A Year End Message from MCLA’s Executive Director Bennett Root
As we close out 2025, I want to take a moment to reflect on a very special year for the Mediation Center of Los Angeles, a year defined by creation of community partnerships, educational expansion, program growth, and continued momentum toward our Mission of making mediation the preferred path to conflict resolution for disputants across Los Angeles and throughout California.
Although MCLA has served the community for more than a decade, it is during these last two years that we have seen our Mission most fully realized. With the recognition of our historic service and with a substantial trust placed in us by the Los Angeles Superior Court, MCLA was selected as an official court-referral mediation service. This milestone transformed our ability to serve thousands of litigants who desire to resolve their disputes without extended court involvement. In a system where our court may have approaching 100,000 new matters filed annually, mediation is not simply an alternative, it is an essential resource that saves time, resources, and emotional strain for thousands of families, and tax dollars for 10,000,000 county residents.
This year, we deepened our partnership with LASC and our community. In additional to handling almost 3,000 Civil Unlimited matters, our new Probate Mediation Program with the Superior Court has extended our service to support families navigating delicate issues of inter-generational transition. And soon our new Family Dispute Mediation Program will serve Angelos for some of their most sensitive and urgent disputes.
Beyond our work in Los Angeles, MCLA embarked in 2025 on providing innovative dispute resolution service statewide. Our Arbitration Program with the California Association of Realtors ® launched our service offering throughout California and is demonstrating the strength, efficiency, and reliability of our administrative model. The successes of current partnerships will serve as the foundation for future service partnerships with other counties, courts, institutions, and law firms seeking to integrate dependable dispute resolution services into their services.
Our commitment to community outreach and education also grew this year. Based on the success of our trial model, our MCLE programs for dispute resolution will expand in 2026, and special advanced training for advocates and our mentorship program for new neutrals at USC Gould School of Law will grow as well. Our academic initiatives remain a vital part of our mission, ensuring attorneys, mediators, and community members have access to meaningful, practical, cutting-edge continuing education.
And finally, we celebrated our community through multiple events, including honoring leaders like Myer Sankary and Enrique Koenig for their lifelong contributions to access to justice, and engaging with members of the judiciary and legal community through our educational and outreach efforts. Our upcoming Annual Dinner in February 2026 will continue that tradition, recognizing exemplary leadership across the field.
As we complete our second year of administering the Court’s Mediation Referral Program and prepare for further expansion, I remain deeply grateful for the trust and cooperation of the judges, attorneys, mediators, law firms, and community leaders who make our dispute resolution work possible. The progress we have seen and the services we now provide are the direct result of your collaboration and support.
On behalf of our entire team, thank you for an impactful year. We look forward to entering 2026 with continued purpose, renewed energy, and a shared commitment to expanding access to high-quality mediation.
Wishing you and your loved ones a warm, restorative, and joyful holiday season.
Bennett Root
Executive Director, Mediation Center of Los Angeles
Join us for MCLA’s Second Annual Dinner, a special evening dedicated to community, collaboration, and the impact of mediation
with special keynote speaker Presiding Judge Sergio C. Tapia II
and honorees Hon. Huey P. Cotton, Nancy Bullock, and Kerry Bigornia.
February 26, 2026, 6:00pm Reception | 7:00pm Dinner
City Club Los Angeles
555 Flower St 51st Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071
MCLA’s Devin Tucker Joins the Breaking Bullying Podcast to Talk Mediation and Bullying Prevention
Outreach Director, Devin Tucker, recently joined the Breaking Bullying Podcast with Tim Flynn to talk about one of the most common and most misunderstood forms of conflict: challenges between friends.
“We explored how misunderstandings truly develop, why most people don’t intend harm, and how empathy and clear communication can completely shift the outcome”
In the episode, Devin shares real-world mediation tools she uses to help young people and adults navigate tough conversations, rebuild trust, and strengthen emotional intelligence. These skills are becoming essential in schools, families, and everyday life.
Listen to the full episode here →
Mediation: Maximizing the Opportunities in a Time of Crowded Dockets
by Myer Sankary and John Derrick
Most attorneys are well aware of the numerous ADR options available for litigated disputes in Los Angeles County, including private services and Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles mediation and settlement conferences programs. Given the extraordinary volume of cases filed annually, the court has strategically emphasized alternative dispute resolution to fulfill its mission. The court’s ADR programs play a vital part in fulfilling its mission: “The Court serves our community by providing equal access to justice through the fair, timely and effective resolution of all cases.1”
Pre-mediation conferences provide numerous strategic advantages. Here’s a checklist of what can be involved and the benefits:
Process Control and Efficiency:
• Establish initial contact between mediator and counsel in an informal setting.
• Allow the mediator to assess party dynamics and anticipated behaviors.
• Enable attorneys and mediators to avoid surprises and conduct cost-effective sessions.
Substantive Preparation:
• Confirm parties’ settlement authority and identify necessary third-party participants.
• Verify completion of essential discovery and identify key documents.
• Help parties prioritize issues while maintaining flexibility to adjust during mediation.
Logistical Planning:
• Estimate time required for effective mediation, ensuring adequate scheduling.
• Identify the most critical documents for mediator review.
• Determine whether briefs will be confidential or shared.
• Discuss the optimal balance between joint sessions and confidential caucuses.
Establishing Foundation:
• Build rapport between mediator and counsel—a key factor in successful mediation.
• Address parties’ questions about the process.
• Check for potential conflicts of interest.
• Shift focus from problem causation toward solution development.
Effective mediation doesn’t begin when parties enter the breakout rooms—it begins weeks earlier with thorough preparation and a full understanding of the process, including confidentiality. By embracing pre-mediation readiness conferences in appropriate cases, submitting materials with adequate lead time,
and approaching ADR with the same rigor as trial preparation, attorneys can dramatically improve outcomes for their clients. In an overburdened court system, this preparation isn’t merely beneficial—it’s essential to fulfilling our professional obligations and the court’s mission of providing fair, timely, and efficient justice.
This month, we are proud to spotlight Jennifer Johnston Terando, a distinguished medical malpractice mediator, litigator, and registered nurse whose unique combination of clinical and legal expertise brings extraordinary value to the mediation process.
Jennifer Terando, RN, Esq., brings a rare blend of clinical experience and legal insight to medical malpractice mediation. With years spent advocating for patients and navigating complex healthcare systems, she now applies her deep understanding of medicine and law to help parties reach meaningful, informed resolutions. Her feature explores how her background strengthens her approach to high-stakes disputes and why her work has become an essential resource for litigants across California.
“When a mediator brings their authentic self to the process, a natural trust develops with the participants.”
When she’s not mediating complex medical disputes, Jennifer treasures moments with her family, enjoying a recent mother-daughter trip to Multnomah Falls in Oregon.
Stay up to Date: California’s New Account Deletion Law Is a Compliance Iceberg for Social Media Platforms (AB 656) by Alexis Keenan
Major social media platforms will soon be subject to a new law in California that entitles users to a conspicuous “delete account” button that can erase their personal data from the clutches of Big Tech.
The law’s deceptively simple text is expected to trigger a nationwide and even global response from platforms and could expose those that fail to comply to a range of risks. AB 656, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law last month, is enforceable starting Jan. 1, 2026.
In essence, the law amends California’s Civil Code so that platform users are more empowered to wipe their valuable personal data from their social media accounts, without platforms slowing down or hindering that process.
Lydia Liberio, a mediator and arbitrator at the nonprofit Mediation Center for Los Angeles and a civil litigator commented on the exceptions to the rule under California’s privacy laws.
The laws permit platforms to retain data that they need to maintain current business-consumer relationships, she said. They also allow platforms to retain certain data that they obtained directly from consumers, as well as
data subject to litigation holds or government investigations. Another exception is data from consumers whose deletion requests cannot be verified as authentic.
However, Liberio noted that it’s not clear how AB 656’s focus on personal data held by social media platforms will apply to data caught up in mergers and acquisitions between data brokers. Nor is it clear what happens when a data broker holding such information files for bankruptcy — and its assets, including consumer data, are sold off by out-of-state receivers.
Marc L. Sallus
Marc is a highly respected probate, trust, and conservatorship attorney with decades of litigation experience, including trials and appeals. A graduate of UC Hastings College of the Law, Marc has held numerous leadership roles with the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Beverly Hills Bar Association, and the State Bar of California. He is also a published author, lecturer, and recognized Super Lawyer and Best Lawyer in America.
Marc P. Grismer
Marc is the founder of the Law Offices of Marc P. Grismer, where he has served clients across Orange and Los Angeles Counties since 2014 in estate planning, estate litigation, personal injury, civil litigation, and family law. He began mediating in 2024 as a volunteer mediator with Resolve Law LA and currently serves on the Los Angeles Superior Court Mediation Volunteer Panel. Marc brings patience, professionalism, and strong litigation insight to every matter.