This is the property of the Daily Journal Corporation and fully protected by copyright. It is made available only to Daily Journal subscribers for personal or collaborative purposes and may not be distributed, reproduced, modified, stored or transferred without written permission. Please click "Reprint" to order presentation-ready copies to distribute to clients or use in commercial marketing materials or for permission to post on a website. and copyright (showing year of publication) at the bottom.
Subscribe to the Daily Journal for access to Daily Appellate Reports, Verdicts, Judicial Profiles and more...

Feb. 11, 2026

Training for the table or the trial - 7 mediation skills every attorney can use

Mediators and attorneys serve different roles -- neutral and advocate -- but share a common aim: guiding people through high-stakes conflict. Integrating mediation skills can make lawyers more effective, empathetic and impactful advocates.

Mae Villanueva

Founder
Mae Villanueva Mediation

Email: mae@maevillanuevamediation.com

Mae Villanueva is the founder of Mae Villanueva Mediation and has worked with hundreds of litigants in civil disputes since 2012. She has successfully mediated cases involving employment, wage and hour disputes, landlord-tenant matters, and other issues, utilizing both facilitative and evaluative methods to guide parties toward resolution. Mae holds a master's degree in dispute resolution and negotiation, has mediated more than 100 court cases, and further refined her expertise at Pepperdine's renowned Straus Institute.

See more...

Training for the table or the trial - 7 mediation skills every attorney can use
Shutterstock

Mediators and attorneys play different roles within our legal system for dispute resolution. One is a neutral, the other an advocate. They have distinct functions, approaches, processes and training. (Although many mediators are attorneys, a law degree is not required.)

Mediators are tr...

To continue reading, please subscribe.
For only $95 a month (the price of 2 article purchases)
Receive unlimited article access and full access to our archives,
Daily Appellate Report, award winning columns, and our
Verdicts and Settlements.
Or
$895, but save $100 when you subscribe today… Just $795 for the first year!

Or access this article for $45
(Purchase provides 7-day access to this article. Printing, posting or downloading is not allowed.)

Already a subscriber?

Enewsletter Sign-up