Season 05 Episode 05
Irene Takahashi is widely recognized as one of the Bay Area’s leading mediators, and, since 2017, has been a member of the ADR Services, Inc. panel of neutrals. Building on a solid foundation of trial experience, she adds the insights gained while serving as a trial judge for both bench and jury civil and criminal cases. In this episode, Irene and Len discuss the mediation of a wrongful death case arising out of a collision between a car and a motorcycle. The widowed plaintiff’s continued anger at the defendant and the widow’s desire that the defendant suffer posed a substantial impediment to resolution. What did Irene do to overcome this deeply emotional situation and make settlement possible?
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43:01
Peeling the Onion
Season 05 Episode 04
Carmen Alberio is a recognized expert in the field of Probate, Estates, and Trusts law, with 37 years of experience as a Probate Attorney for the Los Angeles Superior Court that has been invaluable in both her probate consultation and mediation work. In this episode, Carmen will share the story of a probate mediation about a dispute between a beneficiary and the successor trustee, and how she was able to guide the parties to resolution. Carmen refers to the process she went through in determining what it would take to settle this case as the process of peeling an onion.
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45:11
A Caring Widow and Her Stepsons
Season 05 Episode 03
Bette Epstein, Esq. has been mediating trust and estate disputes since 2000, following a remarkable career as a trust and estate litigator, and is highly regarded as one of the Bay Area’s leading probate specialists. In this episode, Bette shares the story of a conflict between the widow of a wealthy man whose intent was to ensure that his widow (who provided all the necessary care for him in his lengthy last illness) would be able to maintain the lifestyle she had previously enjoyed with her husband after his death, and his sons from a previous marriage, who were the co-trustees of the trust set up to support the widow. Listen to find out how she was able to guide the parties to a resolution.
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43:51
Betrayal of Trust
Season 05 Episode 02
Steve Cerveris is a full-time, independent mediator and principal of CERVERIS MEDIATION.
Assisting his clients through the emotionally and economically draining, time-consuming challenges of litigation earlier in his 40-year career ultimately led Steve to pursue the field of alternate dispute resolution for the past 25 years. His goal was and is to help people embroiled in litigation find a more humane, positive way to resolve conflict. In this episode, Steve relates the story of children in a church school, their molestation by a trusted pastor, and the devastating effect molestation had on their lives and relationships. The complicated mediation was not only effective in settling a lawsuit, but was also able to provide a means by which healing could begin, in part, through institutional changes.
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46:16
Jaywalking into the Twilight Zone
Season 05 Episode 01
Welcome back for a brand new season of Masters of Dispute Resolution! Joining Len is returning guest Phyllis W. Cheng, Esq., former Director of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), the largest state civil rights agency in the United States. In this episode, Phyllis tells the story of a man in his twenties, alone in a cell in a jail run by a firm under contract with a governmental agency. Activity in the cell was recorded by a video camera, where he was observed to be sleeping and exercising. It then abruptly showed him in pain with contusions, a black eye, and other injuries, with the man unable to remember what happened to him. What happened to cause these injuries? How did Phyllis guide the parties to resolution?
Nationally respected mediator Len Levy explores the world of mediation with those mediators who have proven themselves to be true Masters of Dispute Resolution. These neutrals, including retired jurists, attorneys, and other pioneers in the field of mediation, will provide insights that will assist attorneys and other consumers of dispute resolution services to achieve optimum results and maximize client satisfaction in mediation.
Ireland