Download 17th Circuit Med Usage

Official court statistics were showing a sharp decline in the use of mediation for large civil cases in the 17th Judicial Circuit. Believing more mediation was occurring than was being reported, the court requested a study to find out.

Over the course of a year, judges tracked cases in which settlement was stipulated. Lawyers and mediators were then surveyed to discover if the cases were mediated. The study found that more than twice as many and perhaps more than three times as many cases were mediated in the study period than had been reported to the court.

The author is an RSI staff member.