BREAKING NEWS: THE ARBITRATION COURSE SCHEDULED FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 20,2025 HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO THE WEEK OF MAY 4, 2026 DUE TO A TIME CONFLICT WITH THE ANNUAL ADRIC CONFERENCE. REGISTRATIONS CARRY OVER (WITH FULL REFUND AVAILABLE) AND EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT IS EXTENDED TO THE END OF 2025. PRICE OF COURSE WILL NOT CHANGE.
Murray Miskin offers mediation services for a wide range of disputes. He was trained in Mediation at Osgoode Hall Law School in 1997, after being an arbitrator for over a decade. He has also received advanced mediator training from Chris Moore of Boulder Colorado and others. As an experienced trial lawyer and arbitrator, he fully understands and can communicate to parties the alternatives to settlement and their risks. Murray Miskin is a recognized expert in Med-Arb which is the use of mediation in the arbitration process. He has taught mediation in Northern Canada and conducted many successful mediations in Ontario and internationally. It really helps to have a mediator who has generic skills in mediation plus deep legal knowledge and experience.
Murray Miskin is one of Canada’s most well known domestic and international commercial arbitrators. He is able to streamline processes to save parties time and money. He has received international recognition for his work in both arbitration and mediation. Arbitration services can include Med/Arb with proper safeguards applied to protect the process. Murray has been training arbitrators in Ontario since 1985 and actively working as an arbitrator since 1987. Murray Miskin has been appointed as arbitrator by courts in Canada and the United States. Decisions of Murray Miskin are known to be concise and well written. They have been followed and upheld by courts including the Ontario Court of Appeal. Murray currently has a busy online arbitration schedule but will still handle in person proceedings.
Murray Miskin provides arbitration and mediation training with regular arbitration courses held in Toronto. The last one was online from October 28 to November 1, 2024. We had one day where most students attended in person in Toronto for the day of the mock arbitration while it was otherwise on Zoom. There will be an in person option for all or part of the next course to be held the week of October 20, 2025 online using Zoom. Guest speakers for the next course include on on Family Law Arbitration. Murray Miskin has been the principal trainer of arbitrators in Ontario, Canada since 1985. Dana Hirsh is co-instructor. This 40 hour course is the standard for qualification of Ontario Arbitrators with certification from the ADR Institute of Ontario and gives a full year’s CPD credits from Ontario’s Law Society.
THE NEXT ARBITRATION COURSE IN TORONTO RUNS FROM OCTOBER 20 to 24, 2025 AND IS OPEN FOR EARLY REGISTRATION. THE COURSE WILL BE HELD USING A HYBRID ONLINE AND IN PERSON FORMAT WITH STUDENTS CHOOSING TO ATTEND EITHER WAY. THE FULL COURSE OUTLINE FROM A PREVIOUS COURSE IS POSTED. THE COURSE FORMAT FOR THESE COURSES IS ONE WEEK MONDAY TO FRIDAY FROM 9 TO 5. VIEW THE COURSE OUTLINE AND SCHEDULE.
Murray H. Miskin
Murray Miskin has been the principal trainer of arbitrators in Ontario, Canada since 1985. He teaches a 40 hour course which has been the standard for qualification of arbitrators in that Province. Dana Hirsh is co-instructor for the course since 2021 when we first went online with the class. This course is not just for lawyers, but it has been accredited on a renewal basis, by the Law Society of Upper Canada for all required hours toward the annual Professionalism and EDI Requirements for lawyers and paralegals with additional hours counting as 34.5 substantive hours, far more than the continuing education requirement. Students receive a Certificate from the ADR Institute of Ontario upon completion which reflects the minimum level of training to become a practicing Arbitrator member of the Institute. Graduates are also qualified to applied for the Q Arb designation from the ADR Institute which confirms that they meet the standard of “Qualified Arbitrator”. We encourage course graduates to join the ADR Institute and to take follow up courses and to get arbitration experience which adds to their qualifications. We have been asked about how to get work as an Arbitrator and confirm that marketing of ADR Services is a major element of the training. We see arbitration as an expanding area of conflict resolution and ADR service demand over the next several years. We are now offering Ontario courses in Toronto with a one week, Monday to Friday 9 to 5 format. Due to Covid-19 there was no course in 2020 and the course since 2021 has been online with a one day in person Mock Arbitration hearing with some participants on Zoom in 2024.
Many FAQs answered: You do not need to be a lawyer or have any pre-requisite training to take this course, it is not required that you attend every class to pass the course but planned absences must be discussed with the instructor in advance, the content is applicable outside Ontario but is mostly based on Ontario laws which are similar to those of other Canadian jurisdictions and follows the model laws applicable internationally, the course is open to international students, access to Toronto classes is easy by car or subway, no this is not labour or family arbitration but it will be discussed, yes there is work for Arbitrators and that work availability is expanding, and no there is not much homework or requirement to spend much time working on the course outside of classes. It is a 40 hour course meeting Ontario and national standards. An ADR Institute of Ontario Arbitration Certificate is provided to each student after graduation with no additional charge. Lawyers and Paralegals in Ontario get all the Professionalism, EDI and Substantive CPD hours they need for the year. Those who complete the course and wish to apply for Q. Arb status after joining the ADR Institute may do so at their own expense.
The Comprehensive Arbitration Training Course as taught by Murray Miskin is the standard in Ontario for Arbitrator training. The course began thirty years ago in January 1985 organized by the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies for the Arbitrators’ Institute of Ontario. It was the official course of the institute until the process changed in 1997 to having approved courses for both arbitration and mediation. The Arbitrators’ Institute in the 1980s consisted mainly of engineers and others involved in the construction and real estate industry. The course originally was called Arbitration II and it was an advanced course of 25 hours instruction taught by Murray Miskin and offered to lawyers and experienced non-lawyer arbitrators. Others who wanted to take the course were required to take an introductory course of 25 hours instruction taught by Howard Levitt and later by Genevieve Chornenki called Arbitration I, which provided basic legal and arbitration background. Arbitration II was taught by Murray Miskin until the spring of 1997 and was the course seen as qualifying persons to act as arbitrators in Ontario. That course was accepted by the Arbitrators’ Institute of Canada and its provincial branches in the late 1980’s as the Canadian model for such training. In 1997 the Institute which had grown much larger with the rise of mediation and mandatory mediation and arbitration starting in 1990 for auto insurance accident benefit claims. The Arbitrators’ Institute became the Arbitration and Mediation Institute of Ontario and changed the course structure for Arbitration to be more like the structure of its approved Mediator training with more practical exercises and small group activities. Murray Miskin continued teaching and also personally administered the new combined 40 hour course which replaced both Arbitration I and II. As the course included the Arbitration I content requirements there was no longer a prerequisite for entry. The current course attempts to strike a balance between the needs of lawyers training to be arbitrators or counsel at arbitration and those of other professionals wanting arbitration training who also require legal procedure background that most lawyers already possess. Paralegals and internationally trained law students have found the course very helpful. Experienced litigation lawyers and judges taking the course have commented positively on their learning experience and the benefits of discussion of issues by a group which includes both legal and non-legal perspectives. The course has been enriched by the added small group exercises in negotiation of arbitration agreements, challenging potential bias in an arbitrator and strategizing on a party’s behalf. The process of making a decision and backing it up with reasons is carefully explained. The highlight of the course continues to be a full class mock arbitration hearing. The Arbitration and Mediation Institute changed its name to the ADR Institute of Ontario several years ago and continues its approval of this course for certificates which it issues.
There is no specific pre-requisite for taking this course. Usually almost half of the students are lawyers, law clerks or law students with most of the rest being professionals or business people. Many students are accountants, engineers, architects or real estate brokers and appraisers. Many students are people who have retired or hope to retire but still earn good income from occasional work where they can apply the skills and experiences developed in their careers. Some of our students have been able to obtain full time jobs and even judicial appointments with this course being a qualifying factor. Many people are looking for a career change and arbitration may be a path to take if you have the right background or contacts to give you a reasonable chance of being selected as arbitrator Construction disputes are generally resolved by arbitration rather than court as are commercial lease renewal rent and other disputes. There are many other areas where arbitration is becoming the primary method of resolving disputes which can not settle by mediation or other means. Arbitration is becoming more prevalent in family law disputes and we focus on avoiding problems with the “Med-Arb” process which has become popular in Ontario family law. Please call Christine at the Miskin Law Office Extension 112 with questions or by email to christine@miskinlaw.ca. The course is also of great assistance as a skill and confidence builder for non-lawyer Mediators who benefit from more legal training and the added ADR perspective which comes from understanding Arbitration and Med/Arb. For mediators who are not lawyers the course gives the legal background and understanding of civil justice geared to the ADR process which is required to become a roster mediator of the Ontario Courts. Special attention is given to the Courts of Justice Act and the Rules of Civil Procedure. Lawyers benefit by gaining an understanding of how non-lawyers deal with legal issues and situations which makes them better communicators. The classes, which mix lawyers and non-lawyers and people from vastly different backgrounds as students, challenges each student to take a different approach than they normally do in dealing with others. The Ontario Government has made the course available to employees who need training to include or simply understand Alternative Dispute Resolution in their work.
YOU CAN REGISTER NOW BY PAYING A $500 DEPOSIT. ALL AMOUNTS IN CANADIAN FUNDS. THE TOTAL COST IS $2500 CAD PLUS HST. A 10% DISCOUNT WILL BE APPLIED IF YOU REGISTER INDIVIDUALLY AS PART OF A GROUP OF 3 OR MORE WHO REGISTER BEFORE OR AFTER YOU. REGISTER USING PAYPAL OR ANY CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT THROUGH PAYPAL. YOU MAY ALSO SEND A CHEQUE PAYABLE TO MISKIN LAW. CONTACT US DIRECTLY FOR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT.
We work hard to make learning Arbitration fun. It is easier to learn when you are not suffering from boredom or brain overload with dry detailed material. Somehow we have managed over the years to make our arbitration training classes interesting and a few students have even called it “exciting”. Our course is a generic arbitration course which qualifies students for being arbitrators in a wide range of disputes and helps lawyers and others understand and be comfortable working in an arbitration process. Arbitration is a method of deciding disputes in a private forum which works very differently from court.
It is not Labour Arbitration, but Labour Arbitrators have found the course very helpful for learning arbitration skills and better understanding their role as arbitrators. In person classes include a working gourmet lunch each day with the cost of meals, refreshments and course certificates from the ADR Institute of Ontario included in the course registration fee. The fee is discounted by $400 for those who take the course online as a result of meal and refreshment cost savings.
The classes in 2021 will include a full day Mock Arbitration hearing and for the third time it will be on the last day of the course. A Mock Arbitration is where the students take over the class for the day to participate in a simulated arbitration hearing. Some students play parties and witnesses including expert witnesses. Subject to the number of students we will run two Mock Arbitrations simultaneously. Some are arbitrators on a panel of three and the rest play lawyers who question witnesses and make legal argument including opening and closing statements to the Arbitration Tribunal who attempt to control the proceedings with a gavel as their only weapon. Gavels are not used in Ontario Courts but they are used in Arbitration. The arbitrators give their decision with oral reasons. The course instructors provide critical feedback after the Mock Arbitration is over. Role assignments will be based on student requests, and the instructors’ efforts at balancing the proceedings so either side has a good chance of winning the case.
The course will include all required content as approved by the ADR Institute of Ontario for Arbitrator membership and Certification and by the Law Society of Upper Canada for CPD credits for lawyers and paralegals. The course has been approved again by the Law Society for CPD credits being 3 hours of Professionalism and 35 hours 45 minutes substantive. We are applying for EDI accreditation for 2021 as well. The course includes material related to Family Law, as arbitration is now playing a greater role in Ontario Family Law in situations where the parties can afford it. Graduates will be qualified (subject to an online ethics test) to apply for the Q. Arb designation of the ADR Institute of Canada which is recognized nationally.
