Online Mediation and Arbitration

A settlement conference is a meeting in which a judge or magistrate assigned to the case presides over the process. The purpose of the settlement conference is to try to settle a case before the hearing or trial. Settlement conferencing is similar to mediation in that a third party neutral assists the parties in exploring settlement options. Settlement conferences are different from mediation in that settlement conferences are usually shorter and typically have fewer roles for participation of the parties or for consideration of non – legal interests.

In a typical settlement week, a court suspends normal trial activity and, aided by volunteer mediators, sends numerous trial-ready cases to mediation sessions held at the courthouse. The mediation sessions may last several hours, with additional sessions held as needed. Cases unresolved during settlement week return to the court’s regular docket for further pretrial or trial proceedings as needed. If settlement weeks are held infrequently and are a court’s only form of ADR, parties who want to use ADR may have to look outside the court or may incur additional litigation expenses while cases await referral to settlement week. This can be overcome by regularly offering at least one other form of ADR.

In summary jury trials, attorneys for each party make abbreviated case presentations to a mock six-member jury (drawn from a pool of real jurors), the party representatives and a presiding judge or magistrate. The mock jury renders an advisory verdict. The verdict is frequently helpful in getting a settlement, particularly where one of the parties has an unrealistic assessment of their case.