Republished with permission by: Will Work For Food
Our special guests this week, Jeff Kichaven, David Shraga, and Michael Schwimmer present on: Lessons from the Table and Hard-Won Wisdom: A Dialogue Between Veteran and Emerging Mediators.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the curtain as a seasoned mediation veteran faces off against two emerging mediators in the field, armed with their toughest real-world challenges and burning questions. Watch sparks fly as our master mediator unveils the hard-won tricks, creative solutions, and diplomatic wizardry that can only come from years of navigating heated disputes and seemingly impossible deadlocks. This isn’t your typical lecture—it’s a dynamic, no-holds-barred conversation where practical wisdom meets fresh perspectives, and where every answer could be the key to unlocking your next mediation breakthrough. Come prepared to scribble notes furiously as we decode the art of turning chaos into collaboration, one battle-tested strategy at a time!
Our presenters:
Jeff Kichaven is one of the country’s preeminent mediators. His unique approach to mediation guides lawyers and clients toward the clear, focused decision-making from which settlements naturally follow. Mr. Kichaven provides far more than just a settlement; he is known for delivering superior client satisfaction with an intense focus on the process, result, and performance of the attorneys.
Mr. Kichaven has received numerous distinctions and is also an internationally recognized speaker on alternative dispute resolution subjects. He has addressed audiences in the United States, Canada, and England for six Sections of the American Bar Association. He has also addressed the Practicing Law Institute, ALI-ABA, State Bar of California, Texas Association of Mediators, North Carolina Bar Association, California Center for Judicial Education and Research, National Seminar Series of the Negotiation Strategy Institute, and many other organizations.
Mr. Kichaven earned his BA from UC Berkeley in 1977, Phi Beta Kappa, and is an Honors Graduate of Harvard Law School, where he received his JD cum laude, in 1980.
With decades of experience as a lawyer and business leader, Michael Schwimmer navigates conflict and solves problems with clarity and purpose. Michael has sat in virtually every chair: attorney with a global law firm, in-house legal counsel, CEO and president roles in startup and multibillion-dollar enterprises, and board member, working throughout the U.S. and Latin America. This unique background enables Michael to deliver a highly skilled, practical, and solution-oriented approach to mediation.
Michael received his law degree from the University of San Francisco (J.D.); and undergraduate degree from University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A.), magna cum laude; with additional education and training at Stanford Graduate School of Business – Executive Program; and Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution, Mediating the Litigated Case program, at Pepperdine University.
David Shraga is a mediator specializing in entertainment, media & intellectual property matters, and has an intimate knowledge of television and film development, financing, production, and distribution across theatrical and digital streaming platforms. With his uncommon background as a litigator, studio executive and dealmaker, David understands both sophisticated litigation and how the entertainment industry functions from an insider’s perspective. As a mediator he uniquely combines this expertise to craft practical settlements of complex and emotionally charged industry disputes.
David received his law degree from USC (JD) and undergraduate degree from Yale (BA). He also trained at the Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution, Mediating the Litigated Case program, at Pepperdine University.
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