News

Special Guest from Australia! 
Mediating Complex Issues  
Lessons Learned from National Native Tribal Tribunal
Presented by Helen Shurven
  
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
10:00am-11:30am
 
Member Helen Shurven will speak at the Community Dispute Settlement Center, Inc. on her work at the National Native Title Tribunal in Australia.
 
The Tribunal deals with complex multi-party disputes between the rights and interests of Indigenous people, miners and explorers, the Government, and other interested parties. 
 
The Tribunal functions under the Native Title Act 1993 (Commonwealth), and provides mediation services to parties to assist them resolve their disputes.  The Tribunal also arbitrates disputes, making decisions which are binding on all parties and which can be appealed to the Federal Court.
 
Location: CDSC 60 Gore Street. Cambridge, MA 02141
Registration:
Cost: Suggested Donation: $25
Only 24 spots available
 
 

Bystander Intervention Training 
How to Intervene in a Conflict Situation
Techniques to reduce the impact of aggressive social behavior  
Presented by Rona Fischman
  
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
2:00pm-6:00pm 
 
 
All Bystander Intervention training includes how to intervene in public aggression situations. Given your physical type and presentation, gender, race, social status, geographic location, there are better and worse ways to intervene in a conflict situation. Learn how to identify a circumstance that requires intervention.  Learn your go-to interventions. Learn to choose the most effective tactic from your bag of tricks. Practice this with the group.
 
What Rona Fischman’s program adds is how to peacefully confront racism, sexism, LGBTQ-phobia, Islamophobia, or anti-Semitism with people that you know. It has been proven that people rarely change their minds based on learning from a stranger; it is people they know and respect who influence them.
 
This class teaches techniques for setting respectful limits with someone you work with, someone in your family, or someone you see regularly in your neighborhood. How you respectfully discuss ideas with people you disagree with varies based on who you are. We look at the strengths and pitfalls of your verbal style. We’ll practice ways to maintain your integrity while avoiding an argument with someone you disagree with. This is easier said than done, but by the end of the program, you’ll have some go-to techniques to increase your chances of successful dialogue. The course also reviews other actions, such as witnessing and video-making, in a general way. There is a counseling aspect to the program, aimed at preparing each participant to contribute to social justice in a way that suits their strengths and abilities

For more information click here
 
Location: CDSC 60 Gore Street. Cambridge, MA 02141
Registration:
Cost: $125
CDSC Pro Bono Mediators: $50 (Use discount code CDSCMEDIATOR2)
Only 24 spots available

Click Here to Register Now!

 

The Use of Self at the Mediator's Table
Developing our capacity for “Being” in addition to “Doing” 
Facilitated by Jeanne Cleary

 
Friday, March 31, 2017
2:00pm-4:00pm
4:00-4:30pm: wine & cheese mix & mingle 
 
 
Come to this engaging seminar with Jeanne Cleary in which we will focus on how we as mediators use ourselves as one of the primary tools in the mediator’s toolbox. In this session, Jeanne will help us explore the dimensions of the use of Self at the table; how to use our authenticity; what do we mean by “presence” and what does this matter in conflict resolution? What are the personal qualities and relational capacities that make us most effective at helping people in conflict?
 
Jeanne will also share some of her strategies for developing and growing our internal and interpersonal capacities, and the qualities of being that invite and inspire the best in others. 
 
Please bring examples from your mediation experiences of particular challenging situations and we will ground this seminar work in actual practice challenges through discussion and demonstration.
Location: CDSC 60 Gore Street. Cambridge, MA 02141
Registration:
Cost: $95
CDSC Pro Bono Mediators: $35 (Use discount code CDSCMEDIATOR)
Only 25 spots available

Click Here to Register Now!

 

Facilitated by Jeanne Cleary, mediator/psychotherapist

About Jeanne:

Jeanne is a long-time mediator, trainer/teacher, and relational psychotherapist in private practice in Watertown.  

She is passionate about human potential through relational engagement

 
 

The Impact of Identities on Conflict 
Facilitated by Chandra Banks
  
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
9:30am-11:30am
 
Come and consider the impact of identity on conflict and conflict management through the eyes of a mediator.  
 
Recognizing and appreciating the many identities at the mediation table --the parties, your co-mediator as well as your own-- can be key to a successful mediation.  We all carry multiple obvious and hidden identities with us as we walk through life.  


Develop your sensitivity to the characteristics of varied personalities as they exist and have impact on the mediation process.

Location: CDSC 60 Gore Street. Cambridge, MA 02141
Registration:
Pre-requisite: Mediation training
Cost: $65
CDSC Pro Bono Mediators: $25 (Use discount code CDSCMEDIATOR2017)
Only 25 spots available


Click Here to Register Now!

Facilitated by Chandra Banks, Ed. M  
 
About Chandra:
 
District Wide Conflict Mediator for Cambridge Public Schools since 2006 and 10 years as core faculty for the Institute for Peaceable Schools at Lesley University, focused on Conflict Management, Restorative Justice practice and Cultural Proficiency training.  

Chandra is a life long resident of the City of Cambridge as well as an alumni of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, specializing in Risk Prevention and Counseling. 
She has worked as a Mediation trainer for CDSC for 8 years and

provides consultation and training to public and private agencies across the state of Massachusetts.

     

Come to this dynamic seminar facilitated by two topnotch mediators & experienced domestic relations lawyers:

Divorce Mediation Seminar:
Update on Alimony plus Your Mediation Challenges
Thursday, December 1st
9:30am-11:30am
Presented By Rachel B. Goldman & Michael L. Leshin

 

Update/refresher on Alimony:
Focus will be on  the scope of the new issues which couples need to address, such as, duration, cohabitation, types of alimony, and retirement, related to the Alimony Reform Act of 2011.
Hypotheticals will be reviewed.

Your challenges in mediating divorce cases:
Bring your stumpers to confer with our experts: divorce mediation cases/situations that were challenging to you.

Location: CDSC 60 Gore Street. Cambridge, MA 02141
Pre-requisite: Divorce Mediation Training
Registration:
Cost: $75
CDSC Pro Bono Mediators: $25 (Use discount code CDSCMEDIATOR)
Space is limited to 24 participants

Click Here to Register Now!

    
RACHEL B. GOLDMAN is a partner at Grindle Robinson LLP in Wellesley where she specializes in collaborative family law, mediation, conciliation, and settlement negotiation.

Rachel is listed in the book "Best Lawyers in America" and Boston Magazine's "Top Women Attorneys in Massachusetts" and has been named a Super Lawyer in the areas of Family Law and Family Law Mediation.

Rachel teaches introductory and advanced mediation courses with the Community Dispute Settlement Center and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education and frequently presents to professional groups, law students, college students, and the public about divorce law, collaborative practice and mediation.

  MICHAEL L. LESHIN is a partner at Ginsburg & Leshin, LLP in Wellesley. He focuses his practice on family law and mediation.

He is a past president of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation and has been certified as a divorce mediator by MCFM.  He serves on the Board of Directors of CDSC.  In 2013 he received MCFM's John Adams Fiske Award for Excellence in Mediation.  He is the author of the "Massachusetts Family Law Sourcebook," published annually by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc.   He is listed in "The Best Lawyers in America," (Family Law, 2006 - 2016 and Family Law Mediation 2007 - 2016).  

He has lectured on tax, mediation and family law issues for MCLE, MCFM, Mediation Works, Inc. and CDSC.

     

   

 

The CDSC Bash was a HUGE success! 

 Thank You to Our Sponsors! 
 View Bash Photos Here!

 

This year's annual celebration will be held on on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at the Venture Cafe in the Cambridge Innovation Center from 6:30pm-8:30pm.

The CDSC Bash proves to be a delighful-- and meaningful --way to celebrate the accomplishments of the mediation community. This event continues to serve as our signature fundraising event of the year; the funds we raise support the alternative and affordable dispute resolution services we provide in the courts, the schools and the community.

We hope you will join us at our 2015 Bash and consider supporting this event with a generous gift. Click here to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.

Click here to purchase tickets!

 

Assessing a Party's Capacity to Use Mediation

Facilitated by Jeanne Cleary
Tuesday, June 23 9:30am-11:30am 

  • Have you had an experience as a mediator where you question whether a party is really able to use mediation?  
  • Have you wondered about your responsibility/ability to assess this?  
  • How do we assess whether mediation is a good fit for someone?  
  • What criteria makes sense for this assessment?
  • Please join us for this 2 hr workshop where we will explore these and related questions. We will come up with a framework for thinking about this challenge going forward.

Be sure to bring examples from your own mediation experience!

Registration:

Pre-requisite: Mediation Training

Cost: $75
CDSC Pro Bono Mediators: $25 (Use discount code CDSCMEDIATOR)

Only 20 spots available
 

Click here to register now!

Facilitated by Jeanne Cleary, mediator/psychotherapist

About Jeanne: Jeanne is a long-time mediator, trainer/teacher, and relational psychotherapist in private practice in Watertown. 
She is passionate about human potential through relational engagement.

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