FOR A GOOD CAUSE -- Louise Steinberg

Paul Clinton

Bringing people together has become Louise Steinberg’s life’s work.

For the Newport Beach resident, volunteering for Orange County’s

dispute resolution service was an easy choice.

As a former elementary school teacher, Steinberg, 77, knows how to

help people get along.

“Like I used to tell my kids, you don’t have to like each other, but

you do have to be nice to each other,” Steinberg said.

A 26-year Eastbluff resident, Steinberg began offering her steady hand

to the program in the early 1990s after a stint as a secretary in her

son’s Newport Beach family law practice.

After some training in the fundamentals of mediation, Steinberg

launched into the work. She has overseen disputes between couples on the

road to divorce, children who start fistfights at school and employees

disgruntled with an employer.

Anyone hoping to resolve a thorny matter may enter the county program

for little or no cost.

As the first step, Steinberg gathers the two parties who are at odds

in a casual, informal environment -- usually a conference room.

Rather than imposing her own solution to the problem at hand,

Steinberg steers the two sides toward compromise with leading questions.

“We are not there to provide a solution,” Steinberg said. “It’s

finding something both sides can agree to and live with.”

Both sides involved in the mediation sign confidentiality agreements

and nothing said during the closed-door sessions is legally binding.

In that way, mediation is different from arbitration, in which a

professional steps in to issue a binding judgment.

Sometimes Steinberg can’t resolve a dispute in one two-hour session.

In that case, if one side persists in its stubborn ways, Steinberg

schedules follow-up sessions. But she is sure to tell those involved that

they’re not involved in a counseling session.

As long as the two sides continue talking, a successful compromise

usually follows, Steinberg said. As long as the fighting stops.

“There are other ways to resolve problems,” Steinberg said. “Let’s

talk about it.”

Those seeking to volunteer as mediators may call the county dispute

resolution director, Ken Johnson, at (949) 851-3168.