Forrest (Woody) Mosten

Forrest S. Mosten is an Advanced Practitioner Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution who has been mediating since 1979.  Mr. Mosten is a world class trainer who keynotes conferences and offers professional seminars throughout the United States and abroad. He specializes in high conflict mediations involving divorcing families, partnerships, employment disputes, probate, real estate, commercial disputes and other complex civil lawsuits.

Mr. Mosten is the author of four books: The Complete Guide to Mediation (ABA, 1997), Unbundling Legal Services (ABA, 2000), Mediation Career Guide (Jossey-Bass, 2001), and Collaborative Divorce Handbook (2009, Jossey Bass), and he is Editor of Family Court Review’s Special Issue on Collaborative Practice to be published in April, 2011. His pioneering work in mediation and unbundling has been covered by the LA Daily Journal, LA Times, NY Times, USA Today, ABA Journal, LA Daily News, Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, Town & Country and other publications all over the world.

Mr. Mosten has been honored by the ABA, LA County Bar Association, Beverly Hills Bar Association and trains mediators worldwide. He is the recipient of the ABA Lawyer as Problem Solver Award, the Los Angeles County Bar Conflict Prevention Award, and was named Peacemaker of the Year by the Southern California Mediation Association. He was a 2009 ABA Frank Sander Lecturer, teaches mediation at UCLA and PepperdineSchools of Law, and is passionate about encouraging mediators and collaborative professionals on all levels to make peacemaking their day job.

What people have said about him:  

“Woody Mosten is to Mediation what Tiger Woods is to Golf!” - Shel Stark, Specialty Programs Director, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Ann Arbor, Michigan

“Any class that Woody Mosten teaches offers new ways of looking at old and perplexing problems. He presents material in such a way as to encourage excellence in mediation skills and belief in your ability to achieve your highest standard.” - Dvorah Markman, Chair, Los Angeles County Bar Family Law Section (2006-2007)

“I consider Woody Mosten to be one of the world's most creative thinkers and innovative teachers in the field of Mediation Training.” - Dean Jay Folberg, USF Law School, Past President, Association for Conflict Resolution and, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

“Woody Mosten has a gift for helping people to change, evolve, and become better human beings. He enlightened me to an alternate style of resolving conflict and genuinely caring about people and his course changed the way I conduct my business and family conflict resolution issues.” - Diane Raffill, Los Angeles, CA

“Woody Mosten is one of those wonderful people who rejoices in the accomplishments of others, wants to see all of his colleagues prosper, and holds the door open for others. His life's work is to make the world a better place, and he is doing a great job of it.” - David Hoffman, Former Chair, ABA, Section on Dispute Resolution, Atlanta, GA

"Woody Mosten is an interesting mix of tenacity and surrender, embrace and practicality.   A gifted entrepreneur, he was one of the first to write about marketing an ADR practice, recognizing that if practitioners did not become proficient small business professionals, the field would take much longer to develop." Nan Waller Burnett, Author of Calm in the Face of the Storm

  “Woody Mosten has been an outstanding advocate over many decades for family mediation, unbundled legal services (where lawyers offer discrete advice and assistance to clients, rather than taking care of their entire file) and now collaborative divorce. His experience has made him an effective advocate and trainer in these and other innovative areas of dispute resolution practice, and here he brings that wide and deep experience to the relatively new practice area of collaborative divorce.” -Professor Julie Macfarlane, Author of The New Lawyer

 “Among Woody’s gifts as an author are his indefatigable faiths in collaborative practice, his boundless enthusiasm and passion for a principled approach to the strains and challenges of divorce, his breadth of knowledge and experience, and his capacity to organize and synthesize ideas.” -Michael Lang, Collaborative Lawyer and Mediator, and author of The Making of a Mediator

“Woody Mosten’s insights about the values and principles underpinning Collaborative Law are mature and thoughtful, and can be applied throughout legal practice. His eloquent and comprehensive approach offers significant benefits for clients and lawyers alike.” Professor Tom Barton, Louis M. Brown Professor of Preventive Law, Cal Western University in Harvard Negotiation Project

 “Being in a room with Woody even when he is talking about marketing and business development, you take in so much, learning by example of mediation skills, empathetic listening, positive reforming and so much more." - Elaine Silver, Lake Mary, FL

Additionally, listen to an Interview with Woody on the Doug Noll Show about Collaborative Law.

Currently, Mr. Mosten is teaching Building a Profitable Mediation / Collaborative Practice, Advanced Conflict Resolution Strategies for Mediators and Collaborative Professionals for the AIM Institute.

Read the review of Woody's book the Collaborative Divorce Handbook by theHarvard Negotiation Law Review published on CuttingEdgeLaw.com