Edwards Mediation Academy offers self-paced mediation training online designed for lawyers, judges, HR professionals, and practicing mediators. Courses range from foundational conflict resolution mediation training to advanced multi-party dispute programs, all taught by practitioners with 400+ combined years of experience and approved for CLE credit by the California State Bar.
Most mediation training programs hand you a textbook and a role-play script. They teach you the steps. What they rarely teach you is how experienced mediators actually think when a negotiation stalls, when a party shuts down, or when the room shifts and no one can explain why.
That gap matters. Legal professionals who sit at the mediation table, whether as neutrals or advocates, know that process knowledge alone does not move people toward resolution. The nuanced decisions that shape outcomes happen in real time, under pressure, and they draw on something that is genuinely hard to teach in a lecture format.
This post walks through the mediation courses online available through Edwards Mediation Academy, who they are built for, what makes the learning model different, and how each program supports specific professional goals. If you are evaluating mediation training options and want a clear, honest picture of what to expect, you will find that here.
What Makes Online Mediation Training Worth Your Time?
The short answer is flexibility paired with substance. Attending a week-long in-person seminar is difficult for attorneys managing active caseloads or judges with court commitments. Self-paced mediation training online removes that barrier without sacrificing depth.
The longer answer depends entirely on what the training actually contains. A course that walks you through procedural steps at a surface level has limited professional value. A course that places you inside an unscripted mediation, shows you how an expert handles each turning point, and then unpacks the reasoning behind every decision, is a different category of education.
Edwards Mediation Academy was founded in 2014 by Bruce Edwards, a mediator with more than 40 years of practice and thousands of resolved disputes to his name. The academy was built around one specific instructional approach: letting students observe a complete, unscripted mediation from start to finish. No staged moments. No edited highlights. The full case, including the uncomfortable pauses, the emotional dynamics, and the pivots that produce agreements.
Who Are These Mediation Courses Designed For?
The full course catalog covers four professional groups: lawyers and litigators, judges, practicing mediators, and business or HR professionals. Each course is built with a specific starting point and professional goal in mind.
Attorneys benefit most from understanding both sides of the table. Roughly 95 percent of civil cases settle before trial, which means the mediation room is where most legal outcomes are decided. Training that focuses exclusively on litigation strategy leaves attorneys underprepared for the setting where they will spend a significant portion of their careers.
Judges transitioning to private practice or expanding into dispute resolution find that decades of bench experience provide an excellent foundation, but the neutral role requires a distinct set of communication and process management skills that court proceedings do not develop.
HR professionals, therapists, engineers, and other non-legal practitioners represent a growing share of new mediators entering court-connected panels and private practice. A structured mediation training course gives them the procedural grounding and practical vocabulary to work effectively in formal dispute resolution settings.
How Does the Shadowing Model Actually Work?
The central feature of every EMA course is virtual shadowing. Students watch Bruce Edwards conduct a complete mediation from the opening statement through to a signed agreement.
This is not a simulation designed to illustrate a single concept. It is an intact case that shows how every decision ripples forward. When Bruce makes a choice about how to frame a question or when to separate the parties, students see what follows. They learn causation, not just technique.
After each segment, expert instructors from the EMA faculty share their analysis. The faculty across EMA’s courses represent a combined 400-plus years of full-time mediation experience. These are not academics who study conflict resolution from the outside. They are the practitioners who built the field and continue to shape how it is taught worldwide.
Which Mediation Training Course Is Right for You?
What does the foundational Mediation Skills Course include?
The Mediation Skills Course is a 40-hour program priced at $997. It is built for new mediators, judges exploring private practice, and business or HR professionals who want to develop formal conflict resolution skills they can apply within their existing businesses to manage workplace and business conflicts more efficiently and effectively.
The course covers foundational principles, convening techniques, communication skills, emotional competency, culture and bias, negotiation strategy, and ethics. Students shadow Bruce Edwards through a complete two-party commercial mediation, supported by insights from 13 expert practitioners.
The program qualifies for 29 CLE hours approved by the California State Bar, including 4 ethics hours and 2.5 bias hours. Upon completion, students receive a certificate for a 40-hour course. For anyone evaluating the cost, that works out to under $25 per hour of instruction, with lifetime community membership included.
John Kevin Moore, an attorney in California, described it as one of the best CLE courses he had ever taken. He noted that the shadowing experience was the most effective teaching tool and found himself returning to segments repeatedly to catch every detail.
What does the Advanced Mediation Skills Course cover for experienced practitioners?
The Advanced Mediation Skills Course is a 45-hour program at $2,997, designed for mediators with at least two years of practice experience who are ready to work on complex, multi-party, and high-stakes commercial disputes.
Commercial mediation is one of the fastest-growing areas of dispute resolution in the United States. Cases involving multiple parties, insurance considerations, late-stage impasse, and significant financial stakes require a fundamentally different level of preparation and adaptability than foundational training provides.
This course puts students inside a multi-party commercial case scenario guided by 15 expert mediators. The curriculum addresses advanced negotiation strategy, emotional dynamics in high-pressure situations, process design for complex disputes, and the specific factors that separate competent mediators from exceptional ones. The program includes a one-hour private consultation with Bruce Edwards and earns 37.5 CLE hours approved by the California State Bar. Students also receive a print-ready 45-hour completion certificate.
A retired Texas judge who had completed three other advanced mediation programs called this one by far the best he had taken, specifically citing the breadth of impasse tools Bruce teaches and the quality of the shadowing experience.
How does the Mediation Lawyer Course help attorneys improve client outcomes?
The Mediation Lawyer Course is a 30-hour program at $799, created specifically for attorneys representing clients in mediation settings.
The skills that make a strong litigator do not automatically transfer to the mediation room. Adversarial positioning, strategic ambiguity, and persuasion tactics designed for a judge or jury can actively undermine settlement discussions. This course teaches attorneys the difference between courtroom advocacy and mediation advocacy, and why understanding that distinction directly affects client outcomes.
Students shadow Bruce Edwards through a complete multi-party commercial mediation with four expert mediation advocates, guided by eight world-class practitioners. The program addresses pre-mediation preparation, strategic participation throughout the process, negotiation techniques specific to the settlement context, and how to create comprehensive solutions that serve client interests. The course qualifies for 30.75 CLE hours approved by the California State Bar.
What specialized courses complement the core programs?
Beyond the three flagship programs, Edwards Mediation Academy offers two shorter courses that address specific professional needs.
The Ethics in Mediation course is a 4-hour program at $49, focused on identifying ethical issues that derail mediations before they become problems. For practitioners who want to sharpen their awareness of the ethical dimensions of dispute resolution without enrolling in a full program, this is a practical and affordable option.
The Developing Your Career course is an 8-hour program at $197, aimed at mediators who are ready to launch a new practice, grow an existing one, or build a focused business plan. It provides practical career guidance from practitioners who have successfully built mediation practices across different contexts.
What Should You Know About CLE Credits and Course Access?
All primary courses at Edwards Mediation Academy are approved for CLE credit by the California State Bar. California Bar-approved courses are routinely granted reciprocal credit in many other states, though requirements vary by jurisdiction. If you have questions about your specific state, the EMA team can be reached through the contact page and typically responds within one business day.
Every course provides six months of full access and is self-paced, with no fixed schedules or cohort requirements. All enrollments include lifetime membership benefits. Active students also receive access to monthly office hours with Bruce Edwards. Invitations are sent to all active students approximately one week in advance. Members also receive access to members-only webinars and discounts on future courses. Every program is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mediation Training Online
What is the best mediation training course for a lawyer who wants to add mediation to their practice?
Lawyers looking to practice as neutrals should start with the Mediation Skills Course, which builds foundational knowledge and includes a complete unscripted case. Lawyers who want to improve how they represent clients in mediation should look at the Mediation Lawyer Course, which focuses specifically on advocacy skills.
Are EMA mediation courses approved for CLE credit outside California?
Yes, the core programs are approved by the California State Bar, and California-approved courses are routinely granted reciprocal credit in many other states. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, so we recommend checking with your local bar association or relevant state licensing authority for specific CLE requirements before enrolling. The EMA team is also available through our contact page to assist with course-related questions.
How long does it take to complete a mediation training course?
Students have six months of full access to complete each course. The Mediation Skills Course is 40 hours, the Advanced Mediation Skills Course is 45 hours, and the Mediation Lawyer Course is 30 hours. The self-paced format allows students to work around existing professional and personal commitments. If circumstances arise that prevent a student from completing the course within six months, they can reach out to the EMA team to discuss an extension.
Do I need prior mediation experience to enroll?
The Mediation Skills Course and Mediation Lawyer Course are designed for professionals at the beginning of their mediation training journey and require no prior experience. The Advanced Mediation Skills Course is built for practitioners with at least two years of practice who are ready for complex, high-stakes commercial work.
What do I receive when I complete a course?
Upon completion, students receive a print-ready certificate from Edwards Mediation Academy confirming the number of training hours completed. CLE certificates are also provided for qualifying hours.
The Right Training Changes How You Work in the Room
Mediation skills are not abstract. They play out in specific moments: when a party withdraws, when positions harden, when an agreement feels close but keeps slipping away. The training that prepares you for those moments is the training built around real decisions made in real cases.
Edwards Mediation Academy distills more than 40 years of practice experience into programs that legal professionals can complete on their own schedule, without sacrificing the depth that serious professional development requires. Explore the full course library to find the program that matches where you are and where you want to go.
