On Dec. 20, 2013, the Southern District of New York issued new procedures for its Mediation Program to accompany recent amendments to Local Civil Rule 83.9, the rule concerning the Southern District’s alternative dispute resolution. These developments (as well as the mediation program’s recently issued annual report) provide an opportune time to offer the bar an overview of the program.
Following the enactment of the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990, the Board of Judges for the Southern District authorized an advisory group to draft a proposal for the court’s ADR program. This group finalized a plan in 1991, and mediation was adopted as the court’s ADR program. After a trial period, the program became fully operational at the end of 1994.
