Civil filings at San Francisco County Superior Court have yet to rebound from pandemic-related lulls, according to the most recent court data, leaving some industry experts questioning whether an uptick in arbitration and pre-litigation activity in certain practices is driving the continued downturn.

JAMS President Kimberly Taylor said she was initially surprised to hear that the court’s case filings were down based on the healthy growth the ADR provider has seen nationally in both mediation and arbitration. In the San Francisco Bay Area, in particular, Taylor said, arbitrations are “up a lot.”