Volunteer settlement officers will resolve personal injury litigation virtually under a new platform developed by local bar associations for the Los Angeles Superior Courts.
Presiding Judge Eric C. Taylor announced the launch of the Resolve Law LA Virtual Mandatory Settlement Conference (MSC) Program in the court’s Personal Injury (PI) hub last month.
“Only specific cases are ordered into the program at the judge’s discretion,” Judge Taylor told the Southern California Record. “Once cases are ordered into the program, it becomes mandatory. Cases are only eligible if they are ready to go to trial and when there is a likelihood that both sides may be willing to resolve their differences.”
The program is modeled after the in-person MSC program launched in the PI Hub at the Spring Street Courthouse in 2017, which stopped due to the pandemic, according to a press release.
“What is unique about the program is that there is not one settlement officer, but two," said Judge David J. Cowan, supervising judge of the civil division. “One settlement officer will provide the perspective that comes with defending cases and the other with bringing cases. We are hopeful that providing this level of expertise will help parties reach a resolution by recognizing people from different perspectives agreeing on what a successful resolution might look like.”
Attorneys with a minimum of 10 years of litigation experience are urged to register to serve as a settlement officer by visiting Resolve LA Law.
“Only cases that are now assigned to the PI Hub at the Spring Street Courthouse (Departments 27, 28, 29, 31, and 32) are eligible for the program,” Cowan told the Southern California Record. “Cases are ordered into the program at a judge’s discretion.”
A standing order allows for the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (ASCDC), the Beverly Hills Bar Foundation (BHBF), and the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) to provide attorneys to act as volunteer settlement officers.
“The mandatory settlement conference will occur before the jury trial,” said Marta Alcumbrac, president-elect of the ASCDC. “So, if the case doesn't settle, this is the last chance to resolve it. If you're ordered into the program and if the case does not settle, then the parties would move forward to a trial.”
The program aims to reduce the number of cases in the courts, according to Alcumbrac.
“This is a free program for the litigants,” she said. “Nobody has to pay and the attorneys are volunteering their time and it's through Zoom. So people don't have to travel anywhere to attend the conference. Previously, the court would order the insurance carrier representative to be present for the conference, which could mean the insurance company representative would have to fly in from someplace other than Los Angeles to attend the mandatory settlement conference. But with Zoom, they can still be in their office wherever they may be in the country and attempt to settle the case before it goes to a jury trial.”