Successful Mediation: Preparation, Strategy & Negotiation (CA and Federal) [Webinar] (OnDemand Streaming and Recorded Packages)

What You Will Learn

Agenda

Thursday, December 3, 2026
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time

Faculty: Hon. Kira L. Klatchko (Ret.), JAMS, Los Angeles and David P. Dowling, J.D., MDR, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Caruso School of Law, Pepperdine University.

Preparing for a Successful Mediation

• Best practices for preparing clients and representatives
• Briefing
• Outlining settlement documents
  • How to ascertain your clients’ interests and aims
  • How to set realistic expectations to prime clients for successful resolution
• Establishing goals for mediation at different stages of litigation
  • What information should you share with the mediator
  • What information should you share with opposing parties
  • What should you bring to the mediation
  • Selecting a venue: should you mediate in person or virtually, and where

Developing a Winning Negotiation Strategy

• Understanding opposing parties and counsel and their negotiating style and strategy
• Understanding your client’s negotiating style and what to do if it conflicts with yours
• Establishing a flexible strategy
• Defining success
• Ethical issues in mediation and settlement conferences

Working with Mediators and Settlement Judges

• Understanding your neutral’s style and what they need to help you resolve your case
• How to ask for help or advice from your neutral, and when you should

Brackets and Mediator’s Proposals: Navigating the Money Issues

• What is a bracket
• When should you propose a bracket
• When should you ask for a bracket
• What is a mediator’s proposal
• When should you ask for a mediator’s proposal
• How should you respond to a mediator’s proposal

Mediating Post-Verdict and on Appeal

• How does mediation change after verdict or on appeal
• Preparing your client for post-verdict mediation
• What to provide to a neutral in a post-verdict mediation or settlement conference
• What to share with opposing parties in a post-verdict mediation
• Strategic considerations in post-verdict and appellate mediation

Testimonials

This is a new program, therefore we do not yet have testimonials for this specific program. However, Judge Kira Klatchko, the chair of this program, has spoken many times at our programs, to rave reviews, just a few of which are listed below.

• Keenly astute panelist. She is extremely thorough in her presentations, and she helps to navigate complex issues with interesting backstory and context.
• She always has good information to impart, in an interesting way. Her in-depth analysis of standards of reviews really eye-opening.
• My favorite speaker – incredibly knowledgeable.
• Practical, super-knowledgeable, exceptional communicator and instructor. Great opportunity to see it all through a judge’s eyes. No nonsense, and excellent at streamlining and clarifying what is needed, what matters, why and how. Very helpful. Would certainly like to take other classes she may teach!
• Fantastic commentary and insight throughout.
• Judge Klatchko’s discussion, which pulled from real-life experiences in her virtual courtroom, was particularly powerful. She is also a dynamic speaker that commands the audience’s attention. Very nicely done.
• She was incredible, so much insight and easy to understand. Very practical.
• Knowledgeable and willing to share her experiences and opinions.
• So very helpful — good tips, great experience. It helps so much to hear from the judges.  I practice in Palm Springs – so very, very good.
• Judge Klatchko always offers such a unique and useful perspective as a former appellate attorney. I thought her comments on today’s panel were particularly insightful, and she’s a great speaker as well.
• It was great to hear her perspective as a trial judge after practicing appellate law for the bulk of her career.
• Very informative. Both as a practitioner and judge.
• Her firm appeal experience is invaluable. Trial court anecdotes were interesting!
• Very knowledgeable and succinct in the presentation.
• Extremely articulate, good info.
• Big fan of her programs. Clearly has a mastery of the topics.
• The combined experience of being an appellate specialist and judge was valuable.
• Very thoughtful responses and helped keep the conversation focused and relevant for newly admitted lawyers.
• Interesting and valuable to hear from a judge. Clear. Super knowledgeable.
• Very much appreciated suggestions re working out remote trial protocols with the judge in pretrial conferences. I’ve been proposing the same with private judges — no judicial assistant and no minutes make that setting even more fraught. Will use and adapt her materials in proposing protocols for evidentiary hearing and trials.
• Always appreciate her insights and sharing very helpful and practical approaches!
• Really thoughtful input/insights on issues I had not thought much about.
• Very engaging and informative.
• Great to hear the court’s perspective.
• Great practical tips and knowledge from the judges was wonderful and instructive. I have a new respect for judges, as she said she has over 862 cases, wow.
• So smart and love all the rules and guides she contributes to the presentation.
• Utterly delightful teacher.
• Very smart and well thought out answers.
• Great speaker, moderator. Star participant.
• The substance of the presentation was very helpful, and the follow up questions by the panel leader was helpful.
• I appreciate the voluminous amount of material that Judge Klatchko was able to transmit.
• The best presenter in the program! Dynamic, informative, funny, and engaging.
• Great contribution to presentation.
• Well-versed and clear; mediation was helpful;
• Lots of good info; Very knowledgeable and personable;
• Friendly, calming approach, good presentation, thorough, good focus; The faculty was good as a whole, but Kira was the best by far!
• Great speaker, very organized and informative.

Faculty

Hon. Kira L. Klatchko (Ret.)
Retired Judge, Certified Legal Specialist in Appellate Law
JAMS

Hon. Kira L. Klatchko (Ret.) is a retired California Superior Court judge and serves as a neutral with JAMS. She has conducted hundreds of mediations and settlement conferences in civil, probate, family and appellate matters, bringing extensive judicial and appellate experience and a practical, court-informed approach to dispute resolution.

Judge Klatchko served nine years on the Superior Court of California, Riverside County. For seven years, she presided over an unlimited civil department, managing thousands of cases from inception through resolution and developing deep experience in business, real estate, land use, construction, contract, employment, catastrophic personal injury, professional negligence, civil rights, insurance, trust, government and complex matters. She also sat for two years in an independent family law department, handling marital dissolution, custody and support, asset division, premarital and postmarital agreement, domestic partnership, adoption, move‑away and international custody, and domestic violence matters.

Judge Klatchko twice served as a justice pro tempore on the California Court of Appeal, Second District, where she reviewed appellate briefs and writ petitions and drafted opinions in civil, criminal, family, juvenile and complex matters.

Before taking the bench, Judge Klatchko was a certified civil appellate law specialist and appellate practice leader, founding and chairing an appellate practice group at a California firm and later serving as partner and vice chair of a national appellate practice. She handled and oversaw appellate matters in California and federal courts, including the Ninth Circuit, and U.S. Supreme Court, among others, and is co-editor of a leading California appellate treatise. She has written and taught extensively on civil procedure and appellate law, including as a senior research fellow at UC Berkely Law’s California Constitution Center.

Judge Klatchko is known for her preparation, procedural expertise, and thoughtful, efficient approach to dispute resolution.

David P. Dowling is the Judge Danny Weinstein Managing Director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law. He is a professional mediator with more than fifteen years of experience mediating a wide range of disputes, including commercial, contract, restorative justice, employment, probate and trust, guardianship, family law, special education, public policy, healthcare, insurance, personal injury, and real property matters. He is the founder of Summit Mediation and serves on mediation panels for the Superior Courts of California in Riverside and Orange Counties. He also serves as an ADR Consultant and Mediator for the East Valley Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA).

In addition to his mediation practice, Dowling is an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University School of Law’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, where he teaches and contributes to training programs in mediation and conflict resolution. He is a frequent international guest lecturer, including long-standing engagements with the Law Society of Ireland, and has taught international mediation skills at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in Ukraine. From 2009 to 2018, he served as Director of the Mediation Clinic and Clinical Professor of Law at Chapman University School of Law, where he also taught as an adjunct faculty member.

Dowling’s academic and professional work reflects a strong commitment to experiential education and practical training in dispute resolution. His teaching and mediation practice emphasize thoughtful process design, ethical decision-making, and human-centered conflict engagement across legal, institutional, and community contexts. He has been actively involved in court-connected mediation programs and special education dispute resolution, and has worked extensively with families, professionals, and public institutions to resolve complex and sensitive disputes.

Dowling holds a Juris Doctor degree from Chapman University School of Law and a Master’s degree in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University. He also earned a Certificate in Teaching Law School ADR Classes from Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Brigham Young University, with a minor in Political Science.

Throughout his career, Dowling has been recognized for his practical, grounded, and compassionate approach to mediation and teaching. His work bridges theory and practice, with a focus on building durable agreements, restoring relationships where possible, and advancing the field of dispute resolution through education, service, and institutional leadership.

Fees

Pre-order now and save $25 on your purchase with the Early Bird Rate!* Early Bird Expires September 30th!
(discount will be applied automatically at check out)

Fees & Format Options

💻 OnDemand Streaming

Watch the recorded seminar on your own schedule, as often as you’d like, from any device. Access lasts one year from purchase.

• Early Bird Rate: $234
• Standard Rate: $259
• Includes: Seminar recording + written materials
• For individual use only

Group rates available for 3–4 attorneys watching together. Licenses available for 5+ attorneys—contact us for details. info@pincusproed.com or (877) 858-3848.

📦 Recorded Packages (Download, DVD, or CD)

These packages are for a single viewer and include seminar materials.

▶️ Video Recording (Download or DVD)

• Early Bird Rate: $234
• Standard Rate: $259
• For individual use only

🎧 Audio Only Recording (Download or CD)

Great for listening in your car or on the go.

• Early Bird Rate: $234
• Standard Rate: $259
• For individual use only

🎥 + 🎧 Video + Audio Combo (Download, DVD, or CD)

• Early Bird Rate: $284
• Standard Rate: $309
• For individual use only

Shipping & Tax: $12 shipping added to DVD/CD orders (plus sales tax in CA)

🗓️ Availability

This program will be recorded live on December 3, 2026.
OnDemand Streaming and Recorded Packages will be available approximately 2–3 weeks after the seminar. If you need access sooner, direct Zoom links will be provided.

⚠️ Important Notes

• OnDemand Streaming can be viewed on any device.
• Recorded Downloads must be downloaded to a computer first before transferring to another device. Files are delivered as a zipped folder containing the recording and written materials.

💼 Group Access & Licensing

Discounted rates are available for 3–4 attorneys watching together (Live or OnDemand).
Licenses are also available for firms or agencies with 5+ attorneys.

To inquire or purchase group access:
📧 info@pincusproed.com | ☎ (877) 858-3848

CLE Credit

🎓 CLE Credit Information

California:
General CLE: Approved for 1.5 General CLE credits.
Participatory Certified Legal Specialist Units in Appellate Law: Approved for 5 Certified Legal Specialist Units in Appellate Law through December 4, 2028.
Self-Study Certified Legal Specialist Units in Appellate Law: Approved for 5 Certified Legal Specialist Units in Appellate Law through December 4, 2031.

New York:
This program is eligible for 1.5 General CLE credits under New York’s Approved Jurisdiction policy.
Pincus Professional Education is a California Accredited Provider, and California is an approved jurisdiction under Section 6 of the New York State CLE Board Regulations and Guidelines.

🌎 Other States

CLE credit is officially approved in the states listed above.
If you practice in a different state, we’re happy to help—upon request, we will provide the materials and information you need to apply for CLE credit on your own. Many of our past attendees have successfully obtained credit in other jurisdictions.

To request assistance:
📧 info@pincusproed.com | ☎ (877) 858-3848