Superior Court of Los Angeles County Launches New Platform to Streamline Access to the Court’s Mediator Profiles
Litigants and Attorneys Can Seamlessly Search Through the Court’s List of Volunteer Mediators
The Superior Court of Los Angeles County has launched a new digital platform to support the Mediation Volunteer Panel (MVP), which provides litigants with a no or low-cost tool to facilitate a mutually acceptable resolution without going to trial. The platform is designed to make it easier for litigants and attorneys to review the professional profiles of the Court’s MVP mediators. Profiles include details about each mediator’s training and experience, and other relevant background information, ensuring that parties can quickly identify mediators who are best suited to help them resolve their legal dispute.
Introducing the New Mediator Profile Platform
Built for both desktop and mobile devices, the new digital platform features up-to-date mediator profiles with mediators’ subject-matter expertise, educational background, work history, languages, professional licenses, ADR training and experience, pre-mediation procedures, contact information, and the attorneys’ hourly rate after three hours of pro bono service.
Interested court users may visit this page to browse through the Court’s extensive database of volunteer mediators and filter based on case types or languages or search using keywords.
Parties in cases referred to the MVP are directed to “meet and confer” to select a mediator or request that the ADR Office assign a mediator. To facilitate the “meet and confer” process, the new profiles platform includes a feature for saving a list of potential mediators and emailing it to opposing counsel. All cases must submit an online MVP Response Form to finalize mediator assignment.
About the Court’s Mediation Volunteer Panel
The Court’s Mediation Volunteer Panel (MVP) is administered by the Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Office, which provides programs and resources for litigants to help resolve their disputes outside of court.
Judicial Officers refer unlimited civil cases to the MVP program, which are eligible for three hours of virtual mediation at no cost. The mediation is conducted by a qualified and impartial mediator who volunteers preparation time and the first three hours of a mediation session. If the parties agree to continue mediation after three hours, the mediator may charge the hourly rate listed in their MVP profile.
The Court’s ADR Office provides training opportunities for attorneys interested in becoming volunteer mediators. Interested attorneys can visit the Court’s ADR webpage to learn more about the MVP and download an application. Appointments to serve on the MVP are made by the Court’s Judicial ADR Quality Assurance Subcommittee. Questions about the MVP program should be directed to the Court’s ADR office at MediationPanel@lacourt.org
You can view the full notice here.
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