WEBINAR: How You Can Prevent Inadvertent Discrimination in Dispute Resolution

Our unconscious biases mean there are lots of ways dispute resolvers might accidentally discriminate against people without realizing it.  This can affect how quickly or thoroughly we answer e-mails, how we respond to challenging behaviors, what kinds of questions we ask, and how we respond to requests for changes to our dispute resolution process.  In addition to our ethical standards to ensure impartiality, we also operate in a world filled with legal standards that prohibit discrimination based on legally protected classes such as race, gender, and disability.  Moreover, parties are becoming increasingly educated about their rights, and assertive about problems, amidst growing social movements that are aiming to confront these disparities.  It's therefore more important than ever that we learn how to notice and prevent accidental discrimination.

This program teaches dispute resolution professionals how they can become attuned to instances of microaggressions and unintentional discrimination, so they can provide parties with the most empowering experiences possible.  We will review tools to help you notice, prevent, and respond to these various problems so you can ensure that you have procedurally fair practices that are consistent and resilient despite any implicit biases.

**Approved for 1.0 hours CME credit (0.0 ethics) by the Supreme Court of Virginia**

Whether a recording of this webinar will be provided to registrants is TBD.

This course counts toward MC3 certification and recertification. Visit MC3 Mediator Certification for more information.

Presenter Bio

Dan Berstein combines his professional expertise as a mediator, his academic background in mental health and public health, and his personal experience living with bipolar disorder to develop innovative online programs that use conflict resolution best practices to prevent discrimination.  Through his company, MH Mediate, Dan has trained thousands of people to talk about mental health, address challenging behaviors, and resolve conflicts.  Clients have included individuals, organizations, and government agencies at the city, state, and federal levels.

Dan is the co-founder of the Dispute Resolution in Mental Health Initiative at the CUNY Dispute Resolution Center. He holds a master’s degree in Mental Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, a bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School at the University Pennsylvania, and a mediation certification from the New York Peace Institute where he formerly sat on the Mediator Advisory Board.  His book, Mental Health and Conflicts: A Handbook for Empowerment, was published by the American Bar Association in 2022.