Join us for the 40-hour, in-person Mediated Settlement Conference (MSC) Superior Court Mediator training in-person in Asheville, NC. The training will fulfill the 40-hour training requirement for the NC Dispute Resolution Commission’s Superior Court mediator certification process.
The first two days of the training – Monday and Tuesday – are approved by the NC Dispute Resolution Commission as the 16-Hour MSC Supplement. You may qualify to meet the MSC training requirement with only the 16-hour supplement if one of the following applies to you:
You are a currently certified North Carolina FFS mediator wanting to become an MSC mediator (no DRC pre-approval required)
You are a lawyer who previously completed another state’s 40-hour MSC training and would like approval in NC (DRC pre-approval letter required)
You were previously certified as a North Carolina MSC mediator, and your certification has lapsed by more than three, but less than seven, years (no DRC pre-approval required)
Contact the NC DRC to learn more about mediator requirements and approval processes.
NOTE: If you are not an attorney or if you are otherwise unsure if you meet the requirements for MSC certification, please contact the NC Dispute Resolution Commission (DRC) before registering. There are additional threshold requirements for non-attorney mediators. Non-attorneys are requested to contact The Mediation Center prior to registering to confirm that they have talked with DRC staff and meet threshold requirements.
Questions?
We are more than happy to answer questions about the training and to help you find answers about FFS certification. E-mail Mediation Center Executive Director Laura Jeffords at laurahj@mediatewnc.org or call her direct line at 828.445.9001.
All proceeds benefit The Mediation Center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides community mediation and family visitation services in Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania, and Polk counties.
All proceeds benefit The Mediation Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit that provides community mediation and family visitation services in Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania, and Polk counties.
Sarah Corley is an attorney licensed in Georgia and California, and a mediator with more than 20 years of experience. She began her career as a lawyer specializing in litigation and employment law. In 1996, she started her own mediation practice, MediationWorks NC, and has worked as a private mediator ever since. She is certified by the NC Dispute Resolution Commission in Superior Court, Family Financial, and Clerk of Court mediation, and serves on the panel of mediators for federal district court and the United States Postal Service. She is a member of the NC Academy of Superior Court Mediators and the NC Association of Professional Family Mediators
Frank Goldsmith operates a mediation and arbitration practice under the name Goldsmith Resolutions, based in Buncombe County. He is a graduate of Davidson College and received his Juris Doctor degree with honors from UNC-Chapel Hill, following which he served as an Army captain (JAGC) during the Vietnam Era before returning to civilian litigation practice in North Carolina. Frank was certified as a mediator in 1996 and has mediated hundreds of state and federal cases in the past 25+ years. He has consistently been listed in “Best Lawyers in America,” “Super Lawyers,” and “North Carolina Legal Elite” in the field of alternate dispute resolution. He has served on the Boards of Governors of both the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ) and was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1994.
Tara Lynn Kozlowski is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission. She has been with the Commission since July of 2018. Prior to working with the Dispute Resolution Commission, Mrs. Kozlowski was a family law litigator and mediator, practicing with a small firm in Wake County, North Carolina. Mrs. Kozlowski obtained a Bachelor in Science degree in Chemistry from Indiana University, and her J.D. from The University of Toledo College of Law in 2006. She lives in Apex, North Carolina with her husband, their two daughters, and a yellow lab.
Sharon Tracey Barrett is a retired Superior Court Judge and a former Buncombe County District Court Judge. She currently serves as an Associate Judge and Justice for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and as an Emergency Superior Court Judge. Through a practice called Barrett Resolutions, Sharon now works as a mediator and arbitrator. She is a member of the North Carolina Chapter of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. She graduated cum laude from Boston College in 1983 and received her J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986. She practiced law in Asheville for nineteen years, focusing primarily on civil litigation, until she became a judge in 2005. From 2002-2003, she was President of the Buncombe County Bar. She served for many years on the board of directors of The Mediation Center
Clifford “Kip” Marshall is a founding shareholder and the President of Marshall, Roth & Gregory, PC and has practiced law for more than 40 years in Asheville and the western region of North Carolina. He is admitted before all the courts of the State of NC, the Cherokee Supreme Court, Eastern Band of Cherokee, the U.S. District Court for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of NC and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He is a certified NC Superior Court mediator and has been called to mediate matters arising in the NC courts and federal district courts.
Laura Jeffords, MPA,is the Executive Director of the Mediation Center. Laura has over 20 years of experience as a professional mediator and mediation trainer. She leads the Mediation Center’s training for DRC-Certified training programs: Family Financial Settlement, Mediated Settlement Conference, and District Criminal Court She has trained hundreds of community members to mediate criminal court, family, prison re-entry, and neighborhood conflict. She is a certified Inclusive Mediator, and DRC-Certified for Superior and District Criminal Court mediation.
Fred Barbour has lived and practiced law in Asheville for more than 36 years. For the first two thirds of his practice, he spent most of his time in the courtroom in hearings and trials, or outside the courtroom investigating cases and preparing them for trial. Since then, he has focused on mediation. His experience gives him perspective in counseling clients to make choices likely to lead to favorable resolution of their conflicts and helps him serve more effectively as a mediator guiding discussions about settlement. While each case and each mediation is different, his extensive experience informs his interactions with clients and attorneys and increases the odds of successful settlements
Mediated Settlement Conference/Superior Court Mediator Training
Live in In-Person in Asheville, NC
Fall 2026 Dates – October 26 to 30
*Discounted rates available for public interest lawyers.
The course includes 24 hours of CLE Credit – 2 full years of CLE (4 ethics hours, 1 hour professional wellbeing, 1 hour technology)
Join us for the 40-hour, in-person Mediated Settlement Conference (MSC) Superior Court Mediator training in-person in Asheville, NC. The training will fulfill the 40-hour training requirement for the NC Dispute Resolution Commission’s Superior Court mediator certification process.
The first two days of the training – Monday and Tuesday – are approved by the NC Dispute Resolution Commission as the 16-Hour MSC Supplement. You may qualify to meet the MSC training requirement with only the 16-hour supplement if one of the following applies to you:
Contact the NC DRC to learn more about mediator requirements and approval processes.
NOTE: If you are not an attorney or if you are otherwise unsure if you meet the requirements for MSC certification, please contact the NC Dispute Resolution Commission (DRC) before registering. There are additional threshold requirements for non-attorney mediators. Non-attorneys are requested to contact The Mediation Center prior to registering to confirm that they have talked with DRC staff and meet threshold requirements.
Questions?
We are more than happy to answer questions about the training and to help you find answers about FFS certification. E-mail Mediation Center Executive Director Laura Jeffords at laurahj@mediatewnc.org or call her direct line at 828.445.9001.
All proceeds benefit The Mediation Center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides community mediation and family visitation services in Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania, and Polk counties.
All proceeds benefit The Mediation Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit that provides community mediation and family visitation services in Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania, and Polk counties.
About the Presenters
Sarah Corley is an attorney licensed in Georgia and California, and a mediator with more than 20 years of experience. She began her career as a lawyer specializing in litigation and employment law. In 1996, she started her own mediation practice, MediationWorks NC, and has worked as a private mediator ever since. She is certified by the NC Dispute Resolution Commission in Superior Court, Family Financial, and Clerk of Court mediation, and serves on the panel of mediators for federal district court and the United States Postal Service. She is a member of the NC Academy of Superior Court Mediators and the NC Association of Professional Family Mediators
Frank Goldsmith operates a mediation and arbitration practice under the name Goldsmith Resolutions, based in Buncombe County. He is a graduate of Davidson College and received his Juris Doctor degree with honors from UNC-Chapel Hill, following which he served as an Army captain (JAGC) during the Vietnam Era before returning to civilian litigation practice in North Carolina. Frank was certified as a mediator in 1996 and has mediated hundreds of state and federal cases in the past 25+ years. He has consistently been listed in “Best Lawyers in America,” “Super Lawyers,” and “North Carolina Legal Elite” in the field of alternate dispute resolution. He has served on the Boards of Governors of both the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ) and was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1994.
Tara Lynn Kozlowski is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission. She has been with the Commission since July of 2018. Prior to working with the Dispute Resolution Commission, Mrs. Kozlowski was a family law litigator and mediator, practicing with a small firm in Wake County, North Carolina. Mrs. Kozlowski obtained a Bachelor in Science degree in Chemistry from Indiana University, and her J.D. from The University of Toledo College of Law in 2006. She lives in Apex, North Carolina with her husband, their two daughters, and a yellow lab.
Sharon Tracey Barrett is a retired Superior Court Judge and a former Buncombe County District Court Judge. She currently serves as an Associate Judge and Justice for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and as an Emergency Superior Court Judge. Through a practice called Barrett Resolutions, Sharon now works as a mediator and arbitrator. She is a member of the North Carolina Chapter of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. She graduated cum laude from Boston College in 1983 and received her J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986. She practiced law in Asheville for nineteen years, focusing primarily on civil litigation, until she became a judge in 2005. From 2002-2003, she was President of the Buncombe County Bar. She served for many years on the board of directors of The Mediation Center
Clifford “Kip” Marshall is a founding shareholder and the President of Marshall, Roth & Gregory, PC and has practiced law for more than 40 years in Asheville and the western region of North Carolina. He is admitted before all the courts of the State of NC, the Cherokee Supreme Court, Eastern Band of Cherokee, the U.S. District Court for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of NC and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He is a certified NC Superior Court mediator and has been called to mediate matters arising in the NC courts and federal district courts.
Laura Jeffords, MPA, is the Executive Director of the Mediation Center. Laura has over 20 years of experience as a professional mediator and mediation trainer. She leads the Mediation Center’s training for DRC-Certified training programs: Family Financial Settlement, Mediated Settlement Conference, and District Criminal Court She has trained hundreds of community members to mediate criminal court, family, prison re-entry, and neighborhood conflict. She is a certified Inclusive Mediator, and DRC-Certified for Superior and District Criminal Court mediation.
Fred Barbour has lived and practiced law in Asheville for more than 36 years. For the first two thirds of his practice, he spent most of his time in the courtroom in hearings and trials, or outside the courtroom investigating cases and preparing them for trial. Since then, he has focused on mediation. His experience gives him perspective in counseling clients to make choices likely to lead to favorable resolution of their conflicts and helps him serve more effectively as a mediator guiding discussions about settlement. While each case and each mediation is different, his extensive experience informs his interactions with clients and attorneys and increases the odds of successful settlements
.