ALL THE NEWS one hears today about the courts appears to involve problems or shortcomings. I would like to take this opportunity to talk about a program that demonstrates the commitment of the NH Superior Court to develop innovative programs to provide services to our litigants. The Superior Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Program, known as Rule 170, is such a program.

Rule 170 provides alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services to all the parties and litigants who have filed civil actions in the Superior Court. The program allows the parties to submit their cases to neutral evaluation, mediation or arbitration. By submitting their cases to one of these processes, parties are able to take control over how their cases are resolved. In most instances, cases are settled earlier than they would have been had they gone to trial, and at less expense to the parties. Even more important to some litigants is the opportunity to participate in deciding how their cases are resolved. In the end, the dispute resolution process reduces legal fees and saves the court time and effort.

These services are being provided free of charge to the parties involved. This is possible only because of the dedication and willingness of attorneys to volunteer their time to assist the court in providing such services. For attorneys, participation in the program requires a tremendous commitment of time because they must undergo a three-day mediation-training program and, upon completing it, they then volunteer on average four days a year to mediate or evaluate cases assigned to them. In addition to the commitment by attorneys, this program would not be successful without the commitment of court staff to take on additional work to make the program work.

To date, over 330 attorneys have gone through the court-administered training program. Because of budget cuts, the attorneys now wishing to volunteer to serve in this program without compensation must pay for this training. Despite having to pay $300 for training costs, attorneys are continuing to sign up to help.

What does the program mean for the courts? It means that approximately 1,500 cases every year are referred to a dispute resolution process that helps the parties to resolve their disputes. These disputes are resolved earlier, freeing time for the courts to handle the other cases remaining on the docket. Before implementation of this program, residents in some counties had to wait up to six years for a jury trial. Now, even in the busiest county, litigants can have their cases heard by juries in less than a year to a year and a half.

The efforts of all involved in the Rule 170 program go unrecognized and unappreciated by most. Without the program’s volunteer attorneys assisting the court, our backlog would swell, clients would wait longer for decisions on their cases and their cases would not be resolved on terms that meet their individual interests and needs. The alternative dispute resolution program is both valuable and important, and the volunteers serving in it deserve recognition for their efforts. The following is a list of mediators who participate in this program.

Rule 170 Volunteer Mediators - 2003

Home | About the Bar | For Members | For the Public | Legal Links | Publications | Online Store
Lawyer Referral Service | Law-Related Education | NHBA•CLE | NHBA Insurance Agency | NHMCLE
Search | Calendar

New Hampshire Bar Association
2 Pillsbury Street, Suite 300, Concord NH 03301
phone: (603) 224-6942 fax: (603) 224-2910
email: NHBAinfo@nhbar.org
© NH Bar Association Disclaimer