LA County Superior Court
The court's website contains detailed information on available ADR procedures, which include arbitration, neutral evaluation, settlement conferences, and mediation.
If the parties choose mediation, they have the further choice of a selecting a mediator from the random select panel who will work pro bono for the first three hours, or a mediator from the party pay panel who will work for a reduced rate of $150 per hour for the first three hours. Generally the mediators on the party pay panel are more experienced, but these mediators also will hear a certain number of cases pro bono. So if you're lucky, you might draw my name from the random select panel, and I will mediate the case pro bono for the first three hours. But if you want to insure that you obtain my services as a mediator, it would be safer to search for me from the party select panel, where you would be able to obtain my services for the first three hours for the bargain rate of $225 per side. Simply click on name search and type in my name to select me from the party pay panel. In either case, if the mediation continues after the lunch break, I will ask the parties to sign a form agreeing to pay for my services at a rate we will agree upon.
I receive notification from the court that I have been selected to mediate a case, and my assistant will generally contact the parties and suggest that they agree among themselves and advise me of several possible dates for the mediation. Then I will send out notice of the mediation date. If you are getting close to your mediation completion date and for some reason the mediation has not been scheduled, please feel free to follow up with me to make sure we get it on the calendar. If you have questions about such issues as who is needed to attend the mediation, and whether they need to be there in person, I also encourage the parties to discuss those issues among themselves before contacting me. In court-ordered mediations, I generally do not consider it part of my responsibility to render judgment as to whether parties have complied with the rules or not. Instead, I merely report what has occurred to the court. My job is to get the parties to agree as much as possible on as many issues as possible, ideally including an agreement on resolving the entire dispute. At the conclusion of the mediation session, I advise the court either that the mediation did not take place, or that the case has settled, or that it has not settled, or that the mediation has been continued.
State court mediations take place under fairly strict rules of confidentiality. If the parties reach an agreement at the mediation, it needs to be in writing to be enforceable, and the writing should be self-explanatory, as I would consider it contrary to my duties as a mediator to discuss or try to interpret what occurred at a mediation for any official purpose.
California Code of Civil Procedure sections governing civil action mediation are set forth in C.C.P. Section 1775 et seq. Rules of conduct applicable to mediators in court-connected programs are set forth in C.R.C. 3.850 et seq.
Central District Federal Court
Local Rule 16-15 generally requires the parties to choose one of three settlement procedures: (1) a settlement conference with a judge, (2) a settlement conference with an attorney from the attorney settlement officer panel, or (3) a settlement proceeding before a retired judge or other member of a private dispute resolution service.
If the parties choose a member of the settlement officer panel, it is necessary to ascertain whether the proposed panel mediator is available before submitting that person's name to the judge. Feel free to call my number to find out if I am available: 213-437-1720. If for some reason I am unavailable, there are a number of other fine mediators on the panel. Panel mediators donate the first three hours of their time pro bono, after which it is necessary to negotiate a fee, generally on an hourly rate basis for any additional necessary time. Here is the full description of the procedures necessary for use of the settlement officer panel, from the court's website:
The parties must access the Attorney Settlement Officer Panel List available from the website. There are two panel lists on the website, one alphabetical and the other by area of law. The website also contains personal profiles of those panel members who voluntarily provided such information. The Attorney Settlement Officer Panel List is updated periodically by the Panel Coordinator. If the parties do not have the ability to access the website, the parties may contact the courtroom deputy to the assigned judge for the case. The courtroom deputy will make a photocopy of the appropriate section of the list that relates to the type of case that the parties are litigating and fax or mail that appropriate section to the requesting party. The parties shall then make a selection from the list, obtain consent from the Attorney Settlement Officer selected and file a Stipulation Regarding Selection of Attorney Settlement Officer (ADR-2). The parties and the Attorney Settlement Officer shall arrange for an agreed upon date, time and place for a settlement conference and shall so notify the Panel Coordinator. If the parties cannot agree on an appropriate Attorney Settlement Officer from the list, they shall submit the ADR-2 requesting a random assignment of an Attorney Settlement Officer. The Panel Coordinator will perform the random assignment of an Attorney Settlement Officer from the particular area of law designated on the ADR-2 and will notify the parties by mail of the selection. Within five days after the conclusion of the settlement proceeding, the Attorney Settlement Officer shall file with the court and serve the parties and the Panel Coordinator an Attorney Settlement Officer Proceeding Report (ADR-3). Further questions regarding the Attorney Settlement Officer Panel may be referred to the ADR Program Office at(213) 894-2993.
Central District Bankruptcy Court
Mediation rules and forms for the Central District Bankruptcy Court can be found on the court's website. Click on Forms/Rules/General Orders, then on Mediation. The program is governed by the third amended general order 95-01, which makes disputes arising in adversary proceedings and other contested matters eligible for mediation. Cases are assigned to mediation by the bankruptcy judge. Parties can select their mediator from a list available at court or on the website, and are supposed to contact the mediator to determine their availability. Mediators on the panel are supposed to take up to one pro bono case per quarter.
Private Mediation
No charge for initial telephone consultation, in which we need to discuss the nature of the dispute, the identity of the parties, scheduling and fees. I generally have flexibility to schedule half-day or full-day mediation sessions. Fees are negotiable depending on the size and complexity of the matter. I will ask the parties to sign a retainer and confidentiality agreement, and to pay for the first three hours in advance.
