Join or renew your membership now and included in your dues will be access to Global Collaborative Law Council’s Annual Civil Collaborative Law Conference, themed “Navigating Conflict with Constructive Creativity,” which took place in mid-town Manhattan at the Offices of the American Arbitration Association in New York on October 30 and 31, 2025. We recorded much of the content, and GCLC members have access to those recordings. Contact Executive Director Melanie Atha and she will send you the links. Available content includes:
1. Not Dead Yet! Bringing HeART Back to Conflict Resolution
What if the future of law wasn’t about winning in court, but about finding the win-win around the table? Zinta Harris, Australian mediator and dual-accredited specialist in business law and succession law, reveals how she redesigned the way inheritance conflict is resolved by replacing adversarial tactics with courageous conversations and compassion. Be inspired to challenge tradition, rediscover the ‘heART’ of law, and learn how you too can lead a quiet revolution of conflict resolution in your corner of legal practice.
2. Robert Arthur, Presdient, International Academy of Collaborative Practitioners: Shared strategic visions for collaborative conflict resolution.
3. International peacemaker and educator, Dr. Anita Dorczak, GCLC Board member, presented “Exploring Creativity in Collaborative Negotiation”
Did you know that creativity is not just reserved for artistic expression? In this presentation, Dr. Anita will delve into a deeper meaning of creativity: guiding you through the stages of the creative process, revealing interesting insights from recent neuroscience and psychology research, and presenting studies on the role of creativity in conflict resolution.
Expect a dynamic session filled with exercises, quizzes, videos, music, and vibrant examples of creativity from a variety of disciplines to appreciate the nexus between collaborative process and the creative process. Upon conclusion of this program, you will appreciate the enemies of creativity, learn how to promote creativity in resolving conflict, and you will acquire techniques to develop your own creative potential.
4. Alexandra Carter, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, bestselling author of “Ask for More: Ten Questions to Negotiate Anything” gave us an hour of wisdom:
Navigating conflict can be challenging, even for the most seasoned professionals. Whether you find yourself shepherding others through difficult conversations, facing unexpected roadblocks, or working to refine your approach, this event is designed to help you enhance your skills and problem-solving strategies.
In this innovative, interactive talk, Professor Alexandra Carter—Director of the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School and Wall Street Journal bestselling author—gives conflict resolvers several powerful tools to achieve immediate results in their work. Straight from the pages of Alex’s Wall Street Journal bestselling book, Ask For More: 10 Questions to Negotiate Anything, participants learn how to ask powerful diagnostic questions and then “land the plane” for the greatest effect. The results? Better deals, fewer losses, and a lot more collaboration across the board.
5. Marketing Civil Collaborative Practices: Best Ideas Revealed! A panel discussion led by GCLC Vice President Paul Faxon, including Jeff Zaino of American Arbitration Association and international negotiator and mediator, Rafael Alves of Brazil. These professionals shared their ideas for effective promotion of conflict resolution practices.
6. “Practical Safety Considerations in Conflict Resolution” lead by Professor Kristen Blankley of the University of Nebraska School of Law.
7. Henry Yampolsky, best-selling author of “Dis-Solving Conflict from Within: An Inner Path for Conflict Transformation” and a leading expert in conflict resolution and trauma-informed practices, presented “High Emotions, Trauma, and Mindfulness in Collaborative Practice and Mediation”
8. Tired of Disputes? Make the Shift from Dispute Resolution to Dispute Prevention
There is an entire industry around dispute resolution. But what if you could help your clients prevent disputes before they begin? This session will share the collaborative work the University of Tennessee and the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, Inc. (CPR) are doing to help organizations understand the why, what and how of dispute prevention.
This session offered insights from UT’s Kate Vitasek and CPR’s Ellen Waldman, authors of the book Preventing the Dispute Before it Begins: Proven Mechanisms for Fostering Better Business Relationships. Attendees learned:
- The differences between dispute prevention and dispute resolution
- Why you should be thinking about dispute prevention
- An introduction to the dispute management continuum
- Case studies showcasing successful dispute prevention mechanisms
- A framework for helping you adopt dispute prevention mechanisms
- How university professors can share the concepts (for free!) with their students
9. Panel of international experts convened by GCLC Board member Ana Luiza Panyagua Etchalus, Brasilian author of “Disaster: What Now?” offered “How Collaborative Approaches can be Effective in Expanding the Concept of Collaboration and in Paving the Way for the Use of Collaborative Law.” The panel featured insights from Anita Dorczak (Canada); Nadia Mesa Del Castillo (Spain); Judge Sergio Arturo Valls Esponda (Mexico); and Valentino Buoro (Nigeria)