Testimonials

Thank you for today’s excellent program and presentation, and for the prep you provided ahead as well.

As one who has been Certified as a Circuit Civil Mediator but who is treading water still as to when I begin adding that role to my practice—  your updates and teachings are the perfect tool for the 2 year credits, AND for the useful knowledge which I can apply in mediating cases with my clients.   I wish every litigator had to have the training of a mediator, as they would likely be better litigators!

I really enjoyed the day, and the variety you provide.  It is more fun when we occupy the same room— but what better way to talk about Zoom mediations except on a Zoom meeting!

I have already marked my calendar for next year to get into your sessions and to get my CME hours before last minute, for another 2 year reporting requirement.

I wish you the best, and thank you again for the valuable and impressive training opportunities you provide to mediators locally and from around the state.

Continued success with your practice—and keep doing it as long as you enjoy it I say!  You are at the top of your craft, and you serve a lot of practitioners with your seasoned approach to mediation and ADR.  I am pleased and proud to be one of your students!

I have never looked so forward to a legal education class.  I feel blessed to have been a part of this particular group, the historic, first Zoom class for our fearless leader.  Thank you Charles for assembling such a wonderful group of people and for keeping it fast and furious. The guest speakers were also outstanding. I learned so much from my classmates at the same time that we were having a blast. Let’s stay in touch.

Your Circuit Civil Mediation training course was nothing short of fantastic.  From start to finish, the training was well-organized and thorough, with a heavy emphasis on practical application and real-world scenarios.  Your wealth of experience and knowledge, combined with that of the other veteran mediators who provided instruction during the course, is absolutely invaluable to those of us just starting out.

Even though I have participated in countless mediations as an advocate, the true value of your training became readily apparent as soon as I began observing mediations to fulfill the mentorship portion of the certification process.  I was astounded at how much more I understood about the dynamics of the mediation process as I watched so much of what I had just learned playing out in real life.

For those who may be hesitant to participate in mediation training remotely, I would add that I was also a bit skeptical when initially signing up for the course.  However, having now completed the training, I can confidently say that I do not feel anything was lost as a result of using Zoom.  In fact, the additional instruction we received from Charles and company regarding the use of Zoom and similar platforms to conduct mediations was both timely and immensely helpful.

Charles, you are a master of the mediation craft and I am very grateful to count myself among your pupils.  I sincerely hope that you continue to share your boundless knowledge and experience with many classes of future mediators to come.

Charles’s mediation certification training was excellent.  The entire course was incredibly well organized, interesting and thorough.  Charles’s depth of experience as a mediator ensured that each topic was covered in a pragmatic and interesting manner.  The guest faculty was similarly helpful and informative.  I enthusiastically recommend Charles as a mediation certification trainer.

Charles: As you know, I just completed your Mediator Certification Course this past weekend (November, 2018).    You are clearly passionate about what you do – and that passion is highly contagious. The course was interesting and informative. But your insights, stories, and methods of instruction were what took the course from “ordinary” to “outstanding.” For those considering a Mediator Certification Course, I highly recommend Charles Castagna’s program. Forty hours is a major commitment of time. You might as well enjoy yourself in the process. (P.S. I would not hesitate to book a mediation with any of my ten colleague/class mates, due in very large part to your training).

The mediator certification course that you present was excellent and actually a pleasure to attend.  The materials were broad and well presented.  Your depth of knowledge and personal passion for the process was impressive.  Even the food was good!

I also wanted to thank you for accommodating my unusual scheduling needs surrounding the wedding of my daughter.  Not only did you allow me to finish my certification within my planned/allotted time frame, I was able to experience two very different training groups from which I gathered a diverse experience.

Thank you for making the process informative, serious, and fun!

Once again, this course was excellent!  It is always a pleasure to attend a course that actually provides useful information for my practice!  5 stars all the way!

Thank you again for helping me become a mediator.  You provided an outstanding education.  You made excellent choices about how to present information in a clear and straightforward way.  Your experience illuminated the class, and I really appreciate the time and effort you took to keep me and the rest of my class involved and interactive.

I recently attended your seminar on July 19th, 2019, in Tampa concerning the Art of Ethical and Effective Mediation and Discussion of Diversity and Domestic Violence. The materials you provided were outstanding as were the guest speakers. The interaction that occurred throughout the seminar throughout the attendees was an added bonus to what was an informative and entertaining experience. I look forward to attending your course A offered periodically by you in the near future!

I want to thank you for the time, effort, and mentorship given to me and my colleagues at this year’s Mediation Certification Training course. The program you organize and host is thorough, informative, and actually a lot of fun. You are clearly dedicated to your craft, and I am indebted to you for sharing your wisdom, and igniting some enthusiasm for this new area of my professional development. The program was excellent, with multiple speakers and numerous mock mediation sessions, it was two weekends well spent. Thank You.

I took Charles’ 40-hour Circuit/Civil Certification class during the summer of 2017.  In short, it was outstanding.  Charles is a seasoned mediator and eloquent communicator who is able clearly to elucidate both the “what” and the “why” behind effective mediation advocacy.  His dedication to his craft is beyond apparent.  Even more, Charles creates a classroom dynamic conducive to meaningful exchange wherein you learn not only from him, but from your classmates as well.  I would recommend his course without reservation.

I found your forty (40) hour mediator certification class to be outstanding. Despite having been in practice for 33 years and having provided client representation at countless mediations, I found your course to be interesting, engaging and informative. Your course materials are incredibly helpful. The actual time spent in the course was incredibly well organized. Your thoughtful presentations and efficient use of time is truly appreciated especially in light of the fact we spent two full weekends in class. Thanks again for all of your help. I highly recommend your certification program to anyone, regardless of their experience level, seeking certification or re-certification.

Every two years I dread recertification.  Every two years I dread the 8 hour day.  Yet somehow, every two years, you make that process as enjoyable as possible.

Thanks for everything you do.

I have attended Charles’ CME course several times over the past 12 years.  I find these courses to be informative and extremely helpful to my practice.  Charles is always on top of the latest developments in mediation as well as the latest cases and opinions impacting the practice.  I always appreciate the comments and friendly interaction of the attendees who have very different practices and experiences with mediation.  Thank you, Charles, for making this CME requirement so enjoyable and educational.

Thank you again for offering such an amazing circuit civil mediation training course.  I learned more than I ever thought that I would.  You gave excellent presentations, scheduled a wonderfully diverse group of experienced mediators to speak to the group, and provided invaluable feedback and insight.  Your perspective as a highly experienced mediator made all the difference.  I really enjoyed hearing about your experiences as a mediator and  felt very lucky to have the opportunity to take your course.  I would highly recommend your mediation training course to any attorney interested in becoming a circuit civil mediator.

I think that I express the sentiment of the entire class when I say that your presentation was first rate, and that you made the rather intensive process very interesting and informative. I will recommend your course every chance that I get.

I have taken several live CME courses from the Charles N. Castagna Mediation, Inc. group.  I would recommend Mr. Castagna’s courses to any active mediators, as well as to any practitioners who simply wish to gain more insight into the mediation process.  Mr. Castagna puts on a top-quality presentation through his lecturing, as well as via the other professionals who he enlists to present on various select topics.  His extensive mediation knowledge and experience are only matched by his commitment to keeping his courses on track to be respectful of the participants’ time.

I’ve been through a lot more than the mandatory CLE of two states since 1979, and I have to rank yours on top.  I’ve served as a pro tem judge, ALJ, and ADR provider, but you’ve opened my eyes wider than they’ve ever been.

I want to extend my sincerest thanks and appreciation for your outstanding instruction in the Circuit Civil Mediation Course I recently attended. Your instructional style was informative, comprehensive, interesting, and paced perfectly! Your passion for mediation and teaching certainly shows! The wealth of knowledge and experience that you shared with the class was so helpful and illustrated many difficult situations that can arise in mediation and how to handle them.

After completing your course, I feel completely ready to undertake mediation from a skills, ethics, and business perspective.

In addition, you have a genuine interest in your students and are willing to coach and guide them with questions and concerns to help them be successful in their practice. This is a unique trait. In fact, you have been most helpful in providing me guidance. I feel very fortunate to have been in your class.

I would highly recommend your class and also I would recommend you as a mediator!

Thank you so much!

Better than expected.  I brought work to do and never touched it.

I attended the Circuit Civil Mediation Certification training course and feel I learned from the best.  I never dreamt that the forty hours would fly by, especially when we started at 8:00 am on weekends, but it did.  Charles’ wealth of experience and knowledge, coupled with the top notch guest lecturers, helped me feel confident to start my mediation career.

I enjoyed your program.  Before I registered, I had questions. You were kind enough to spend time with me on phone to answer them. You were detailed and balanced.

One week is a long time. Your style and content helped the participants navigate through the length and breadth of the program.

The anecdotes of your professional experiences as mediator injected a dose of reality that is oftencritical for the content to have an impact on the listener.

Certainly, I feel like I have grown as a lawyer by being more sensitized to mediation skills as a result of your program.

I had been wanting to take this civil mediation training course (40 hrs.) for quite some time, and it did not disappoint. The 40 hours flew by and was not only fun, but interesting, and incredibly informative.  Not only is Charles an exceptional mediator, but he is also an incredible instructor.  I learned so much in the 40 hour class and I truly enjoyed every second of it.  Thank you again for an amazing class and for such incredible training.

I recently attended Charles Castagna’s Circuit Civil Mediation Certification Course (40 hrs.), and found it to be very informative, insightful and useful. In addition to being an exceptional mediator, Charles is an excellent instructor.  Also, his materials are also relevant and useful. And, he provides assistance after the course to  help with the mediation mentorship requirements.  He is simply the best!  I highly recommend Charles and intend to follow up with him for CME when the time comes.

Charles Castagna’s extraordinary five day class  is a must for anyone who works within the court system in the twenty first century.

Charles Castagna’s course is, simply stated, spectacular. Thoroughly professional, always prepared, conscientious to a fault, and invariably polite and friendly, Charles manages to turn what at first sight seemed to be an exceedingly long and possibly boring program into a delightful and very satisfying experience.

As someone with extensive experience in mediation – but solely as an attorney representing clients – I was stricken by the contrast between the manner in which mediators that I have worked with in the past conducted their mediations and the substantive, focused manner in which this course taught us to conduct mediations in the future. I only wish that all mediators could have the fortune to be trained by someone like Charles Castagna. I highly recommend the course to anyone who admires excellence.

That was a great CME program yesterday, probably the best I have attended.  Thanks for your great work, both instructionally and bringing in the speakers.

Thank you for a super 40 hours (precisely!). You made the hours fly by, and the class entertaining and educational!

I’d like to thank you for my experience in the course. You made it fun and interesting while still focusing on the task at hand. I commend you for your professionalism.

I recently completed the Circuit Civil Mediation Training Class with Charles Castagna and recommend it very highly for not only the quality of the material as presented but for the environment that Mr. Castagna creates for the program. The program has an enormous amount of information that needs to be covered, much of it being rules and regulations. Charles incorporates varied methods of teaching, guest speakers and interactive conversation that made it meaningful and interesting, keeping everyone completely engaged. It is, without a doubt, one of the best courses for new attorneys and seasoned veterans alike. I highly recommend this class for anyone interested in learning this subject matter from one of the best.

I have attended Charles Castagna’s CME courses multiple times. Charles has an impressive background and extensive experience in Mediation which greatly enhances the programs. I have attended other similar courses, but find this one is the best! Charles has an engaging and easy to listen to style that makes for an enjoyable and educational experience. The guest speakers for domestic violence and diversity training were excellent as well. I would highly recommend these courses for all levels of Mediators.

I thought the class was really great. You kept the course moving and the class engaged. It was actually a course of self-discovery.

Charles Castagna’s mediation training course has made me, without question, a better listener and probably a better lawyer. The course is well paced with lots of classroom interaction, films of actual and staged mediations and guest speakers who spoke of real life mediation experiences from the perspective of a “neutral”. Whether you’ve mediated one or one thousand cases as an advocate, until you’ve taken the training as a mediator you cannot put the full picture together. Professional life as an advocate in mediation versus as a mediator are often at odds and the training helps to sort that out. I highly recommend Charles’ course for all practicing attorneys.

Don’t go anywhere else. Ask around. Charles’ classes are uniquely entertaining with videos exciting guest lecturers, great fun, and a real sense of camaraderie with surprisingly good food. Meanwhile I was learning from the best. Check out his resume. I feel prepared.

Charles, I wanted to take a minute and commend you on your mediation classes. I have attended two of your full day classes in Clearwater. Although I did so to obtain credits for recertification, attendance at your classes was not a chore, but far from it, an informative and entertaining endeavor. The interactive approach you use enhances the experience. I look forward to attending your classes in the future. All the best,

Charles Castagna is an engaging and hands on mediation instructor, with an interactive style, that makes even the driest portions of training entertaining. This is a long and time consuming training course which Charles makes not only tolerable, but enjoyable.

I had the pleasure of attending the Civil Circuit certification course taught by Charles Castagna, and highly recommend him. When I first signed up for the course, I did not expect it to be anything I would enjoy – forty full hours for training that my 30 years of legal training (and arrogance) told me that was largely unnecessary. I could not have been more wrong. Charles made forty hours go by quickly, and I learned a great deal that I did not know. I would take the course again, and mark it down as one of the best seminars I have attended of any type. I know that what made the difference was Charles’ teaching style, which was to be highly engaged and informative. Charles made the difference and he has my highest recommendation.

Our class had students from different walks of life and with varying amounts of expertise: a new attorney, experienced attorneys, experienced but uncertified mediators, and non-attorneys; and yet, we all learned something valuable, new, and concrete about the mediation process. Furthermore and miraculously, the five days of classes were fun! I recommend Charles’ class to anyone who wants to become a mediator.

Charles, I felt you did a fantastic job keeping your class engaged, interested and participating. Your cadence in which you conducted your class was spot on. I enjoyed it and I highly recommend it.

Thanks so much for the outstanding mediation certification course. Before I enrolled, I was concerned about the amount of time that it would take; however, the lively nature of the class made the time go very quickly. More importantly, the tools that I learned in your program will not only prove invaluable when and if I do decide to become a mediator, but also in helping to understand better the psychology of mediation when representing my clients, now, as an advocate. Again, Charles, thanks for an enjoyable and enlightening experience.

I recently took the Circuit Civil Mediation Training Class with Charles Castagna and it even surpassed my expectations, which were already high since his course had been recommended to me by a colleague! The hours and days flew by and I felt like I learned more in this 40-hour training than I ever have before in similar type trainings. He kept the class engaged, motivated, and made us all feel very comfortable. The atmosphere was conducive to participation and learning. I hope to have the opportunity to take another mediation training class with Charles.

I would recommend Charles Castagna’s CME course to mediators of any skill level. His teaching approach offered an insightful discussion on various topics. From a practical standpoint, Mr. Castagna was mindful of the participants’ time commitments in that he started and completed the course in a timely fashion. Although the CME is a required course, Mr. Castagna has found a formula to make it positive and productive.

Your Circuit Civil Mediation Course in Miami, Florida in December 2013 was educating and entertaining and thank you for allowing me to observe you during an actual mediation.

Not being an attorney, I found your morning lectures and discussions quite interesting, informative, and all of my attorney classmates kept the legal language and explanations understandable. I found the afternoon role playing even more interesting and engaging especially, after observing ten actual mediations, I can say now that the role playing was very realistic.

I enthusiastically recommend your course and encourage you to coordinate with mediators to provide an efficient system to assist new mediators to complete their required observations.

Semper Fidelis!

It is a very well organized and informative course. Charles Castagna is a great teacher and instructor and I learned a lot. I definitely recommend this course.

Having litigated for over forty-five years and attended many meditations representing clients, I did not think that I had anything to learn, but I needed to do it to get my certification. I was wrong. I learned a lot. The course materials were comprehensive and well prepared. The forms are very helpful. Charles had a good group of well-known mediators come to speak to us. He also created a good atmosphere where there was a lot of participation and good dialogue among those taking the course. Further, Charles’ insight from his extensive experience as a mediator was enlightening. I highly recommend his course.

I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your mediation course last Friday. I found the morning discussions quite engaging and relevant. I also found both of the afternoon speakers to be absolutely amazing! I truly enjoyed the whole day and will be back again. I will recommend your course most highly to all the mediators I know.

Congratulations on putting together such an informative and entertaining course.

I learned a lot Charles, from you and from the other presenters. The videos were great, the lecturers were great and your teaching technique was great. I’m looking forward to getting started.

Charles Castagna is an outstanding instructor in mediation techniques. His presentation is interesting and creative. Moreover, he encourages participation by members of the class and has a very engaging manner of responding to comments. Simply put, his class is a very pleasant way to receive certification credit.

I wasn’t looking forward to spending time to take the mediation course for certification. But Charles Castagna is the best – he made the course fun and interesting, particularly with the role play exercises and his cast of excellent guest speakers. I’ve been mediating for years and thought that I had heard it all, but I learned so much from the course that I know I’ll be a better, more effective and thoughtful mediator as a result. Well worth the time and money!

Your training course was engaging and creative. I have participated in a lot of legal education and usually find myself distracted. This training got me involved from start to finish and the time flew by. I am certain I will apply everything I learned during the course.

I have served as a mediator in numerous cases, some of them multi-party and many of them quite complex. Notwithstanding that experience, I found your course to have great substance and very beneficial. I am sure what I learned will aid me in the future.

If you are a mediator ….and especially if you are an attorney/mediator….i would strongly urge you to take a long, hard look at the art of ethical & effective mediation presented by charles n. Castagna mediation, inc. . I just attended “course a”this past friday (9/14/2012) and was most impressed by the entire presentation provided by mr. Castagna. He not only compiled a 3-ring binder containing all the relevant material……..he knew the contents forward and backward so that any time an attendee had a question, charles could quickly and correctly refer to the contents and direct our attention to the relevant information. He was well organized and it showed

And you receive not only 8 credit hours for your cme but, if you are an attorney, you also receive 7.5 credit hours towards your cle. What-a-deal!!!!

Having been an attorney for more that 40 years and a certified family/county mediator for almost 18 years, i have attended many, many seminars and i cannot recall any live presentation that was more impressive than this one. It was great!!!!!

Five full days is a significant time commitment. Thank you for making your five day circuit civil mediation certification course worth the financial and time investment. Your course materials, discussions, and practice tips were excellent.

Your mediation training was far and away the best that I have ever attended. In contrast to many, it was time efficient, well thought out, meticulously prepared, and informative. Note well that before attending your training, I would have thought the phrase “informative mediation training” to be an oxymoron.

I was most impressed with the materials that you prepared, which I intend to use in my own mediation practice, as well as with your attention to your students’ convenience and time. The facility was excellent, and your having both a continental breakfast and lunch brought in took maximum advantage of the opportunity to accomplish as much as possible in as little time as possible.

I have asked my assistant to make sure that in the future your training sessions have our highest priority in terms of which I attend. I appreciate very much your efforts, which, upon reflection, I should think typical of those of us who had the privilege to attend FSU Law.

Again, many thanks.

Great seminar Charles. The time went by a lot faster than in other all day CME sessions.

I have attended an initial certification class as well as a CME course with Charles as the instructor and found both to be extremely interesting, informative and well presented. I highly recommend attending the courses presented by Charles.

Charles Castagna is an outstanding mediator and mediation instructor. He has helped pioneer the mediator training process in Florida. His mediation course is invaluable to certified and prospective mediators. I highly recommend it.

An excellent blend of cerebral and practical. Good materials and insight into the origins and application of the rules. A lot of substance in a comfortable environment. Highly recommended.

Excellent. Time went by quickly. Charles’ vast experience in the field is the reason his seminars are very informative. Very practical advice in application of the rules discussed. I will return in the future for CME credits.