Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution

Malibu Campus

One-week Intensives: May 29 - June 2, 2012

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday: 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Thursday: 8:30-11:30 a.m.

Mediation Theory and Practice

This course explores the various theories underlying and practices basic to mediation. The mediation process is organized into a series of stages, and basic mediation skills and techniques appropriate to each stage are identified and cultivated. Simulations and experiential exercises provide students with an opportunity to develop proficiency as mediators and to rigorously analyze appropriate roles and behavior as mediators and advocates taking into account the legal, ethical and public policy issues surrounding the practice of mediation.

Denise Madigan is with ADR Services, Inc., in Los Angeles, and was formerly with JAMS/Endispute for 10 years.  She entered the field as an Associate Director for the Harvard-MIT Public Disputes Program back in the early 1980's.  Madigan received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and has over twenty years' of experience mediating a wide range of litigation and public policy cases nationwide.  In addition to her full-time practice, Madigan has taught mediation as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine School of Law, Hong Kong University Law School, City University of Hong Kong Law School, and Shantou University in mainland China.  She is a regular lecturer for the California Judicial College, and has designed and taught courses for state and federal courts, government agencies and commercial entities over the past twenty years.

Negotiation Theory and Practice

This course examines the theory and practice of negotiation as a process used to put deals together or to resolve disputes and legal claims. Students learn about competitive positional bargaining and collaborative problem solving and acquire insight into the strategic management of the tension between the two approaches. Through simulated exercises, students develop skills and confidence as negotiators, including an awareness of the psychological encouragements and barriers to consensus. Special challenges of multi-party negotiations are addressed with an emphasis on the attorney-client relationship, including applicable ethical standards, codes, and law.

John Lowry is the assistant dean of the Lipscomb University College of Business and founder of the School of Executive Education. He regularly teaches negotiation and dispute resolution courses at several universities across the country. Lowry also serves as vice president for the Strategic Resolutions Group, LLC (SRG). At SRG, he provides negotiation and conflict management training for major insurance companies, healthcare organizations, and other businesses. Prior to moving to Nashville, Lowry practiced law with Strasburger & Price, LLP in Dallas, Texas.  As an attorney, he represented hospitals and healthcare providers in professional liability and commercial disputes.

Dispute Resolution and Religion

This course explores conflict in the context of religion, with a focus on how religious beliefs can generate and affect conflict as well as provide guidance on its resolution. It examines special considerations important in managing religious disputes and unique factors to be taken into account when facilitating the resolution of conflicts set within the context of religious organizations, including those that do not involve religious issues per se. Techniques to help parties integrate their own religious beliefs into their approaches to conflict are given special emphasis. The course uses the Judeo-Christian perspective as a starting point for examining other religious heritages, to gain an appreciation for how various religious beliefs can influence an individual's approach to conflict resolution and reconciliation and how religion contributes to regional and international political strife.

Karl Slaikeu an internationally recognized psychologist, mediator and author, is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (B.A), Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and the State University of New York at Buffalo (M.A., Ph.D.). In 2009-10 Dr. Slaikeu served as a Sr. Social Scientist with the US Army in Afghanistan, where he interviewed villagers and helped Coalition Forces adjust stability operations to address needs of the local population. His model for psychological first aid has been translated into thirty-two languages for use by the American Red Cross to help earthquake and tsunami survivors in Central America and Asia.  Formerly he held a tenured faculty position in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina, and taught in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.

Dian Slaikeu an attorney, mediator and educator, is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (B.S.), and the University of Texas School of Law (J.D.). Her professional experience includes legal work in the Texas and South Carolina state legislatures, and a civil litigation practice, which evolved into a practice devoted exclusively to negotiation and mediation. Ms. Slaikeu has extensive experience as a trainer in communication and mediation skills for managers and in-house dispute resolution specialists. A member of the State Bar of Texas and the South Carolina Bar Association, Ms. Slaikeu has served as adjunct faculty at Abilene Christian University and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She has a special interest in the spiritual dimensions of conflict.