Volunteer Attorney Mediator Civil Appellate Settlement Program

After a four-month trial run in 1991, this court commenced its civil appellate settlement program using volunteer attorney mediators. Eighty mediators were selected from among the most respected attorneys in the Riverside and Riverside County bar. The court focused the program on fully briefed appeals that had not yet been assigned to a chambers. The volunteer mediators removed approximately 300 civil appeals from this court’s backlog over a period of five years saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. In recognition of that success and the program’s efficiency, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Judicial Council honored the program in 1996 with a Kleps Award for innovative judicial programs.

As the court became current in the assignment of civil appeals for preparation of an opinion, the court shifted the settlement program focus to pre-briefing cases. The Presiding Justice now screens cases when the docketing statement is filed, and assigns about 30 percent of the cases selected to the settlement program. Once selected, participation is mandatory. Mediators specializing in the area of law involved in the appeal are matched with the case. The mediators often spend several hours prior to the first settlement conference reviewing the settlement statement provided by the parties and the record when necessary. The conferences are held at the court, and the mediators often require the parties to return for additional negotiations after the initial meeting. The percentage of cases settled has risen over the life of the program from 30 percent of the cases in which one or more settlement conferences are held to 40 percent.