Masters of Dispute Resolution

Season 04 Episode 12 Bob Friedenberg, a full-time Mediator and Arbitrator on the Panel of Neutrals of ADR Services, Inc., and a former litigator, educator, and track coach, has 40 years of legal experience, the last 20 of which have been exclusively as a full-time mediator, arbitrator and discovery referee and special master. He has handled well over 2,000 cases through his years of experience. In...

Season 04 Episode 11 Steven A. Block, Esq. is a highly experienced mediator, arbitrator, special master, and referee. In this episode Steve tells the story of conflicts within a family, owners of a very successful farm operation, headed by two brothers and founded by their grandparents a century before. That conflict jeopardized not only the ability to continue their legacy business, but also thei...

Season 04 Episode 10 Brad Bening is one of the most effective and well-regarded neutrals in Northern California. He has successfully mediated more than 2,000 cases throughout his career. In this episode, Brad shares the story of a conflict that arose in the aftermath of a wealthy man’s death when his family learned that he had fathered additional children, including two with an employee of his fir...

Season 04 Episode 09 Patrick M. Kelly is one of the pre-eminent trial lawyers, litigators, law firm leaders, and professional association leaders in the country. He has vast experience in numerous substantive areas that he will bring to bear in efficiently, effectively, and economically resolving matters as a mediator, arbitrator, or referee. In this episode, Pat tells the story of a complex proba...

Season 04 Episode 08 Jeanne Behling, Esq. is a seasoned mediator, having successfully resolved hundreds of disputes since commencing her full-time mediation practice in 2016. In this episode, Jeanne joins Len to tell the story of a truck driver whose injuries had him facing the end of a career that not only provided support for his family, but was also tied to his feeling of self-worth, and the ob...

Season 04 Episode 07 Scott Dickinson, Esq. has mediated nearly 3500 cases, and brings to his nearly 20 year highly successful mediation practice experience as a trial lawyer representing both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of civil matters. In this episode, Scott tells the story of an 85-year-old man injured in a motor vehicle accident and what it took to not only overcome unrealistic...

Season 04 Episode 06 Lance A. LaBelle, Esq. is a highly regarded mediator, arbitrator, and insurance expert with experience handling all forms of insurance matters. In this conversation with Len, Lance tells the story of a dog attack that resulted not only in devastating injuries to those bitten but also potentially affected the life of the dog owner’s lessor. Lance demonstrates how he was able to...

Season 04 Episode 05 Steven Paul, Esq. is a full-time mediator based in Los Angeles, California, primarily mediating labor and employment disputes including discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, and wage and hour individual and class action claims. Steve is a Distinguished Fellow and the Immediate Past President of the International Academy of Mediators and in this episode, joins Len t...

Season 04 Episode 04 Retired Judge Joe Hilberman, one of the most highly regarded mediators and arbitrators in the field, is known for his deep knowledge of the mediation process, as well as being creative and insightful. In this episode, Judge Hilberman joins Len Levy to share the story of a mother’s loss of her daughter in a fatal car crash with an unmarked police car, the mediation he conducted...

Season 04 Episode 03 Phyllis W. Cheng, Esq., has excelled at every stage of her career. As the former Director of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), the largest state civil rights agency in the United States, she oversaw some of the largest settlements in DFEH history. In this episode, Ms. Cheng joins Len to tell the story of a viral video of an arrest in the aftermath of the Ma...

Season 04 Episode 02 Jeff Trueman, a two-time guest on Masters of Dispute Resolution , and Len Levy switch roles in this episode. Jeff interviews Len as he tells the story of two musicians who split up and no longer communicated after the cancellation of a television show featuring a theme song composed and sung by the two. Many years later, the show was picked up in syndication, and they could no...

Season 04 Episode 01 Steve Sepassi is a highly accomplished professional in handling a wide range of legal matters, including personal injury, school liability, real estate, landlord-tenant, commercial, and insurance cases. We begin our fourth season with Steve sharing the story of a mediation between a school district and a former student, almost 40 years after a principal entered into a sexual r...

Season 03 Episode 12 Since 1987, Sanford Jossen has mediated and arbitrated thousands of cases across a broad spectrum of civil litigation matters. In this episode, Sandy shares the story of a musician who, in the middle of the pandemic, left his rent-controlled apartment to act as caretaker for his ailing mother in another city, returning to the apartment a year later only to find the building wa...

Season 03 Episode 11 In January 2003, Alan Saler launched what quickly became a thriving mediation practice. He has always enjoyed the luxury of being an independent, full-time provider of mediation services. As a mediator, he draws on his considerable prior legal experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of litigation matters. In this episode, Alan shares the story of tw...

Season 03 Episode 10 Eric Galton has been a Texas attorney for 47 years and a full-time mediator for 35 years and has mediated nearly 8000 cases in 22 states and 16 foreign nations. He is a Distinguished Credentialed Mediator with the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association and a past president of the International Academy of Mediators. In this episode, Eric tells the story about the mediation of...

Season 03 Episode 09 Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA, left a successful career as a trial lawyer to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity on many levels, doing so as an award-winning author, teacher, trainer, and highly experienced mediator. In this episode, Doug tells the story of a divorced couple engaged in a dispute ostensibly about the use of money that had been in a trust fund, how t...

Season 03 Episode 08 Michael G. Balmages, Esq. is an accomplished mediator and discovery referee with extensive experience as a trial lawyer, general counsel, and transactional lawyer. As a mediator and neutral, he has had great success in helping litigants resolve their disputes in more than 1,000 cases. In this episode, Michael tells the story of a litigated matter, its effect on the parties’ lo...

Season 03 Episode 07 Phyllis W. Cheng, Esq., has excelled at every stage of her career. For nearly seven years, Ms. Cheng was Director of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), the largest state civil rights agency in the United States, where she oversaw the largest settlements in DFEH history. In this episode, Phyllis joins Len to tell the moving story of a university student whose...

Season 03 Episode 06 Jeff Trueman, Esq., is an experienced, full-time mediator and arbitrator. Specializing in interpersonal conflict, he is well known as a manager of difficult conversations. Jeff joins Len Levy to tell the story of a family reunion suddenly becoming transformed from a joyous occasion to one of life-changing injury and grief and how the mediation Jeff conducted was instrumental i...

Season 03 Episode 05 Wendy Kramer, a full-time neutral on the ADR Services, Inc. panel of neutrals, is one of the most sought-after mediators with a reputation for being highly effective in bringing parties to resolution. In this episode, Wendy joins Len to tell the story of a gay high school student, long bullied and subsequently physically injured by his tormentor, the misdiagnosis that exacerba...

Season 03 Episode 04 Lee Jay Berman became a full-time Los Angeles mediator 28 years ago and has since mediated over 2,500 cases. As an AAA Master Mediator panelist for employment matters and on AAA’s national roster for commercial and construction disputes, he trains mediators through the American Institute of Mediation locally and worldwide. In this episode, Lee Jay tells the story of a successf...

Season 03 Episode 03 As one of the most effective mediators and professors of mediation, Stacie Feldman Hausner has impressed attorneys, their clients, and fellow mediators with her deep knowledge of the intricacies of the mediation process and her ability to apply those concepts successfully. In this episode, Stacie tells the story of two longtime friends and a business opportunity gone wrong, re...

Season 03 Episode 02 Mark Baer is an attorney who works as a mediator, conflict resolution consultant, coach, trainer, and educator on implicit bias and emotional intelligence. His approach to conflict recognizes that emotion impacts decision-making and that the litigation process itself often incites rather than calms harmful emotions. In his conversation with Len, Mark conveys the story of a mar...

Season 03 Episode 01 As an exceptionally skilled mediator, Claudia Hagadus Long has mediated over 3000 cases and is currently a member of the ADR Services, Inc. panel of mediators. To begin our third season, this master storyteller and mediator shares with Len the fascinating story of a highly qualified nurse, terminated from her job for making a statement taken as a threat and what occurred durin...

Season 02 Episode 12 Caroline C. Vincent, Esq., a pioneer attorney neutral in Southern California, has mediated and arbitrated well over 2,700 matters during her distinguished 27-year neutral career. Her broad legal background with some of California’s most prestigious firms, superb interpersonal skills, keen intellect, and perseverance make her a preferred choice for both plaintiff and defense at...