January 12, 2021: Happy New Year, or a very belated (and, thus, now ridiculous) Happy New Year if you are reading this in February or beyond!
You will be relieved to know that, in this article, I will not be making any:
- resolutions, or
- predictions
for 2021, other than that I resolve not to make predictions.
That won’t stop me, however, from anticipating (or simply guessing) a new mediation trend for 2021, particularly for the second half.
First, though, I need to bring to your attention an important change to the Rules of Civil Procedure as of January 1, 2021:
According to the new R. 1.08 (8), one of the parties shall propose the method of attendance at a mandatory mediation under R. 24. 1 or 75.1. If the other party objects then a case conference is held, and the court shall make an order directing the method of attendance and consider the availability of telephone or videoconference facilities (and if such a conference is ordered, then direct requirements and procedures that the court considers appropriate).
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