How is a settlement conference with a private judge different from a settlement conference at court?
If you have a settlement conference at the court, you rarely get to see the judge personally. More likely, there will be several cases set for settlement conference on a particular day. You will each wait your turn to see the judge. When your turn comes, your attorneys (not you) will go into chambers to see the judge and discuss settlement options. Your attorneys will then come out and report to you while the judge meets with attorneys on another case. Many litigants object to this process because they are excluded from the proceeding at a critical stage in their case. They don’t get to hear what their attorney and the opposing attorney say to the judge. In private judging, you get to talk directly to the judge. You get to hear your attorney tell the judge why you think there should be a particular result. You then get to hear the judge’s reaction first hand rather than through your attorney. You can also tell the judge your story in your own words, and not through someone else.
