Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution

Courses and Faculty

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 multiparty negotiations are addressed with an emphasis on the attorney-client relationship, including applicable ethical standards, codes, and law.

Jasper S. Kim is an Associate Professor for the Graduate School of International Studies, and School of Law at Ewha Women's University (Seoul, Korea). He has published in numerous journals, such as with Harvard, Columbia, and the University of California, and is working on an upcoming text, Korean Business Law (Carolina Academic Press, 2009). Jasper Kim received his J.D. from Rutgers University, School of Law, Certificate from Harvard Law School (Program on Negotiation), MSc. from the London School of Economics (Economics and Economic History), and dual-B.A.'s from the University of California, San Diego (Economics, Third World Studies). He is also an attorney who has worked for Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse, and Barclays Capital.

 

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

Karin S. Hobbs has mediated over 3,500 disputes over the past 14 years in cases ranging from multi-party commercial disputes extending over several months to simple two party disputes. She is known for her ability to work with highly emotional cases and complex financial issues. She has co-mediated two cases with federal magistrates including an employment case involving 19 plaintiffs and a commercial dispute involving 45 banks and 20 subcontractors. In addition to her mediation practice, she teaches negotiation and mediation to attorneys, law students and business people throughout the United States and has published extensively on mediation, including a chapter in the ABA's Handbook on Mediation and a chapter in Stories Mediators Tell. Karin is actively involved in the International Academy of Mediators and currently serves as the President-Elect. For more information see www.hobbsmediation.com.

 
Psychology of Conflict
Based on findings from the social sciences, this course examines how individuals think about and relate to one another in the context of conflict. Students acquire a theoretical framework for understanding and assisting parties in conflict. Concepts explored for their usefulness in conflict resolution include the following: personality development and differences; neurotic styles; difficult people and psychological disorders; predictable cognitive biases; sources of psychological resistance to dealing with conflict such as fear of abandonment, shame, guilt and unresolved grief; stages of conflict including escalation, stalemate, de-escalation, and resolution; social origins of conflict, including differences in values, beliefs and morals; socialization of aggressive and cooperative behaviors; emotional intelligence, self awareness and empathy; trust and altruism; anger and the limits of argumentation and rationality; prejudice and the need for enemies. The course includes at least one self-assessment instrument to enhance student awareness of individual differences in psychological styles.

Bill Eddy is President of High Conflict Institute based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Eddy is a Certified Family Law Specialist and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with experience providing therapy to children, adults, couples, and families in psychiatric hospitals and out patient clinics. He is Senior Family Mediator at the National Conflict Resolution Center in San Diego, California. Eddy has been a speaker in over 20 states, several provinces in Canada, France and Australia, and has become an authority and consultant on the subject of high conflict personalities for family law professionals, employee assistance and human resource professionals, ombudspersons, healthcare administrators, college administrators, homeowners associations, and others.

John Edwards has been representing both plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation since 1977. He began his mediation practice in 2002 and since then has successfully mediated hundreds of cases including commercial and residential real estate matters, professional malpractice, personal injury, employment disputes, probate and business disputes.  John helps people resolve legal conflict with integrity, respect, confidence and hope. His passion and commitment help others avoid adversarial contests which can be very costly, inefficient, painful and hard for many people to survive. John's experience, training and insight provide him with a foundation that enables him to successfully work with high conflict personalities and mediate cases in which emotions run high.

 

Cross-Cultural Conflict and Dispute Resolution
This course surveys the impact that cultural differences, stereotypes and attributions have on key dispute resolution processes, and on conflict generally. It is designed to build theoretical knowledge, to equip students with an analytical framework useful in determining suitable dispute resolution processes, and to instill practical skills and strategies to enhance effectiveness in cross-cultural contexts. Cultural differences in language, customs, values, legal systems and world-views are examined along various dimensions: orientation towards the individual or the collective community; importance of career success over quality of life; deference to authority; long vs. short term orientation; extent to which expectations for behavior are implicit or express; perceptions of time and personal space; and aversion to risk.

Nina Meierding is a national leader in the field of conflict resolution and has been providing training and mediation services for over twenty two years. She is a former president of the Academy of Family Mediators and served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Conflict Resolution and many other organizations. She is an adjunct professor at both Pepperdine University and Southern Methodist University. She was the Director and Senior Mediator at the Mediation Center for Family Law in Ventura, California from 1985-2007 where she mediated over 4,000 disputes. She is a consultant for the Wisconsin Special Education Mediation System (WSEMS). Nina has trained thousands of individuals in businesses, courts, school districts, governmental agencies, medical centers, corporations and universities throughout the United States and abroad.

 

Communication and Conflict
This course examines the vehicle of communication in the context of conflict, both in the courtroom and as part of various ADR processes. Concepts include basic principles and assumptions of a range of communication theories; influence, persuasion, rhetoric, dialogue, narrative paradigm, and linguistics; nonverbal communication, listening skills, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP); perception and perceptual distortion; power, threat, and face-saving; argumentation vs. aggression; group dynamics and differences in interpersonal, intra-group, intergroup, and organizational contexts; and the effect of third-party interventions. The course includes at least one self assessment instrument to enhance student awareness of individual differences in conflict communication styles. Pre-requisite: LAW 1302 Psychology of Conflict

Angela Brenton is dean of the College of Professional Studies at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) and a professor of organizational communication. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas and has taught at the University of Kansas, Pepperdine University, Abilene Christian University, Southwest Missouri State University, and Oklahoma Christian University. Brenton completed a study for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in which she made recommendations for establishing a credentialing process to create a national roster of mediators for FMCS. She has served as a management consultant, mediator, and trainer for over 100 corporations and government agencies. She created the Center for Conflict Resolution at Abilene Christian University and a graduate certificate in conflict mediation at UALR in cooperation with the William H. Bowen School of Law.

 

Divorce and Family Mediation
This advanced course explores conflicts that arise in the context of families, with emphasis on negotiating and mediating issues surrounding marital separation and divorce. It is designed to equip students with the strategic judgment, skills and sensitivity needed to help parties build consensus on matters such as child custody, visitation, division of property, spousal support, and child education and support. Relevant emotional concerns, such as feelings of betrayal and loss, are examined, along with techniques for addressing them. Special consideration surrounding high conflict families, domestic violence, spousal or child abuse, and “move aways”, as well as ethical issues related to power differentials court mandated mediation, collaborative law and mediator certification, are also covered. Pre-requisite: Law 1422 Mediation Theory and Practice OR Law 1392 Alternative Dispute Resolution; Law 102 Family Law is suggested.

Zena D. Zumeta is president of the Mediation Training &Consultation Institute and The Collaborative Workplace in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Zumeta is a former board member and president of the Academy of Family Mediators, past president of the Michigan Council for Family and Divorce Mediation, and past Regional Vice President of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution. She has extensive experience as a trainer, mediator, facilitator and consultant. She has been providing mediation services since 1981. Zumeta is the recipient of the Family Mediation Council-Michigan Lifetime Achievement in Mediation Award; the National Education Association/Saturn Corporation Award for Union-Management Collaboration; the John Haynes Distinguished Mediator Award from ACR; and the Kumba Award from the National Conference on Minorities in ADR.

 

Advanced Trial Practice
An advanced study of the trial skills used by counsel at trial, including the direct and cross examination of law and expert witnesses, voir dire, opening statement, closing argument, the use of exhibits, and ethical considerations. The class will emphasize "learning by doing"—students will actively participate in classroom exercises and will be critiqued. The class will build on those skills learned in the basic Trial Practice. All students will be required to complete a full trial.  Pre-requisite: Law 402 Trial Practice 

Harry Caldwell teaches Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure as well as trial advocacy courses and serves as advisor of the law school's highly successful interschool trial teams. Before joining the Pepperdine faculty, he was a trial prosecutor in Santa Barbara and Riverside counties.  Professor Caldwell routinely represents condemned prisoners in the appeals of their death sentences before both the California Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court. He has written extensively in the area of criminal procedure, trial advocacy, and the death penalty and is the co-author of Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury (1998), And the Walls Came Tumbling Down (2004) and The Devil's Advocates (Fall 2006).

Zeke Fortenberry received his Bachelor of Science - Architecture in honors studies, Master of Business Administration and Master of Architecture from Texas Tech University in 2004. He earned his Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2007.  Mr. Fortenberry joined the Collin County Criminal District Attorney's Office in February 2008. He is currently a felony trial prosecutor and has tried over 125 jury trials, including narcotics, sexual assaults, and homicides. He also works on a narcotics task force with police detectives in undercover investigations of drug-related crimes and execution of search warrants.  At SMU Dedman School of Law, Mr. Fortenberry is an adjunct faculty member teaching trial advocacy and coaching mock trial teams. He also lectures with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy instructing practicing attorneys on trial skills. Additionally, he is a member of the TYLA National Trial Competition executive committee.