Mediator, Dana Curtis Mediation, Bay Area, California
Dana Curtis is a pioneer and leader in the Bay Area conflict resolution field. She was among the first attorneys in the country to devote her career exclusively to mediation of civil disputes, beginning in 1991. Since serving for four years as a Circuit Mediator on staff with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, Curtis has maintained a private mediation practice. The Los Angeles Daily Journal has recognized her as one of the 50 “Best Neutrals” in California. The Mediation Society of San Francisco honored her for her Outstanding Contributions to the field of Mediation.
Ms. Curtis is also an internationally known mediation teacher. She has designed and facilitated hundreds of programs for law schools, businesses, court panels, private groups, bar associations and professional conferences throughout the United States and internationally. She has co-taught the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School’s Mediating Disputes course since 2013. She previously served as a lecturer-in-law at Stanford Law School, where she taught mediation and negotiation for ten years, and as Director of the Conflict Resolution Program at Santa Clara Law, where she also taught mediation.
Prior to becoming a mediator, Ms. Curtis served as law clerk to Associate Justice Edward A. Panelli of the California Supreme Court and practiced commercial and employment litigation with McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen. Before becoming a lawyer, Ms. Curtis taught public school in Idaho, where she directed a program for school-age parents and was honored as a national teacher of the year.
Education
B.A., English, University of Montana
M.A., English, University of Idaho
J.D., University of Santa Clara School of Law
Research interests
Mediation and conflict resolution in high-conflict disputes, in particular in the fields of appellate mediation and elder and adult family mediation.
Selected publications
“Working with Loss and Grief: Theoretical, Practical, and Personal Implications for Elder and Adult Family Mediators.” ABA Dispute Resolution Magazine 27, no 2 (2021).
Appellate Mediation: A Guidebook for Lawyers and Mediators with Brendon Ishikawa. ABA Publishing, 2016.
California Arbitration and Mediation Practice Guide – Court-connected ADR by John Toker, Supplement Editor 2010-present.
“The Role of Empathy in Reconciliation,” chapter in ADR Personalities and Practice Tips. ABA Publishing
