Neutrals (a) Panel. The ADR Unit shall maintain a panel of neutrals serving in the Court’s ADR programs. Neutrals will be selected from time to time by the Court from applications submitted by lawyers
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
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(b) Qualifications and Training. Each lawyer serving as a neutral in a Court ADR program must be a member of the bar of this Court or a member of the faculty of an accredited law school and must successfully complete initial and periodic training as required by the Court. Additional minimum requirements for serving on the Court’s panel of neutrals, which the Court may modify in individual circumstances for good cause, are as follows: (1) ENE Evaluators. Evaluators must have been admitted to the practice of law for at least 15 years and have considerable experience with civil litigation in federal court.
Evaluators must also have substantial expertise in the subject matter of the cases assigned to them and must have the temperament and training to listen well, facilitate communication across party lines and, if called upon, assist the parties with settlement negotiations. (2) Mediators. Lawyer mediators must have been admitted to the practice of law for at least 7 years and must be knowledgeable about civil litigation in federal court. Mediators shall have strong Mediation process skills and the temperament and USDC ADR Local Rules – Effective May 1, 2018 ADR-4 training to listen well, facilitate communication across party lines and assist the parties with settlement negotiations.
Mediators who are not lawyers may also be selected to serve on the Court’s panel of mediators if they have appropriate professional credentials in another discipline and are knowledgeable about civil litigation in federal court. A non-lawyer mediator may be appointed to a case only with the consent of the parties. (c) Oath. Persons serving as neutrals in any of the Court’s ADR programs must take the oath or affirmation prescribed in 28 U.S.C. § 453.
(d) Disqualification of Neutrals. (1) Applicable Standards. No person may serve as a neutral in a case in a Court ADR program in violation of: (A) the standards set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 455, or (B) any applicable standard of professional responsibility or rule of professional conduct, or (C) other guidelines adopted by the Court concerning disqualification of neutrals. (2) Mandatory Disqualification and Notice of Recusal.
A prospective neutral who discovers a circumstance requiring disqualification must immediately notify the parties and the ADR Unit in writing. The parties may not waive a basis for disqualification that is described in 28 U.S.C. Section 455 (b). (3) Disclosure and Waiver of Non-Mandatory Grounds for Disqualification. If a prospective neutral discovers a circumstance that would not compel disqualification under an applicable standard of professional responsibility or rule of professional conduct or other guideline, or under § 455(b), but that might be covered by § 455 (a), the neutral shall promptly disclose that circumstance to all counsel in writing, as well as the ADR Unit.
A party who has an objection to the neutral based upon an allegation that the neutral has a conflict of interest must present this objection in writing to the ADR Unit and all counsel within 7 days of learning the source of the potential conflict or shall be deemed to have waived objection. (4) Objections Not Based on Disclosures by Neutral. Within 7 days of learning the identity of a proposed neutral, a party who objects to service by that neutral must deliver to the ADR Unit and to all other counsel a writing that specifies the bases for the objection. The ADR Director shall determine whether the proposed neutral will serve or whether another neutral should be appointed.
Appeal from such a determination must be made directly to the ADR Magistrate Judge within 7 days of the notice of the ADR Director’s determination. (e) Immunities. All persons serving as neutrals in any of the Court’s ADR programs are performing quasi-judicial functions and are entitled to the immunities and protections that the law accords to persons serving in such capacity.