I love watching legal dramas on television because they make everything seem so linear. An event happens and a few days later you are in the middle of a dramatic trial. Unfortunately, the real situation isn’t nearly as exciting. Most lawsuits proceed in fits and starts. There are key moments and the mandatory settlement conference is often one of them.

What is a mandatory settlement conference? Well, every jurisdiction deals with it a bit differently. Generally, we can say it is the last formal effort to bring the parties to some type of agreement that will settle the case. This is accomplished through a specific procedure.

The success of these conferences starts with the issue of attendance. Huh? Well, you can’t really hope to settle a case without all the relevant parties being there. As a result, the plaintiff [suing party] and defendant are required to attend, which is rather obvious. In addition, any insurance company that is involved on behalf of the defendant must also have a claims representative that has authority to settle the case at the meeting.

The meeting is then adjudicated by an independent party. In most cases, this is a retired judge. The parties will have filed briefs with the judge stating their cases. They will then be put in different rooms when they arrive. The judge will then speak with each and will point out any disagreements he or she might have with the view of the party regarding their position.

After a bit of back and forth with each party, the judge will ask for numbers to be exchanged. Sometimes the numbers are close and an agreement can come together quickly. Sometimes the numbers are far apart. When the parties are far apart, the judge will either try to do some arm twisting or will just call it a day. Arm twisting rarely works, and the parties usually will end up heading to trial.

Do the parties every face off in person at a mandatory settlement conference? It is a rare occurrence and only happens if the judge thinks it will help. More often, the attorneys for each party will meet directly with the judge to argue certain points, but that is as far as personal interaction will really go. Settlement conferences will often result in an agreement between the parties. If you are going to be involved in one, you should take them seriously.