Dr. Sukhsimran Singh’s career is built on the foundation of using peaceful methods to resolve difficult conflicts. His negotiation style is based on respect and empathy. He has represented clients in various countries and has successfully consulted with state governments, courts, nonprofit and for-profit businesses, churches and schools.

Dr. Singh has successfully resolved hundreds of domestic and cross-border mediations. He practices in a wide variety of areas and is currently focusing on the following: business/commercial disputes, government and public agency disputes, faith-based and educational institution conflicts, cross-border/international conflicts, civil rights, cross-cultural conflicts, employment conflicts, personal injury/torts disputes and real property disputes. He has successfully resolved large, complex cases, including one valued at over $100 million.

Dr. Singh is known for his expertise in international mediation, mediation ecosystems and legislation, collaborative problem-solving techniques, advanced strategies in how to break mediation impasse, pre-mediation meetings, cultural fluency in mediation, co-mediation models and approaches, comparative mediation legislation, application of mediation in complex cross-border disputes and crafting mediation agreements.

Dr. Singh regularly serves as a mediator for educational institutions, businesses and city and state governments, including for the City of Beverly Hills, where he was nominated for city’s Annual Peace Award. He is also sought after to create conflict resolution plans for churches, schools and law enforcement organizations. He was honored by City of Los Angeles for his work for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Dr. Singh has trained more than 3,000 business professionals and graduate law and business students in negotiation theory and practice. He is assistant dean of graduate law programs and Judge Danny Weinstein managing director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law, where he also serves as associate professor of law and practice. Within this capacity, Dr. Singh oversaw the institute's global outreach efforts, world-class professional training programs and rigorous academic curriculum. His practice, teaching and scholarship focus on advanced mediation, cross-cultural dispute resolution, faith-based mediation and utilizing modern theories, science and technology to devise creative solutions for global disputes. He previously taught at USC School of Law, Willamette University and Hamline University, as well as in India at the National Law University. In 2017, the Government of India recognized Dr. Singh as a Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) scholar for his teaching in the field of dispute resolution. Dr. Singh’s work can be found in several journals and books on dispute resolution.

Representative Matters

• Mediated dispute between high-net-worth individuals in Canadian family-owned 100-acre farm conflict involving three brothers and a large trust managing hundreds of millions of dollars of income
• Mediated commercial, business-to-business matter in a $160-million business dissolution among executives in advance of merger
• Mediated a commercial business-to-business matter with stakeholders from multiple states in a trademark infringement litigation
• Mediated business disputes with breach of contract issues
• Requested by law enforcement agencies to train hundreds of police officers and community members in policing conflicts and de-escalation
• Mediated very complex and high-value family law cases
• Mediated multi-generation family disputes, successfully resolving business and communication issues in cross-border conflicts with parties in Singapore, India and United States
• International consulting with governments in cross-cultural negotiations and cross-border transactions with stakeholders at the highest level of government and business owners across the U.S. Department of State, Africa, Singapore, Korea, Peru, Australia and the EU
• Managed high-profile religious conflicts across the United States for a variety of religious organizations—including temples and churches affiliated with Episcopalian, Christian, Church of Christ, Sikh and Hindu faiths—where post-litigation internal conflicts involved property and finances/savings/donations, roles played by leadership in conflict with the organization’s constitution and court referrals.
• Mediated educational system conflicts at schools, universities/colleges and special-education institutions that included hiring practices with permanent versus temporary faculty, tenure versus non-tenure conflicts and issues with diversity
• Mediated a large environmental matter in Oregon where stakeholders included an environmental agency, wetlands management systems company and various government stakeholders
• Mediated employment cases involving wrongful termination
• Requested by the U.S. Department of Justice to train civil servants on mediation in Ghana
• Resolved multiple high-conflict disputes between business owners with a long-term relationships
• Mediated public policy matters involving hundreds of parties (or people) in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, as well as Salem and Portland, Oregon
• Mediated wrongful death claims involving breach of privacy and standard of care
• Advised on police matters, including abuse of power, civil rights and community trust-building

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Selected Awards and Honors

• Medal of Honor, National Judicial Academy of Brazil, 2022
• Global Initiative of Academic Networks Scholar (for his teaching in the field of dispute resolution), Government of India, 2017
• Nominee, Annual Peace Award, City of Beverly Hills, 2018
• Luann Pannell honored Dr. Singh for his work for the Los Angeles Police Department, City of Los Angeles, 2021
• Honorary Fellow, International Academy of Mediators, 2014–present
• Honorary Professor of Law, National Law University, Delhi, India, 2016–present 

Memberships and Affiliations

• Committee Co-Chair, Dispute Resolution Section, American Bar Association, 2018–2019
• Executive Committee Member, Dispute Resolution Section, Association of American Law Schools, 2019–2022
• Executive Committee Member, Pepperdine/Straus American Inns of Court for Dispute Resolution, 2017–2019
• Member, Pepperdine Advisory Committees, Rajiv Gandhi National Law University, 2019–2021
• Honorary Professor of Law, National Law University, Delhi, India, 2017–2022
• Board Member, Weinstein International Foundation (an affiliate of JAMS International), 2017–2022

Selected Publications and Speaking Engagements

• "How to Prepare for Good Negotiations", BHBA Family Law Symposium, 2023
• "Global MLC and International Roundtable,” Global - Negotiation and Mediation Training: European Edition, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Switzerland, 2023
• "Opening Address," International Academy of Mediators’ Joint Conference with the Swiss Chamber of Commercial Mediation, Switzerland, 2023
• Author, “Best Practices for Mediating Religious Conflicts," American Bar Association
• Speaker on a variety of ADR topics before professional organizations, including:
  • Keynotes, lectures and trainings on dispute resolution in more than 30 states and 40 countries
  • In 2021, he delivered 60 talks, including talks for: International Academy of Mediators, ABA Dispute Resolution Section, Pepperdine University, University of Oklahoma, City of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, Weinstein International Foundation, Willamette University, ADR Center Global, Amity Law School, Mediators Poet Society, Ecuador, ADR Brazil, Southern California Mediation Association, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Federal Judicial Center, Supreme Court of India, Mumbai International Arbitration Center, Salt Lake City Police Department, Mediation Conference, Greece and Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University in Saudi Arabia
• “In the Shadow of the Pandemic: Unearthing Unequal Access to Justice Vis-à-Vis Dispute Resolution,” Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, 2022 and Pepperdine University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2022/3, Sukhsimranjit Singh, 2022
• "International Commercial Arbitration with Reference to India as an Emerging Hub,” Thomson Reuters, Dr Sukhsimranjit Singh and Prof. Rajinder Kaur, 2021
• "Best Practices for Mediating Religious Conflicts,” American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Magazine, Sukhsimranjit Singh, 2018
• "Following the Golden Rule and Finding Gold: Generosity and Success in Negotiation,” Cardozo Legal Studies Research Paper No. 378, Sukhsimranjit Singh and Lela P. Love, 2012 revised 2013

Background and Education

• Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law, 2016–present
  • Judge Danny Weinstein Managing Director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, 2018–present
  • Assistant Dean, Graduate Law Programs, 2022–2022
  • Associate Professor of Law and Practice, 2018–2022
• USC: Visiting Professor 2016–2019; Willamette University: Contributing Associate Professor, Atkinson Graduate School of Management 2008–present; Hamline University: Postgraduate Fellow 2006–2008 and Visiting Faculty 2010–2020; National Law University: Honorary Professor of Law, 2016–present
• Law Clerk to Chief Justice of India, Justice R.C. Lahoti, 2004–2005
• Ph.D., National Law University, Delhi, India, 2018
• Postgraduate fellowship at Hamline University's Dispute Resolution Institute
• LL.M., Dispute Resolution, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006
  • Editor, Orthopedic Legal-Medical Journal
  • Recipient, Graduate Student Scholarship
• B.A., India's National Academy of Legal Studies, and Research, 2000–2005
• Admitted to Practice Law in India, 2006