Facebook pixel Mediation Training For Attorneys: How to Master Mediation Skip to main content
Pepperdine | Caruso School of Law

Mediating the Litigated Case™

aerial image of the pepperdine university campus in Malibu

A sophisticated 40-hour mediation training program, Mediating the Litigated Case (MLC), is geared for experienced litigators, in-house counsel, and other practitioners. Professionals can study the mediation of litigated cases to either become a mediator or to be a better advocate at the best mediation training program in California. Since 2000 over 3,400 people have participated in the MLC training program and have included participants from 44 states and 32 countries.

*See information on Mediating the Litigated Case below the registration links - A five day mediator training program. Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm

Upcoming Training Dates

 

 

Mediating the Litigated Case


November 17-21, 2025

Online | Registration

January 26-30, 2026 

In-Person | Registration

March 19-20, 2026 (Online) &
March 23-25, 2026 (In-Person)

Hybrid | Registration

 

 

Mediating the Litigated Case 2.0

Registration TBD (In-Person) Malibu, CA

Prerequisite: Mediating the Litigated Case 5-day training 
(Must have completed the five-day MLC course to enroll in MLC 2.0)

Learn More about Mediating the Litigated Case

The recent surge in mediation's popularity signifies a dramatic shift in the practice of law. Attorneys are now using professional neutrals to facilitate settlement negotiations for litigated cases. In the past, settlement efforts in the litigation arena have been limited to settlement conferences in which the focus is usually on the judge's case evaluation. As increasing numbers of courts are requiring parties to mediate in order to accommodate an overburdened legal system, there is a growing demand for professionals who, in addition to being able to evaluate a case, can also facilitate negotiations between adversarial parties to reach innovative solutions.

Now lawyers and other established professionals can use their expertise to break into a new area of practice with tremendous possibilities. This mediation training program offers a unique opportunity to learn about the mediation process in a format geared specifically toward civil litigation cases. Taught by experienced lawyers, who have made the transition from litigation to mediation practice, course participants will learn the essential skills required to serve as mediators.

The program will focus on the various stages of the process, identifying and working with different negotiation styles, and facilitating problem-solving regardless of whether the case involves a contractual, tort, personal injury, employment, partnership, or securities issues.

In addition to providing mediation skills training, the program will deal with issues specific to the adversarial setting including managing attorney advocates, the parameters of confidentiality, and concerns about discovery. It will also focus on issues of particular concern to attorney-mediators including the proscription against dual representation, providing legal advice, conflicts of interest, drafting mediation agreements, and other ethical dilemmas.

We recommend using Google Chrome as your web browser for registration.


Testimonials

 

MCLE CREDIT:  Please see the information on MCLE listed below.

Program Topics and Schedule

Day 1

  • Dispute Resolution Continuum
  • STAR Approach to Mediation
  • Mediator's Stylistic Grid
  • Mixed-Motive Exchange in Consensus Processes
  • The Predictability of Distributive Bargaining
  • Opening Offer Strategies
  • Facilitating Distributive Bargaining

Day 2

  • The Integrative Approach to Negotiation
  • Focusing on "Interests" Not Issues
  • How to Discover Underlying Interests
  • Creativity in Negotiation
  • Facilitating Integrative Bargaining
  • Mediator Timing in Facilitating Negotiation
  • Settlement Conference Mediation Model
  • Interest-Based Mediation Model

Day 3

  • The Mediator's Job of Providing Structure
  • What to Include in an Opening Statement
  • Reframing and Broadening the Issues
  • Communication Facilitation Techniques
  • Effective Use of Caucus
  • Validation

Day 4

  • Techniques to Facilitate Closing the Deal
  • How to Present Risks and Costs
  • Ethics and Bullying
  • Mediator Timing When Facilitating Closure
  • Concluding a Mediation That Doesn't Settle
  • Convening
  • Agreement to Mediate

Day 5

  • Fairness and Neutrality
  • Attorney Advocates in Mediation
  • Emotions in Mediation
  • Bias and Cross-Cultural Awareness
  • Multi-Party/Multi-Issue Mediation

 Registration

Registration for the in-person Mediating the Litigated Case is $5,500.
The Pepperdine alumni rate is $4,400.

PLEASE NOTE!!!  Should a paid participant be unable to attend, the registration payment, less a $1,000 cancellation fee, will be refunded or a substitute may attend the program.  

Registration includes all materials. Since enrollment is limited, participants should register early. Should a paid participant be unable to attend, the registration, less $1,000, will be refunded or a substitute may attend the program.

PLEASE NOTE: There is a $100 administrative fee for transferring to another program. 

 Faculty

(Faculty who typically teach in Mediating the Litigated Case.  However, due to illness or unavoidable conflict, we reserve the right to substitute faculty.)

Peter Robinson  is professor of law at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law and the former managing director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. He has presented advanced negotiation and mediation skills courses throughout the United States and in more than 10 foreign countries. He has served on the boards of the California Dispute Resolution Council, the Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA), Dispute Resolution Services of the LACBA, the Ventura Center for Dispute Settlement, and the Christian Conciliation Service of Los Angeles. The SCMA recognized him as Peacemaker of the Year in 1999. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators and was recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer in the area of mediation in 2006 and 2008. After being appointed by the Los Angeles City Attorney, he successfully mediated all the environmental objections to building the Farmers Field football stadium in downtown Los Angeles.

Stephanie Blondell is an associate professor of law and practice and associate director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. She supervises the Mediation Clinic and teaches Mediation Theory and Practice and Criminal Law. Prior to joining Pepperdine, she served as the manager of the King County Alternative Dispute Resolution Program and Inter-Local Conflict Resolution Group, a tri-county labor-management and public policy mediation program in the area around Seattle, Washington. Prior to this she was the alternative dispute resolution coordinator for the City of Seattle where she designed and implemented a labor and employment mediation program for city government. Before joining Straus full-time, Blondell served as an adjunct professor at Straus, the Seattle University School of Law, and the University of Washington master of public administration program. Blondell earned her BA with honors in American civilization from Brown University, and her JD from the University of Washington School of Law.

Shaphan Roberts is the Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives and Global Expansion, building upon his extensive experience in dispute resolution and community engagement. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University, where he earned his MBA through the prestigious PKE program. Previously, Roberts held the position of Director for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Dispute Resolution Program, where he managed all programmatic aspects, including community mediation and the Community Police Unification (CPU) Program. His role involved coordinating with public and private alternative dispute resolution programs, as well as federal, state, and local agencies. Roberts' expertise extends to conflict management, de-escalation, and cross-cultural communication. He has been instrumental in training city departments and community organizations in these areas. His leadership was particularly evident in mid-2020 when he advised the Los Angeles City Attorney in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. Roberts was instrumental in designing, developing, and organizing city-wide conversations between protesters and police officers following the city wide protests.

Steve Rottman is one of California's most requested mediators of commercial disputes. Rottman is an honors graduate of Harvard Law School and a summa cum laude graduate of Duke University. He spent 20 years as a trial lawyer before committing himself full-time to mediation. The Los Angeles Daily Journal named him one of the "top 50 neutrals in the state," and he has been consistently recognized by Best Lawyers in America and the Super Lawyers publications as both a trial lawyer and a mediator. He lectures and trains mediators across the country and serves as an adjunct professor at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, where he teaches Advanced Mediation. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, an avid whitewater kayaker, and the proud father of two strong-willed daughters.

The Honorable Alexander H. Williams III (retired) is a mediator, arbitrator and discovery referee in private practice with ADR Services, Inc. in Los Angeles. He served as a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court from 1984 to 2008. He presided for 8 years in a felony criminal trial department and for another 13 years in a general jurisdiction civil trial department, handling thousands of cases and conducting hundreds of court and jury trials. A trained mediator, he spent his final three years presiding over a full-time settlement court, where he daily conducted settlement conferences and settled hundreds of cases. He has co-taught the Mediation Clinic class at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law for over a dozen years and has instructed judges and others about mediation in programs on every continent except Antarctica. Before taking the bench, he served as a police officer, Navy judge advocate, and federal prosecutor.

Selina Shultz has spent over twenty years, serving as a mediator, consultant and coach, trainer, facilitator, and contract ombudsman. She has provided mediation services to individuals in civil and divorce disputes, as well as providing training, conflict culture interventions, and leadership development to corporations and nonprofits struggling with conflict. She has mediated hundreds of cases and worked with organizations such as FedEx, Home Depot, Nevada OSHA, AMG Research, and Allies for Children. Her years of practical hands on work in mediation is further supported by her academic work in both decision making, neuroscience, and negotiation. Her process and approach to all of her work, including the space she has created at The Conflict Lab, are constantly mindful of how to bring about her client's best thinking. With an ability to understand complicated conflict dynamics and how to improve them. Shultz provides "Conflict Culture Interventions" to organizations who suffer from the effects of an unhealthy work environment. Shultz provides both basic and advance mediation and conflict competency trainings, both locally and internationally for organizations and corporations, as well as at the law school level at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law, Duquesne University School of Law, and The Saltman Center at The UNLV School of Law.

 MCLE

These activities have been approved for 40 hours of MCLE credit by the State Bar of California including two hours of ethics. Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law certifies that the activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing MCLE. Participants from outside of California should submit the California MCLE form to their state bar for approval after the mediation program is completed.  Straus programs have been accepted for MCLE credit across the nation.

PLEASE NOTE!!  MCLE CREDIT: For participants outside California, please confirm with your state bar what additional documentation you will need to receive credit.

 Guarantee

All programs of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution are offered with a satisfaction guarantee. If a participant completes the program and is dissatisfied with the course content or performance of the faculty, the tuition fee will be refunded.

 Tax Deduction

Education expenses (including enrollment fees and course materials costs) may be deductible if they improve or maintain professional skills. Treas. Reg. Sec. I 162-5.

 Location, Hotels, and Times

Location

Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law
24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90263

Hotels


Schedule

The program will take place consecutively Monday through Friday from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.  (PST). 

For additional information please contact the Straus Events Team at straustrainingandevents@pepperdine.edu