Join ADR Services, Inc. for the complimentary Construction Powerhouse Seminar, a full-day complimentary program featuring some of California’s leading construction neutrals. This practical, fast-paced seminar will cover the issues driving today’s construction disputes, including effective mediation of complex multi-party disputes, mandatory mediation under SB 440, insurance and coverage dynamics in construction defect cases, the growing crossover between real property and construction issues, and a live “Ask Me Anything” panel with seasoned construction dispute resolution professionals. Designed for construction litigators, insurers, developers, contractors, and industry professionals, this program will provide actionable insight into the strategies, trends, and challenges shaping modern construction dispute resolution.

This interactive CLE program is tailored specifically for ACC members and in-house legal professionals, addressing the distinct stressors facing the legal community while providing practical, research-based tools that participants can immediately integrate into their professional practice. We encourage you to bring your own insights and experiences to share to help make this a practical, lively session.

Curious about public appointments, mediation, or building a bold environmental law career? Join us for Chairs’ Corner on July 23 at noon as ELS Chair Peter Ton welcomes 2012 ELS Chair Gideon Kracov.  Gideon is a former Deputy Los Angeles City Attorney, private practitioner (both plaintiff-side and defense), current Loyola Law School adjunct professor, full-time mediator at ADR Services, Inc. in Los Angeles, and was a gubernatorial appointee to the California Air Resources Board and South Coast Air Quality Management District from 2020-2025.  Through the lens of his deep and colorful 30+ year career, Gideon will share insights on seizing the moment to pursue new opportunities for your practice.

Discovery disputes are inevitable in employment litigation, but how you handle them can determine whether you win credibility or lose it with the court. This panel brings together plaintiff, defense, and neutral perspectives to explore how lawyers can advocate forcefully while maintaining civility. Panelists will discuss what actually moves the needle with judges and discovery referees, strategic choices that help rather than hinder your position, and when escalating a dispute advances your client’s interests—or backfires. Attendees will leave with practical guidance for resolving discovery battles effectively, professionally, and persuasively.

Retirement can be one of the most significant transitions in a lawyer’s or judge’s professional life. While financial planning often receives considerable attention, the personal, psychological, and professional dimensions of retirement can be equally important and far more complex.

Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking webinar featuring selected clips from the documentary Retirement on Trial, followed by a dynamic panel discussion exploring professional identity, purpose, aging, wellness, and the transition from full-time legal practice. The program will examine questions many attorneys and judges face but rarely discuss openly: How much of our identity is tied to our role as lawyers or judges? How do we recognize when it is time to change course? What does a meaningful “glide path” toward retirement look like? And how can we create a fulfilling vision for life beyond a demanding legal career?

Drawing on themes highlighted in the documentary and informed by the experiences of jurists and attorneys, the panel will explore the challenges and opportunities that accompany later-career transitions. Topics will include the evolving meaning of work, the impact of aging on professional life, maintaining wellness and purpose, navigating changing capacity and workload, alternative practice arrangements, and practical approaches to designing a rewarding next chapter.

Presented by the Health & Wellness Committee in collaboration with the California Judges Association.

Description: Governmental immunities are jury questions spelled out in the CACI but can be an equally powerful defense before trial on summary judgement or adjudication. This program examines the seven key governmental immunities reflected in California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI’s 1110–1124), including natural conditions, reasonable acts or omissions, traffic control and warning devices, weather-related conditions, and design immunity. The session also explores the evolving doctrine of loss of design immunity, tracing the law from Cornette v. Department of Transportation through Tansavatdi v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes and discussing what the future may hold for this critical defense. Speakers: Michael...

This presentation will focus on complex negotiation tactics and modern trends in mediating claims, addressing issues like dealing with lien-based treatment bills as a hurdle to resolution and providing a claimant-side perspective to aid in preparation for mediation and achieving settlement.

Mediation of affirmative tenant claims are never just two-sided disputes — they are multi-layered negotiations shaped by local eviction control ordinances, insurance coverage issues, and the value of the tenancy.

Join Steve Abern (Mediator/Panel Counsel), Jacqueline Ravenscroft (Plaintiff’s Counsel), and Jeff Woo (Personal Counsel) for a candid, practical discussion of who’s really in the room — and how their roles intersect before and during mediation. This is Part 2, find Part 1 on our YouTube Channel Here: https://www.youtube.com/@ADRServicesInc1/featured

This program moves beyond generic mediation advice to focus on the players and their interplay: panel counsel, personal counsel, claims representatives, and plaintiff’s counsel. Through real-world habitability and wrongful eviction case examples, the panel will explore preparation and case evaluation, insurance coverage issues, attorney’s fees, statutory penalties, potential tenancy buyouts, and the optics that influence carrier decision-making.

Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of how each role evaluates risk, communicates with carriers, navigates authority, and shifts strategy at mediation — and how to work more effectively across the aisle to reach resolution.

California lawyers regularly treat mediation, MSCs and informal settlement conferences as interchangeable, especially when it comes to confidentiality. The law draws distinctions that they should be aware of. Two retired judges will break down the statutory framework covering settlement discussions in the Evidence Code and Rules of Court and some of the subtle differences between mediation, settlement conferences and informal “hallway” negotiations. The judges will also discuss how such differences might impact procedural and tactical approaches for MSCs and mediation, and common missteps.

This Panel is a sequel, by popular demand, to ADR Services, Inc.'s July 2025 "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors" Real Estate Litigation 101 CLE webcast with real estate litigation experts from Schorr Law, APC in Los Angeles and mediator Gideon Kracov, Esq. Last time, the panelists could not wrap up all the Q and A in the time allotted — more than thirty questions remained. This interactive "201 Advanced Class" will answer those remaining questions, ask for and answer your new questions, and delve into best practices and practical advice for how to litigate and resolve all variety of real estate disputes including sale, neighbor, property damage, land use, HOA and title matters.

Missed Part 1? Watch it free here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKQOx8jwPlY&t=1s

The Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite® is nationally recognized as the largest and most prestigious gathering in California of leaders in environmental, land use, and natural resources law. We hope you will join us and many of our nation’s top environmental officials, lawyers, and other professionals for four days of legal education and collegiality in Yosemite when we open our registration in 2026.
Earn up to 11.25 Hours of MCLE, which can include 3 Hours Implicit Bias, 1.5 Hours Technology in the Practice of Law and 1.5 Hours Civility in the Legal Profession.

Founded and hosted by Aimee Wagstaff of the Wagstaff Law Firm, Women En Mass brings together the best and brightest female plaintiff mass tort attorneys to discuss issues that affect women, from the boardroom to the courtroom. It’s a chance to bond with fellow attorneys, strengthen existing relationships and create new connections in one of the most beautiful places in the Western United States. The world may have changed a great deal for women in America over the last 100 years, but there’s still work to be done. And WEM represents the perfect opportunity to work toward solutions that can make a positive impact on the lives of women everywhere.