Professional Training
Continuing Legal Education Trainings for Attorneys, Judges, and Professional Skills Trainings for Mediators, Leaders, and HR Professionals
Elevate your expertise with world-class trainings and conferences from the top-ranked Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. As the top choice in dispute resolution training in the United States, we offer hands-on programs in dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration, and negotiation in online, in-person, or hybrid formats, held on our Malibu, Irvine, Washington, D.C. and Switzerland campuses.
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Featured: Mediating the Litigated Case™
Ongoing Mediation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Negotiation Trainings
Explore sophisticated strategies, frameworks, and nuanced interventions used in high-level practice across the full spectrum from dissolution to complex litigation. (40-Hours Including Optional CLE)
Upcoming Dates
- July 20-24, 2026 (Irvine) - Register
- August 24-28, 2026 (Malibu) - Register
- September 28-October 2, 2026 (DC) - Registration Coming Soon
- November 2-6, 2026 (Malibu) - Registration Coming Soon
- December 7-11, 2026 (Online) - Registration Coming Soon
Upcoming Trainings
Professional Reconciliation Skills Training: How to Create Peace in Deeply Divided Groups
Professional Reconciliation Skills Training is a two-day intensive designed to help professionals navigate deep, identity-based conflict and rebuild trust in highly charged environments. Grounded in decades of real-world mediation and reconciliation work, the program equips participants with practical tools to manage strong emotions, address power dynamics, and foster meaningful dialogue across divides.
Upcoming Dates
Design Thinking in Mediation: A Game Changer for Mediators
Design Thinking: A Game Changer for Mediators is a two-day, immersive training that equips professionals with a modern, innovation-driven approach to resolving conflict. Drawing from a proven framework used by leading organizations and popularized by the Stanford d.school, this hands-on program teaches participants how to move parties into problem-solving faster, shift from adversarial to collaborative dynamics, and generate creative, durable solutions.
Upcoming Dates
Mediating the Litigated Case: Special Education Edition
Designed specifically for SELPAs, LEA Special Education Administrators, and other education-related professionals. This course offers participants a unique opportunity to learn the mediation process in a format tailored to special education cases, where they will develop essential skills to negotiate effectively, navigate cross-cultural communication, and facilitate problem-solving across disputes involving placements, services, assessments, and the IEP process. In addition to core mediation training, the program addresses challenges specific to the adversarial setting, including managing attorney advocates, confidentiality, and discovery, as well as key considerations for school-based mediators such as maintaining parent-school relationships.
Upcoming Dates
Mediation Advocacy Intensive
The practice of law is now dominated by resolving cases through mediation. However, many attorneys representing clients in this process have never received focused training on how to approach this representation in the most effective way, causing them to leave money or leverage on the table. The best Mediation approaches often seem counterintuitive to lawyers trained in trial advocacy. Treating Mediation Advocacy as a discrete skill allows attorneys to prepare themselves and their clients to leverage the process for the best outcome.
Upcoming Dates
MLC 2.0: Advanced Strategies for Experienced Mediators
This advanced program is designed for seasoned mediators, those who have mediated 50 or more cases or completed MLC, who are ready to move beyond foundational competencies into the nuanced, strategic, and reflective dimensions of mediation practice. Grounded in interdisciplinary theory, advanced techniques, and intensive case work, the program enhances participants’ capacity to navigate complex, high-stakes disputes with clarity, confidence, and adaptability. Learning is supported through coached feedback and targeted skills development, fostering thoughtful refinement of individual mediation practice.
Upcoming Dates
Why Attend Professional Training with Straus?
Convenient Format
Learn both in-person from our beautiful Malibu campus and from your home through the online trainings.
Top-Ranked
Pepperdine Straus Institute is ranked #1 for dispute resolution according to U.S. News & World Report.
Hands-On Practice
Practice the advanced techniques learned through realistically curated exercises, intimate breakout groups, and round-table discussions.
Professional Training Faculty
The professional training faculty of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution are at the heart of what makes the program exceptional. Comprised of leading scholars, seasoned practitioners, and globally recognized experts, Straus faculty bring both academic rigor and real-world experience into every classroom. Students benefit from learning directly from professionals who have mediated complex international disputes, advised top organizations, and helped shape the field of dispute resolution itself.
Selina Shultz
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Stephanie Blondell
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David Dowling
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Shaphan Roberts
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Peter Robinson
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Contact Us
Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution
Pepperdine Caruso Law
24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263
The Right Opportunity for You
Programs at the Straus Institute are designed to meet the needs of students and professionals at varying levels, including those from outside the United States. Based on who you are and where you are, we have a dispute resolution program for you.