Block 1: Two-Week Format

Block 1: Two-Week Format

May 26 - June 6

• Classes will meet Tuesday and Thursday from 5:00-9:00 pm and Saturdays from 8:30-11:30 am and 12:30-3:30 pm

Program 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.

Paul Rafferty has 30 years of complex trial experience in defense of class actions, fiduciary duty, trade secrets, and contract lawsuits. He is currently counsel for an athletic conference and various universities in a massive MDL pertaining to collegiate football concussions. He also offers guidance on regulations and policy in the United States governing the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence, particularly as they apply to product liability issues, and collaborates on resolving difficult or emerging legal issues before they ripen into litigation.

As lead counsel Paul has tried to conclusion civil matters to bench and jury. His last four-month trial resulted in a complete defense judgment and a $2 million attorney fees award in the client's favor. Paul primarily defends clients from class action lawsuits, all of which have ended favorably by summary judgment (Chevron), denial of class certification (Irvine Company and Pro Courier), or on appeal (Acer/Gateway). He also has arbitrated significant matters in the United States and Europe.

Paul is published on successful terminating strategies in federal court (Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 17, 2017) and repeatedly on autonomous vehicles (See Jones Day Commentary and Alerts; Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, June 2017 edition; Emirates Law, United Arab Emirates, October 2017 edition) and has been consulted on this topic by Reuters News and the ABA Journal. He is an executive committee member of the Pepperdine/Straus American Inn of Court for Dispute Resolution.

In addition Paul has authored and published two books, The Trophy Hunted and The Trophy Hunted Redemption.

Selected Issues in Dispute Resolution: Conflict Consulting and Coaching

Prerequisite: Law 1492 Negotiation Theory and Practice and Law 1422 Mediation Theory and Practice

Conflict Consulting and Coaching are fairly new disciplines, which are growing daily as organizations begin to grasp the cost of poorly managed conflict on their employees' morale and ultimately their bottom line. As Conflict Consultants, we are uniquely equipped to meet organizations where they are and help them develop into more "Conflict Competent Cultures". At its heart, Conflict Consulting and Coaching is rooted in the belief that conflict is inevitable and that leaders and organizations cannot reach their full potential until they learn how to navigate it.
The Course will enlighten students how they can use their mediation skills, understanding of conflict dynamics, and knowledge of alternative dispute resolution methods to help organizations improve their conflict cultures. In addition to learning how to apply existing skills in an organizational intervention, students will also gain an understanding of how to address some unique causes of conflict in an organization, including issues with structure, poor management, and lack of accountability.

Creating "Conflict Competent Leaders" is a core part of any successful "Conflict Culture Intervention". Students will learn and practice the basics of how to be an effective coach for employees and managers struggling with conflict. In addition, they will be exposed to new approaches to teaching conflict resolution skills to non-mediators.

The course will be balanced between a study of relevant theory and learning practical application. Students will have opportunities to practice skills through several simulation exercises during class and drafting a "Conflict Culture Assessment Report and Action Agenda" for a hypothetical company as part of their course writing requirement. In addition, the students shall hear from 3 other Conflict Consultants to learn about their work and how they entered the field.

Selina Shultz is a highly sought after mediator and consultant in dispute resolution, who works with individuals and businesses. She has over 17 years of extensive mediation experience. Shultz currently serves as the codirector of CoralBridge Partner's Conflict Transformation Institute. In addition to her private mediation practice, she served for 13 years as a mediator for the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. She is currently on the approved mediator panels for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the EEOC, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. She is a popular lecturer and trainer in the area of dispute resolution and has worked with individuals and businesses to provide both basic and advanced trainings in mediation and conflict resolution skills. She is an adjunct professor at Duquesne University Law School, where she co-teaches the first law school credit course on attorney judgment and decision making. She has served as a leader in the field, most recently serving on the boards of both the Pennsylvania Council of Mediators and the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania, and helping to launch the Western District of Pennsylvania's Prisoners Civil Rights Mediation Pilot Program. She obtained her JD in 1993 from the University of Pittsburgh and her LLM in dispute resolution from the Straus Institute at Pepperdine University School of Law.