Modernizing Mediation, with Morgan Tregenza of Levelheaded (Ep. 49)
In this episode, Colin Rule interviews Morgan Duffy Tregenza (Mo), Founder and CEO of Levelheaded, about her path into the field and her vision for https://www.belevelheaded.com/, a startup mediation service provider in Colorado.
Mo is working hard to turn Levelheaded into the world’s most easy-to-use and prolific mediation platform. Levelheaded's mission is to make the world a less litigious place. She currently serves as the President of the Mediation Association of Colorado where she helps to make mediation readily available in the State of Colorado. She often testifies in the Legislature in advocating for mediation as an accessible and viable option for resolving disputes. Prior to starting levelheaded, Mo ran her own mediation practice. She's written children's books and designed, developed and launched a photobook app for busy families.
Learn more about Mo here: https://coloradomediation.org/mediator/court-mediation-services/
Learn about Levelheaded here: https://www.belevelheaded.com/
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28:15
Family Mediation and Intimate Partner Violence, with Prof. Kelly Browe Olson (Ep. 48)
In this episode, Colin Rule interviews Professor Kelly Browe Olson about her chapter in the new book (that she also co-edited) entitled Family Dispute Resolution: Process and Practice. Kelly's chapter is titled "Intimate Partner Violence and Family Dispute Resolution: Coercion, Capacity, and Control" and it covers the dialogue between victim advocates and family mediators over the past few decades, the importance of screening (not only at the beginning but throughout the mediation process), and issues in the future as mediation moves more online.
This podcast is part of a continuing series interviewing authors from Family Dispute Resolution: Process and Practice.
About the book:
"Over the last 50 years family justice systems in the United States and elsewhere have evolved from a predominant adversarial approach focused on litigation to the significant integration of more collaborative, settlement-oriented approaches, especially mediation. In Family Dispute Resolution: Process and Practice some of the field's leading practitioners, researchers, teachers, and policymakers provide an overview of the modern family dispute resolution processes designed to help separating and divorcing parents make decisions about the future of their families.
Chapters in this book address the growth of divorce mediation and other specialized processes including parenting coordination, arbitration, child-inclusive mediation, and online dispute resolution. They describe how to work with families experiencing issues including domestic violence, high conflict, substance misuse, and the lack of legal representation. Case management initiatives and special issues, including social science research and conflicting standards of practice, are also explored.
Family Dispute Resolution provides a wide-ranging look at contemporary family dispute resolution processes and is essential reading for everyone interested in learning more about working with separating and divorcing families, including professionals, and law and graduate students."
Buy it here:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/family-dispute-resolution-9780197545904
https://www.amazon.com/Family-Dispute-Resolution-Handbook/dp/0197545904
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45:38
Training an AI on Yourself, with Prof. John Lande (Ep. 46)
In this episode, Colin Rule interviews Emeritus Professor from the University of Missouri School of Law John Lande about his experience creating an AI (PrivateGPT) trained on all of his writing over the past forty years. Starting from the beginning, when John didn't know much about AI, he narrates the experience of training an LLM (Large Language Model) on his collected writings and evolving the AI into a coach (called RPS Coach) which is now able to support different types of users (e.g. parties, lawyers, and mediators) helping them find success in their efforts to craft solutions to conflict. We chew over about what this means today, but also where this all may be headed over the longer term as AIs get more powerful and more pervasive throughout the academy and throughout our lives.
You can access RPS Coach here:
https://chatgpt.com/g/g-67bdbff0204c81919bae3f14ac7810dc-rps-negotiation-and-mediation-coach
Some other pieces John has written about his experiences with AI include:
A guide on using RPS coach: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5199282
RPS Coach and bias: http://indisputably.org/2025/03/rps-coach-is-biased-and-proud-of-it/
http://indisputably.org/2025/04/ai-can-help-students-learn-you-get-better-papers-and-you-know-its-theirs/
http://indisputably.org/2025/04/how-you-can-survive-grading-season-with-a-little-help-from-your-friend-rps-coach/
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31:05
Family Mediation Past, Present, and Future with Bernie Mayer and Peter Salem (Ep. 46)
In this episode, Colin Rule interviews dispute resolution giants Bernard Mayer and Peter Salem about the chapter they co-wrote in the new book Family Dispute Resolution: Process and Practice. Peter and Bernie's chapter is titled "Family Mediation" and it covers the evolution of the practice of family mediation over the past few decades and makes some predictions about its future evolution as well. Our conversation takes a wide sweep over the evolution of the field, and even gets into some of the ways recent political changes might affect it moving forward.
This podcast is part of a continuing series interviewing authors from Family Dispute Resolution: Process and Practice.
About the book:
"Over the last 50 years family justice systems in the United States and elsewhere have evolved from a predominant adversarial approach focused on litigation to the significant integration of more collaborative, settlement-oriented approaches, especially mediation. In Family Dispute Resolution: Process and Practice some of the field's leading practitioners, researchers, teachers, and policymakers provide an overview of the modern family dispute resolution processes designed to help separating and divorcing parents make decisions about the future of their families.
Chapters in this book address the growth of divorce mediation and other specialized processes including parenting coordination, arbitration, child-inclusive mediation, and online dispute resolution. They describe how to work with families experiencing issues including domestic violence, high conflict, substance misuse, and the lack of legal representation. Case management initiatives and special issues, including social science research and conflicting standards of practice, are also explored.
Family Dispute Resolution provides a wide-ranging look at contemporary family dispute resolution processes and is essential reading for everyone interested in learning more about working with separating and divorcing families, including professionals, and law and graduate students."
Buy it here:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/family-dispute-resolution-9780197545904
https://www.amazon.com/Family-Dispute-Resolution-Handbook/dp/0197545904
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48:59
Implementing ODR in Family Courts with Jennifer Shack (Ep. 45)
In this episode, Colin Rule interviews Jennifer Shack, Director of Research at RSI, about the chapter she co-wrote with Donna Shestowsky in the new book Family Dispute Resolution: Process and Practice. Jen and Donna's chapter is titled "Implementing ODR in Family Court: Insights from the First Neutral Program Evaluation in the United States" and it shares conclusions from the first neutral evaluation of a family court ODR implementation in the US.
This podcast is part of a continuing series interviewing authors from Family Dispute Resolution: Process and Practice.
About the book:
"Over the last 50 years family justice systems in the United States and elsewhere have evolved from a predominant adversarial approach focused on litigation to the significant integration of more collaborative, settlement-oriented approaches, especially mediation. In Family Dispute Resolution: Process and Practice some of the field's leading practitioners, researchers, teachers, and policymakers provide an overview of the modern family dispute resolution processes designed to help separating and divorcing parents make decisions about the future of their families.
Chapters in this book address the growth of divorce mediation and other specialized processes including parenting coordination, arbitration, child-inclusive mediation, and online dispute resolution. They describe how to work with families experiencing issues including domestic violence, high conflict, substance misuse, and the lack of legal representation. Case management initiatives and special issues, including social science research and conflicting standards of practice, are also explored.
Family Dispute Resolution provides a wide-ranging look at contemporary family dispute resolution processes and is essential reading for everyone interested in learning more about working with separating and divorcing families, including professionals, and law and graduate students."
Buy it here:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/family-dispute-resolution-9780197545904
https://www.amazon.com/Family-Dispute-Resolution-Handbook/dp/0197545904
The Mediate.com Podcast covers everything in the world of mediation: conflict resolution, best practices, ethics, technology, and business development. Episodes include interviews with experienced practitioners, discussions of practice dilemmas, and explorations of the future of the mediation field. Join us if you’re interested in mediation, just getting started as a mediator, or if you have decades of practice under your belt -- we’d love to have you as part of our community.
Ireland