Advanced Trainings & Workshops
Focused, practical sessions for trained mediators ready to go deeper on specific skills and content. These programs are offered online and in-person ranging from 6 to 15 hours depending on the training. Training will be led by Shawn Weber and other experienced colleagues based on subject matter.
The Still Center Retreat
You know the moment. The room starts tilting. You feel your footing slip. You are having just as hard a time managing yourself as your clients are managing themselves.
This special retreat is about what you do in that moment. It is a one-day, small group program focused on mediator self-regulation. The goal is straightforward: learn the skills to stay in the eye of the storm without contributing to the wind.
This is not a lecture. It is hands-on, applied work. You will practice recognizing your own stress responses, learn techniques for staying grounded under pressure, and build habits that hold up in actual sessions. The day includes guided exercises, small group discussions, and a walk on the beach.
The setting matters. Weber Dispute Resolution is not a hotel conference room. The space is intentionally designed for this kind of work. The small group size means you get direct, personal attention.
What you will take away:
- A framework for recognizing when you are being pulled into the conflict
- Practical techniques for regulating yourself in real time during a session
- Tools for managing the cumulative strain of working in high-conflict environments
- A clearer understanding of what steady practice looks like over time, not just in a single hard session
Saturday, August 29, 2026
8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. PT
Live In-person at
Weber Dispute Resolution
777 S. Highway 101, Ste. 123
Solana Beach, CA 92075
Still Center Retreat Facilitators
Shawn Weber, CLS-F*
Shawn Weber, CLS-F* is joined by Jaye-Jo Portanova, MD, an experienced expert and trainer. A board-certified adult and child psychiatrist with more than 40 years of experience working with families across diverse clinical settings, Dr. Portanova serves as a mediator, Collaborative Divorce coach, and child specialist. She is passionate about teaching and training professionals in the evolving field of consensual dispute resolution.
Jaye-Jo Portanova, MD
Friday, January 8 & Saturday, January 9, 2027
Format: Two days, in person Location: San Diego, CA
Group size: Limited enrollment
Open to: Mediators and dispute resolution professionals at any stage of building their practice.
Location:
Weber Dispute Resolution
777 S. Highway 101, Ste. 123
Solana Beach, CA 92075
ADR Keys to Success
You took your 40-hour Mediation Training and learned the basic skills. Nobody taught you how to get clients, set your fees, or build a practice that actually pays. What worked in your law practice or therapy practice does not translate to a mediation business. The referral sources are different. The client expectations are different. The pricing model is different. The marketing is different. Most mediators figure this out the hard way, through trial and error, undercharging, financial volatility, and wondering why the phone is not ringing.
This two-day workshop is built around the business side of dispute resolution. Shawn Weber brings 25 years of experience building and running a mediation practice. Lynne White brings 42 years of experience as a business consultant advising professionals on strategy, pricing, marketing, and operations. Together, they cover what most mediation business trainings never touch.
Shawn brings the practical implementation of Lynne’s consultation and his own growth in the mediation industry.
What the Workshop Covers:
- Transforming your mediation training into a successful mediation business
- Defining your brand, ideal client and ideal case
- Pricing your services and understanding what the market will bear
- Setting up intake systems that convert inquiries into clients
- Building referral networks that actually send you cases
- Marketing strategies that work for mediators
- Managing your schedule and workflow without burning out
- Positioning yourself in a competitive market
- Learning the keys to making your ADR practice soar
Workshop Instructors
Shawn Weber, JD, CLS-F*
Pro Peacemaker
Shawn Weber is a 25-year San Diego divorce attorney and family law veteran who gets the human side of an ADR practice. He is a nationally known Mediation and Collaborative Practice trainer and sought after leader and consultant in the ADR field. Read more about Shawn.
Lynne M. White, CLSC, CDPC, CWC
Rock Star Business Consultant
Lynne White is a 42-year Business Consultant with 26 years consulting to family law practices, child custody forensic psychologists, and related mental health professionals, as well as over 32 other industries. She is uniquely skilled at seeing the deep paradigms that hide out silently blocking what a business and its people are working to generate. Visit www.lynnemwhite.com.
