Participants determined that although there were differences between dispute environments, the type of issues that confront dispute systems designers is independent of circumstances. Participants were able to examine cross-contexual issues of dealing with culture, looking for sources of conflict, and building legitimacy and referrals for a new dispute system. An approach that focuses on these common dispute systems design issues appears to be a powerful method of developing individual practitioners and of developing the practical knowledge base of the profession. Dispute systems design practitioners face a common challenge in determining how to change established patterns of dealing with disagreements. This challenge provided the basis for the conference. Issues broached included topics concerning the influence of culture in dispute systems designs, the search for the roots of dispute, and the establishment of communication and legitimacy.