2 PerspectivesMay 12, 2011

Don Philbin and Doug Noll: Two More Reasons to Go to Malibu this June

Longtime readers know I’m a big fan of training programs at Pepperdine’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, but our friends in Malibu have just given us two more reasons to come back for the 24th Annual Summer Professional Skills Program in Dispute Resolution – Don Philbin and Douglas Noll.

You probably know Don as a mediator or through his work on adrtoolbox.com or his often-cited Harvard Negotiation Law Review article, and you likely know Doug from his numerous books, his mediation practice focusing on “difficult, complex, and intractable conflicts,” and his various works at lawyertopeacemaker.com – but what you may not know is that they have teamed up to teach a cutting-edge class at Pepperdine this summer to help mediators, lawyers and their clients achieve better settlements from the Monday after the training ends.

Preventing Bad Settlement Decisions and More

Philbin and Noll have agreed to cover several critical topics in the three-day course, most of which are neglected or underserved in mediation training – the title to their course is “Preventing Bad Settlement Decisions and Impasse Using Brain Science, Game Theory, Animated Communication, and Micro-Interventions”, and their course description makes clear that this won’t be the ho-hum training you’re used to:

Most mediators operate on instinct, intuition, and experience. This session will elevate your practice–you’ll learn enough of the theoretical underpinnings of neuropsychology to gain clarity, understanding, and a driving purpose to kick your game up a notch. And you’ll get to immediately practice effective tools that will help you implement that theory in the working laboratory that is this advanced course.

Two Teachers Who Can Actually Teach

Theory is one thing, but the ability to make it stick it is another. This year Doug drew and entertained the largest attendance at the Texas State Bar Dispute Resolution annual course with exceptional reviews, and Don regularly earns similar praise. I have seen Don present, and I’m writing this post, but don’t just take it from me — one of his recent presentation attendees left the following comment:

In my role as the Executive Vice President, General Counsel of [x] I see and participate in many programs all over the world. Don Philbin is clearly head and shoulders above the rest and presents one of the most entertaining and most informative programs on risk analysis I have ever seen. Drop whatever you are doing and try to see him in action.

I’m not sure I could have said it better myself. I hope you can make it to Malibu this summer.

Categories: ADR,Education,Mediation,Negotiation

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