Nowadays, a practicing trial attorney feels as though their civil, probate or general equity case has barely been filed when a Mediation Referral Order is sent out from the court under Rule. 1:40. Some attorneys initially view this order’s receipt as simply just one more obstacle for the plaintiff or on the litigation path to a jury and/or another hurdle in the life of the defense bar until a summary judgment motion can be filed.
Court-ordered mediation at the inception of a case is now a mainstay in the life of a litigator and, having no real choice, attorneys on both sides need to know how to maximize the advantage of the event.
