This program, offered by two of SCMA’s leaders who are also prominent Southern California mediators, introduces attorneys to specific skills and practices that can enhance their and their clients’ satisfaction at mediation. The panelists will explain that attorneys benefit from stepping outside of their roles as advocates and adversaries, and from being willing to engage in collaborative problem solving. The program also will share information on various educational resources available to those attorneys who wish to enhance their mediation skill set even further. The program will be presented in webinar format, but those attending will have the opportunity to submit questions to the panelists at the conclusion of their presentation. Come and learn how mediation can work better for you and your clients!

Our Panelists

Dr. Jack Goetz

Jack Goetz is a leading neutral, educator, attorney and entrepreneur. Jack is a Past President of SCMA, and current serves as Lecturer in Law at USC’s Gould School of Law, where he teaches courses on mediation. Jack also is a founder and the current President of “MC3" (the Mediation Certification Consortium of California), a non-profit organization designed to promote greater education and training for mediators through certification and the social justice associated with greater widespread public access to qualified mediators. Jack serves the public privately as well as serving on various public panels, including as an arbitrator and mediator and vice chair for the LACBA’s Attorney-Client Mediation and Arbitration Services, an arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Association (FINRA), and a mediator for the Ventura County Superior Court.

Leslie Kushner

Mediation is a third career for Leslie Kushner, having had a brief stint in the entertainment field,then venturing into architecture and design that led to her own interior design business which she ran for 35 years. Concurrently she began studies in arbitration followed by mediation. Ms.Kushner found that her design experience gave her unique skills in establishing a mediation practice, allowing her flexibility in addressing a broad range of issues with emphasis on her areas of expertise including but not limited to construction, design, architecture, furniture manufacturing and international shipping.

She is a long time member of SCMA, having served on their Board of Directors in the capacity of Secretary for 5 years as well as initiating and chairing their Outreach committee for 8 years.

Through the years, Ms. Kushner has continued to hone her skills through pro bono service to include: Dispute Resolution Services (L.A. County Bar Association) providing mediations to businesses and residents of West Hollywood, CA; CAMP (Encino, CA) providing mediations forSmall Claims and Limited Jurisdiction; Centinela Youth Services (City of Hawthorne, CA) withmediations for families (FARS) and juveniles (VORS) through age 17; and currently SCFM(Southern California Family Mediation in Los Angeles) serving families in dependency courts,and ACMAS (Los Angeles County Bar Association) providing mediation and assisting on arbitration panels.