court system, and is also Past Chair of the Oregon Mediation Association Workplace Special Interest Group. Pat’s previous career was in engineering, and he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering from Stanford and Southern Methodist University.

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.

What are the Logistics – When, Where, Cost?
The training session will be conducted through Zoom. After registration, you will receive a separate e-mail with Zoom connection details.
Participants are encouraged to log on around 7:50 AM PST / 10:50 AM EST to troubleshoot any technical issues and help ensure the programs can start on time everyday.
Each session will begin at 8:00 AM PST / 11:00 AM EST, with several breaks during the day to allow for a rest from being online and for meals. The sessions end each day at 4:30 PM PST / 7:30 PM EST.
Cost
The program training fee is $1,350.
A 5-10% discount is available for our CUC Connect members. Click here for more information.
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?
For those in the legal profession in attendance, this program is eligible for CLE credit in New York and California.
California
The Center for Understanding in Conflict is an accredited provider of California Continuing Legal Education by the State Bar of California. This Conflict Resolution and Mediation 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, this Conflict Resolution and Mediation Training will fulfill 40 NY MCLE credit hours (6.5 Ethics credits; 19.5 Professional Practice credits; and 14 Skills credits). For continuing legal education purposes, the Conflict Resolution and Mediation Training is appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys.
The Center’s in-person and online training has been approved 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.)

For additional information, please email us at admin@understandinginconflict.org or call us at (844) 242-3428.

*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Power Imbalance: The Power of Personality and Patterns
2023-03-07 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Every individual who walks into a conflict resolution process brings their style, quirks and ways of relating to others. In pairs or groups, unique patterns of interaction develop. How can we support a process that acknowledges the power dynamics created by these personality differences and relationship patterns and create the opportunity for parties to negotiate a sustainable agreement and possibly even change their relationship?
Join Catherine Conner and Melanie Rowen on March 7th to learn about building awareness, identifying patterns, developing a process for managing internal reactions, and best practices for guiding change through personality differences and interactional patterns.
Legal Continuing Education: The Center for Understanding in Conflict is an accredited provider of California Continuing Legal Education by the State Bar of California. The Power Imbalance: The Power of Personality and Patterns training —appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys — will qualify for 1 participatory CA MCLE credit hour.
Please note California MCLE credit is only available for the live webinar and not for recorded sessions.
Looking for the MCLE course material or certificate? CLICK HERE to download them
The course evaluation survey can be found here: https://forms.gle/WwxEEGzpVviqvAM97
*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Working Creatively with Conflict: 40 Hour Basic Mediation and Conflict Resolution Training (West Coast)
2023-03-22 14:30 - 2023-03-26 12:15 (America/Los_Angeles) | Green Gulch Farm, 1601 Shoreline Highway, Muir Beach, CA, 94965, United States
March 22-26, 2023
The venue requires that participants have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations and booster at least two weeks prior to the start of this program.
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?
Catherine Conner
Catherine Conner has been a mediation and collaborative practice trainer since 2004. She is a frequent presenter at collaborative conferences and family law workshops. She authored Collaborative Practice Materials with Steven Neustadter and Margaret Anderson. Catherine Conner’s private practice focuses on family law alternate dispute resolution, including mediation, collaborative practice, and private judging. She graduated from the UC Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall in 1982 and is a founding partner of Conner, Lawrence, Rodney, Olhiser & Barrett, LLP. In 1992, Catherine became a Certified Family Law Specialist. She has been honored as the recipient of the Rex Sater Award for Excellence in Family Law, the Eureka award by Collaborative Practice California and was the 2018 honoree for Careers of Distinction. She was on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals from 2007-2014 and served as the President in 2013.
Gary Friedman
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.

Registration and program schedule
Registration is between 1:45 and 2:15 on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. The training begins on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 22 at 2:30 pm through 9:00 pm. 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, March 26 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 $1,350 plus a fee for the facility, lodging, and meals as follows:

Private room* at Green Gulch: $825, for a total of $2,175
Shared double room at Green Gulch: $675, for a total of $2,025
Commuter for those not staying at Green Gulch: $325, for a total of $1,675

Please note that the bathrooms are shared at Green Gulch. You can find more details about accommodation at Green Gulch by clicking here.
A 5-10% discount on the registration fee is available for our CUC Connect members. Click here for more information.
A deposit of $500.00 is necessary to secure registration. (Reduction in fee available based on economic need.)
*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 2022, Green Gulch has stipulated the following COVID-19 guidelines:

Proof of full vaccination and a booster is required to come to Green Gulch

Indoor mask protocol is subject to county guidelines.

Guests will be asked to only use the indoor spaces and bathrooms assigned to their group.

Meals will be served separately from residents and enjoyed either outdoors, in the meeting space, or in the private dining room.
Upon arrival, participants will need to provide a negative COVID test taken within 24 hours of the start of the program. At home rapid tests are acceptable.

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?
Legal: 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.
For additional information, please email us at james@understandinginconflict.org or call us at (844)242-3428.
*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Power Imbalance: The Power of Possessing
2023-04-18 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Resources come in many forms, not just material possessions. In a conflict, the party with more knowledge, time, money, social capital, or something else can wield outsized control and power in the process and outcome.
Join Katherine Miller and Gary Friedman on April 18th to learn what we, as conflict professionals, can do to create balance, ensure active, meaningful participation in the process, and promote developments that serve both parties.
Legal Continuing Education: The Center for Understanding in Conflict is an accredited provider of California Continuing Legal Education by the State Bar of California. The Power Imbalance: The Power of Personality and Patterns training —appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys — will qualify for 1 participatory CA MCLE credit hour.
Looking for the MCLE course material or certificate? CLICK HERE to download them
The course evaluation survey can be found HERE.
Please note California MCLE credit is only available for the live webinar and not for recorded sessions.
*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Power Imbalance: The Power of Position
2023-05-08 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
In every situation, we exist in relationship to others. The groups we all belong to – and our membership and place within them – impact interactions, expectations of each other, options, and outcomes. In a conflict resolution process, we know that awareness of social hierarchies and their impact on parties and us is critical.
Join Gary Friedman and Melanie Rowen on May 8th to learn how to consider these existing social systems in creating the process and address stumbling blocks as they arise.
Legal Continuing Education: The Center for Understanding in Conflict is an accredited provider of California Continuing Legal Education by the State Bar of California. The Power Imbalance: The Power of Personality and Patterns training —appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys — will qualify for 1 participatory CA MCLE credit hour.
Looking for the MCLE course material or certificate? CLICK HERE to download them
The course evaluation survey can be found HERE.
Please note California MCLE credit is only available for the live webinar and not for recorded sessions.
*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Power Imbalance: Putting it all Together
2023-06-12 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Power imbalances can skew the entire conflict resolution process in innumerable ways. During the Power Imbalance webinar series, we’ve looked closely at three different kinds of power imbalances: interpersonal styles, access to resources, and relationship to social and cultural privilege. This session will allow participants to join a conversation building on the insights gained from prior discussions and reflecting broadly on how we can approach conflict resolution and difficult conversations skillfully and with mindful awareness of the impact of power on ourselves and the people we’re working with. Those who could not participate in the Power Imbalance series are still welcome to attend.
Join Gary Friedman and Melanie Rowen on June 12th from 12 – 1 PM PST for an engaging webinar that combines core concepts from the last three months into actionable steps for addressing power imbalances when bringing together parties in conflict.
Legal Continuing Education: The Center for Understanding in Conflict is an accredited provider of California Continuing Legal Education by the State Bar of California. The Power Imbalance: The Power of Personality and Patterns training —appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys — will qualify for 1 participatory CA MCLE credit hour.
Please note California MCLE credit is only available for the live webinar and not for recorded sessions.

Looking for the MCLE course material or certificate? CLICK HERE to download them
The course evaluation survey can be found HERE.

*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Why We Don't Tell People What to Do
2023-07-11 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Explore why understanding-based mediators refrain from telling people what to do and uncover the transformative potential of giving the power to the parties, using non-directive techniques rather than imposing solutions. Even when we might really want to step into the driver’s seat, supporting individuals to take ownership of the decisions made all the way through the mediation process will foster more lasting resolutions.
Join Catherine Conner and Ivan Alter on July 11, 2023 and gain a deeper understanding of why it’s worth taking a consistently non-coercive approach and how we can do it.

Legal Continuing Education: The Center for Understanding in Conflict is an accredited provider of California Continuing Legal Education by the State Bar of California. The Power Imbalance: The Power of Personality and Patterns training —appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys — will qualify for 1 participatory CA MCLE credit hour.
Please note California MCLE credit is only available for the live webinar and not for recorded sessions.
The course evaluation survey can be found HERE.
Looking for the MCLE course material or certificate? CLICK HERE to download them
*6/28/23 – Renewal of California MAP status is pending annual approval*
*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Conflict Resolution Through Workplace Mediation
2023-08-24 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Explore the transformative impact of integrating conflict resolution and mediation practices within your organization while fostering a culture of open communication, looping, and collaborative problem-solving to enhance employee morale, increase productivity, and create a harmonious work environment.
Join Catherine Conner, Pat Lau, and guests from Intel, August 24, 2023 and learn practical strategies that empower teams to address conflicts constructively, resulting in improved teamwork, reduced stress, and enhanced organizational effectiveness.
*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Organizational Response: Avoid Exacerbating Conflict
2023-09-26 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Delve into the critical importance of organizations adopting a measured and informed approach to conflict resolution, shed light on the detrimental consequences of mishandling conflicts, and highlight the value of proactive and strategic interventions.

Join Katherine Miller and Jennifer Sullivan on September 26, 2023 to learn how conflict assessment tools and effective communication strategies can support a conflict resolution culture, which helps teams unite when faced with stressful situations that could threaten an organization.

Creative Uses of the Understanding-Based Model
2023-10-30 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Learn about the many possibilities for conflict resolution and mediation practitioners to integrate the understanding-based approach into existing practices, kick-start new careers, and assist diverse sectors of society while fostering empathy, advocating looping, and encouraging transformative dialogue to address conflicts in creative ways.
Join Catherine Conner and Caitlin Meredith on October 30, 2023 to explore the versatility of this approach in corporate, legal, educational, and community settings. Whether you seek personal growth, professional advancement, or societal impact, this webinar offers invaluable insights for effective conflict resolution and mediation.
*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Shifting Focus: All About Interests
2023-11-27 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Help people to move beyond their fixed positions by coaching them to explore and describe what really matters — their underlying interests — in order to unlock creative and mutually beneficial solutions.

Join Katherine Miller and Melanie Rowen on November 27, 2023 to gain practical insights into working with interests effectively, both to uncover and then to hold on to them through the negotiation, helping the parties to broaden and deepen their perspective on what they really need and want. Whether you’re a mediator, negotiator, or simply interested in conflict resolution, this webinar offers transformative tools to enhance your practice and contribute to lasting resolutions based on shared interests.

Legal Continuing Education: The Center for Understanding in Conflict is an accredited provider of California Continuing Legal Education by the State Bar of California. This webinar training is appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys and will qualify for 1 participatory CA MCLE credit hour.

Looking for the MCLE course material or certificate? CLICK HERE to download them
The course evaluation survey can be found HERE.

Please note California MCLE credit is only available for the live webinar and not for recorded sessions.
*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

FREE - 2023 Town Hall: Exploring Possibilities
2023-12-12 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
As we approach the end of the year, we invite you to a town hall webinar experience to collectively explore personal and professional interests, address common concerns, and ignite a passion for applying understanding-based practices.
There is no cost to attend this event, although we do ask that you register.
Join Catherine Conner and Gary Friedman on December 12, 2023 and be part of an interactive discussion designed to help people find possibilities for themselves and others in the face of impossibility and gain invaluable insights to embark on a journey of successful conflict resolution and mediation with a renewed commitment to fostering harmonious relationships and creating positive change.
*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Six Underlying Concepts: Refining the Process
2024-01-10 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
As you work with all parties in the room, these foundational concepts underlie a different approach to conflict and our conflict resolution model. The six underlying concepts of the understanding-based approach are simple to grasp but challenging to implement when approaching diverse conflict scenarios. People and personalities in the room and within the mediator provide challenges, environmental constraints, and the need to shift gears and proceed in a different order.
Join Gary J. Friedman on Wednesday, January 10th, to learn about common challenges experienced when working through the concepts, along with tips and best practices for staying the course while adapting to evolving dynamics within the mediation room.

*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Self-Reflection for Conflict Professionals Intensive (SCPI) 2024
2024-01-20 09:00 - 2024-06-08 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
CUC invites you to join our first online introductory cohort of SCPI, where conflict resolution professionals commit to exploring together practices of self-reflection that are constructive for ourselves and productive for our clients.
Together we will:

Learn about compassionately connecting with and understanding, in the context of our various histories, positions, and intersections, our deeper impulses fueling our commitment to working with people in conflict.
Recognize barriers to self-understanding and constructive presence, such as general reactivity, judgment, insecurity, anger, or the desire for control.
Work with those barriers in ways that bring us closer to ourselves and our clients.
Explore SCPI concepts and skills through the specific experiences of cohort participants.
Discuss how to integrate inner experience and external action.

Participants will practice various self-reflection methods during six group online sessions over six months (approximately 1 three hour group session monthly) and in-between sessions individually (daily) and 1-1 peer meetings (weekly).

This program is for anyone whose work includes helping people navigate conflicts, including mediators in various community and professional contexts, human resource managers, team leaders, volunteer coordinators, ombudspersons, lawyers, mental health and financial and fiduciary professionals, and other similar professionals. Participants can be previously trained in or identified with the CUC understanding-based model, but it is not a requirement.

While we wish that everyone who wishes to attend could, there will be a limited number of participants to ensure everyone has an impactful and productive experience and maintain strong connections between group members.

DATES AND TIMES FOR ONLINE GROUP SESSIONS VIA ZOOM
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST on the following dates in 2024:
January 20th
February 10th
March 8th**
April 26th**
May 11th
June 8th
All dates are Saturdays except those marked**, which are Fridays.
COST
The cost will be $750 per participant for the 6-month program.

Participants will also need to access for themselves:

A copy of Inside Out: How Conflict Professionals Can Use Self-Reflection to Help Their Clients, by Gary Friedman. Paper copies are available for purchase through online stores for approximately $35 – 55.
Their own self-selected or crafted paper journal for use throughout the program.

REGISTRATION
Registration is now closed. Please email james@understandinginconflict.org to inquire about the waitlist. Thank you for your interest!

FACILITATORS

Heba Nimr has worked in various capacities for more than 30 years with families and organizations challenging systemic barriers to equity, as well as navigating interpersonal conflicts and abuse. Heba brings and builds on those experiences in her current practice, based in Oakland for ten years and counting, as a lawyer and mediator focused primarily in the areas of family law, and life, legacy and death planning. She has particular strength and interest in conflict resolution in multicultural and multilingual settings.

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.

Norman Fischer is a poet, author, Zen Buddhist priest and former abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center. As founder of the Everyday Zen Foundation (www.everydayzen.org), his work with meditation practice has taken him into many corners of contemporary American life including the arts, education, hospice training, education, and lawyering as a spiritual path. Recently, he began offering meditation training to engineers at Google. Norman has worked with the Center for Understanding in Conflict on inquiries that focus on bringing the calmness and insight of meditation practice directly into conflict situations. Norman has written 29 books. His latest books are Untitled Series: Life As It is and The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path.

Hansa Patel is an attorney, mediator, and teacher. As an attorney, Hansa zealously advocated for abused and neglected children or defended their parents’ rights in the San Francisco juvenile dependency court for fourteen years. Hansa is passionate about serving the underprivileged community. Feeling depleted by the court system, Hansa explored new ways to empower her clients to resolve conflict. Mediation empowers Hansa’s clients to choose how they want to engage with conflict, co-create resolutions, and even transform a relationship. In the USA, Canada, and Africa, Hansa teaches mediation, including integrating mindfulness skills into conflict resolution. Hansa wants her clients to have the same tools she cultivates in her children: a mindful approach to resolving challenges in life.

Jennifer Sullivan is a mediator, facilitator, and litigator who brings the power of understanding to her work. Jennifer’s background as a commercial litigator informs her focus on mediating civil and business disputes. She presents and teaches regularly on mediation techniques, is a member of the ADR Section of the Colorado Bar Association; a co-owner of a litigation, mediation, and corporate boutique law firm; and is the Senior Assistant Dean for Administration and Program Development at the University of Colorado Law School. She is a strong believer in second chances and is involved in a Boulder non-profit that supports formerly incarcerated individuals who are re-entering society.

Working Creatively with Conflict: 40 Hour Basic Mediation and Conflict Resolution Training (Online)
2024-01-26 08:00 - 2024-02-03 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
To register, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Jan. 26 & 27 and Feb. 1 thru 3, 2024
8:00 AM – 4:30 PM PST | 11:00 AM – 7:30 PM EST | 5:00 PM – 1:30 AM CEST
All sessions include breaks throughout the day

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 online 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?

Catherine Conner has been a mediation and collaborative practice trainer since 2004. She is a frequent presenter at collaborative conferences and family law workshops. She authored Collaborative Practice Materials with Steven Neustadter and Margaret Anderson. Catherine Conner’s private practice focuses on family law alternate dispute resolution, including mediation, collaborative practice, and private judging. She graduated from the UC Berkeley School of Law in 1982 and is a founding partner of Conner, Lawrence, Rodney, Olhiser & Barrett, LLP. In 1992, Catherine became a Certified Family Law Specialist. She has been honored as the recipient of the Rex Sater Award for Excellence in Family Law, the Eureka award by Collaborative Practice California and was the 2018 honoree for Careers of Distinction. She was on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals from 2007-2014 and served as the President in 2013.

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.
Pat Lau has been a workplace mediator at Intel Corporation since 2010. After his first conflict management class many years ago, Pat became fascinated with alternative ways to address and resolve workplace conflict, especially after discovering the understanding-based model. Ten years ago, he co-founded – and continues to lead – Intel’s Collaborative Mediation Program, an in-house workplace mediation program to help resolve challenging conflicts between co-workers, peer managers, team members, supervisors, and subordinates. Pat has presented at numerous national conferences, published in the Corporate Mediation Journal, regularly volunteers as a mediator for small claims cases in the Portland Multnomah County Court system, and is also Past Chair of the Oregon Mediation Association Workplace Special Interest Group. Pat’s previous career was in engineering, and he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering from Stanford and Southern Methodist University.

What are the Logistics – When, Where, Cost?
The training session will be conducted through Zoom. After registration, you will receive a separate e-mail with Zoom connection details.
Participants are encouraged to log on around 7:50 AM PST / 10:50 AM EST to troubleshoot any technical issues and help ensure the programs can start on time everyday.
Each session will begin at 8:00 AM PST / 11:00 AM EST, with several breaks during the day to allow for a rest from being online and for meals. The sessions end each day at 4:30 PM PST / 7:30 PM EST.
Cost
The program training fee is $1,485.
A 5-10% discount is available for our CUC Connect members. Click here for more information.
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 MCLE 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.
The Center’s in-person and online training has been approved 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.)

For additional information, please email us at admin@understandinginconflict.org or call us at (844) 242-3428.
*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Conflict Coaching: Practices and Principles
2024-02-07 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Conflict coaching helps individuals, groups, and organizations manage and resolve conflicts effectively by empowering participants to address and navigate disputes constructively. Join Hansa Patel and Danillo Alves on February 7th, 2024, to learn principles and practices, from the importance of maintaining impartiality and confidentiality to looping, cultural sensitivity, and how to give feedback and encourage self-reflection.

*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’

Teacher Training Program 2024 (Hybrid)
2024-02-23 09:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Introducing the 2024 Teacher Training Program
The Center for Understanding in Conflict’s training programs have been popular for over 40 years because the Understanding-Based approach resonates with many people. Our trainings are powerful experiential education, carefully designed and skillfully taught. After a successful 2022-23 cohort, we will continue to deepen and broaden the availability of understanding-based conflict resolution teachers, improve capacity to serve program participants, and support CUC community members in developing the skills to teach understanding-based conflict engagement in various contexts.
In 2024, CUC will again be offering an intensive Teacher Training Program, and we are excited to invite CUC’s extended community to consider applying to attend or financially support the program.

About the Program
CUC’s Teacher Training program is for those motivated to develop their ability to teach Understanding-Based conflict resolution skills to others. Over nine months, through a mix of in-person and online sessions along with self-reflection, reading, one-on-one and small group conversations, and projects between sessions, participants in the Teacher Training cohort will:

Learn how to teach CUC’s model, including the Center’s teaching style and Understanding-Based principles, concepts, and tools.
Work with CUC’s most experienced teachers, Gary Friedman and Catherine Conner.
Practice delivering Understanding-Based conflict resolution content.
Through self-reflection practices, explore and bring their authentic selves to their teaching.
Use various instructional methods and formats, informed by pedagogical best practices, to hold training space for all learners.
Understand the logistics of planning and executing a training.

The Teacher Training program will prepare participants to offer trainings wherever they are drawn.
* Participants also receive complimentary CUC Connect membership for the duration of the program, which includes access to monthly live webinars, webinar library, and featured recordings from past programs.
Program Schedule
The Teacher Training cohort will meet monthly from February though November 2024. Participants will be expected to attend all sessions. In addition, there will be assignments for additional work between meetings, peer conversations, and monthly optional small group meetings with the instructors.
The schedule will be:
Online
Friday 2/23/24 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Zoom
Friday 3/22/24 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Zoom
Friday 5/17/24 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Zoom
Friday 6/14/24 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Zoom
Friday 7/19/24 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Zoom
Friday 8/16/24 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Zoom
Friday 9/27/24 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Zoom
Friday 10/18/24 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Zoom
In Person
April 18 (Thursday) at 3 pm to April 21 (Sunday) at 3 pm • Ralston White Retreat in Mill Valley, CA
November 14 (Thursday) at 3 pm to November 17 (Sunday) at 3 pm Ralston White Retreat in Mill Valley, CA
Program Costs
The training fee is $4,000 per participant, with an additional anticipated combined cost of $1,250 for the two in-person, multi-day sessions for lodging and meals. Please note that a $1000 discount is available for individuals and nonprofit organizations.
Our training fees are based on the costs to CUC for offering this program, and we don’t want the cost to be a barrier to potential participants. We will be working diligently to pool and distribute resources in a way that makes access available to all who can benefit from this vital program.
If this program will be valuable to you and the work you do in your community, but the price is a concern, indicate that when you apply. CUC is also committed to being creative about making payments, including in installments.
Likewise, if you can attend and contribute more than the cost, please let us know. We also encourage all those who connect with the understanding-based model to help fund the teacher training. Our prior experience has been that the broader CUC community benefits from investing in the next generation of trainers and we welcome your support.

Application process
Registration is now closed. Please email james@understandinginconflict.org to inquire about the waitlist. Thank you for your interest!

Facilitators

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.

Catherine Conner has been a mediation and collaborative practice trainer since 2004. She is a frequent presenter at collaborative conferences and family law workshops. She authored Collaborative Practice Materials with Steven Neustadter and Margaret Anderson. Catherine Conner’s private practice focuses on family law alternate dispute resolution, including mediation, collaborative practice, and private judging. She graduated from the UC Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall in 1982 and is a founding partner of Conner, Lawrence, Rodney, Olhiser & Barrett, LLP. In 1992, Catherine became a Certified Family Law Specialist. She has been honored as the recipient of the Rex Sater Award for Excellence in Family Law, the Eureka award by Collaborative Practice California and was the 2018 honoree for Careers of Distinction. She was on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals from 2007-2014 and served as the President in 2013.
