Family Mediation Center Reduces Case Resolution Time by 50 Percent

The Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court’s Family Mediation Center processed approximately 3,900 contested child custody cases each year that needed mandatory mediation services. The big challenge was coordinating availability for judges, the court, and all parties involved to ensure progress in these cases. Unfortunately, with backlogs and scheduling conflicts, first mediation appointments usually booked a month out, while return hearing dates pushed out to over 90 days, not the 30-45 days they’d like to see as an average turnaround time.

The court implemented Tyler’s Modria^® online dispute resolution (ODR) solution to help accelerate caseloads, so follow-up hearings weren’t delayed, and judicial calendars could be better managed. ODR created an opportunity for a timely, effective resolution by allowing parties to resolve differences online, either with or without the assistance of a mediator.

After a successful three-judge pilot program, ODR was expanded to all 14 judges and 12 mediators within the county. ODR has helped clear the backlog and allowed them to mediate more cases daily, which in turn has improved the turnaround time for the judges’ calendars from mediation to 30-45 days instead of an excess of three or four months.

Results

• Reduced case resolution time by 50 percent (one case was settled in 2 days)
• Increased public satisfaction by enabling case mediation anytime, from anywhere
• Improved operational efficiency in courts and accelerated turnaround time for judicial calendars