Desautels Conflict Competency Accelerator
Practical conflict-resolution skills for legal practice and beyond.
BUILD CAPABILITY OVER TIME
Build the skills, judgment, and confidence to navigate conflict effectively in legal practice
The Desautels Conflict Competency Accelerator is an innovative professional learning initiative designed to equip law students and legal professionals with the skills, judgment, and strategies needed to navigate the increasingly complex conflicts they encounter in practice and the workplace.
WHO IT IS FOR
STUDENTS
Develop the conflict competency to enter legal practice better prepared for the conversations, relationships, negotiations, and challenges that come with being a lawyer.
articling students
Strengthen the capacity to navigate conflict within the relationships and institutions of personal and professional life.
LEGAL PROFESSIONALS
Deepen the skills and judgment to navigate complex conflict in practice — with clients and colleagues, in negotiations, in the workplace, and in positions of leadership.
CHOOSE YOUR PATHWAY
A scaffolded program that moves from strong foundations to advanced professional practice.
The Desautels Conflict Competency Accelerator is intentionally designed to build knowledge and skill at each stage. Participants begin with the foundations of conflict competency and ethical practice, then move into more complex applications and, ultimately, professional mediation training.
Foundational Workshops
Begin with the foundations.
All participants begin with two foundational workshops: Introduction to Conflict Competency and Legal Ethics and Conflict Resolution. Together, they establish the concepts, frameworks, and professional judgment that underpin the rest of the Accelerator.
Both foundational workshops are offered each year and must be completed before participants move into the Applied Workshops. They are taught by experienced conflict resolution professionals, including practitioners with backgrounds in law.
Applied Workshops
Put conflict competency into practice.
Building on the foundational workshops, the Applied Workshops examine some of the most challenging dimensions of conflict encountered in legal and professional life.
Topics include identifying interests beneath stated positions; understanding and working with power; navigating conversations that are difficult to begin and harder to sustain; responding to anger, aggression, and assertiveness; and understanding the role of culture in conflict.
Applied Workshops are offered on an alternating two-year cycle, allowing participants to develop and deepen their conflict competency across a range of contexts.
Advanced Workshop
Move from conflict competency to mediation practice.
The advanced stage of the Accelerator offers intensive, in-person mediation training developed specifically for the legal profession and delivered by experienced legal mediation professionals.
The training is aligned with the requirements of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Manitoba (ADRIM). Participants who successfully complete the mediation training may apply to ADRIM to write the examination required as part of the process toward the Qualified Mediator (Q.Med) designation.
BUILD THE FULL EXPERIENCE
Participants are encouraged to complete the full Accelerator program: a focused investment of approximately 6.5 days across two academic years, providing 40 hours of additional training in conflict competency and alternative dispute resolution, together with the opportunity to complete another 40 hours of professional mediation training aligned with the pathway toward the Qualified Mediator (Q.Med) designation.
Participation is recognized at each stage of the Accelerator. Completed modules may be included on a participant’s CV, while completion of the professional mediation training and the full Accelerator program will each receive separate formal recognition.
Hours of Conflict Competency Training
Academic Years of Professional Learning Investment
Hours of Mediation Training
Fees
A structured pathway for building conflict competency.
Participants are encouraged to complete the full Accelerator pathway for the most comprehensive learning experience, but individual workshops may also be taken as stand-alone learning opportunities.
FEES
Students and articling students: $50 per workshop (75% discount)
Lawyers and legal professionals: $200 per workshop
Mediation Training: a separate fee will be applied
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
Learn with experienced practitioners
Introduction to Conflict Competency
Legal Ethics and Conflict Resolution
Identifying Interests
QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions or need clarification, please contact us by email: