Appreciating the Important Work the Middlesex County Civil Bar Panel Does
The Middlesex County Civil Bar Panel (bar panel) is a program under which attorneys and parties in civil cases headed for trial can meet with fellow attorneys who, as volunteers, serve as co-panelists for what is effectively a settlement conference. In recent years, the bar panel has successfully resolved hundreds of cases. Other counties in New Jersey could benefit from establishing similar programs to provide another opportunity for parties to settle their cases and to foster collegiality among members of their local civil litigation bar and their bench.
Although many civil lawsuits end in a settlement, parties and their legal counsel frequently face challenges in resolving them, especially through alternative dispute resolution methods (ADR) like mediation and
arbitration. Though generally faster and cheaper than litigation, ADR can still be time-consuming and expensive, especially because parties must hire mediators or arbitrators. Fortunately, the Middlesex County Superior
Court offers plaintiffs and defendants’ attorneys in civil actions another avenue to pursue settlements of their cases.
The Middlesex County Civil Bar Panel (bar panel) is a program under which attorneys and parties in civil cases headed for trial can meet with fellow attorneys who, as volunteers, serve as co-panelists for what is effectively a settlement conference. In recent years, the bar panel has successfully resolved hundreds of cases. Other counties in New Jersey could benefit from establishing similar programs to provide another opportunity for parties to settle their cases and to foster collegiality among members of their local civil litigation bar and their bench.
The History of the Bar Panel
The bar panel was created in the 1970s by two plaintiffs attorneys, Richard J. Levinson and George J. Shamy. Levinson and Shamy created it to provide attorneys the opportunity to participate in settlement conferences for their cases before trial. The bar panel process involved a plaintiffs attorney and a defense attorney meeting with two other
attorneys—a volunteer plaintiffs attorney and a volunteer defense attorney—who would discuss the case among the four of them to try to settle it.
The program fell out of use in the 1980s and 1990s until Judge Jamie D. Happas revived it in the early 2000s when she served as Middlesex County’s presiding judge. The program has continued in operation since then, still comprising two volunteer attorneys meeting simultaneously with the parties’ attorneys.
How the Bar Panel Works Today
The bar panel currently holds conferences on Mondays when the Middlesex County Superior Court is open five days that week. The panel calls in about 15 cases each week that are approximately a month out from trial. Josephine Marchetta, the civil assignment supervisor for the Middlesex County Superior Court, works diligently to select the cases that will have bar panel conferences. Cases must have completed discovery to become eligible for a bar panel conference. The bar panel only selects cases where the parties have expressed an openness to negotiating a settlement of their case. In addition, the bar panel mostly works with Track 2 cases, such as motor vehicle accidents
and slip-and-fall cases. Although the bar panel could work for more complex civil cases, the bench and the bar both realize the bar panel could not handle as many cases if panelists took on complex civil actions.
As I noted above, meetings with the bar panel operate much like traditional settlement conferences. The bar panel has a high success rate in cases that are called before it, with approximately 85% of cases coming to the bar panel settling before they reach trial. In an average year, the bar panel will help approximately 300 cases settle before trial.
One reason the bar panel is such an effective settlement tool is because the parties’ attorneys are talking to experienced, knowledgeable attorneys—and nobody else. There’s no sworn testimony taken because clients are not invited to take part, though adjusters are available by phone if their input is needed.
Instead, the bar panel gives the parties’ attorneys an opportunity to sit down and talk openly and honestly, in a relaxed atmosphere, about the good, bad, and ugly of their cases without repercussions or fear of reprisals. When the parties’ attorneys can lay everything on the table to neutral, experienced attorneys about the legal issues, factual issues, and practical issues influencing the resolution of a lawsuit, they learn what a reasonable resolution might look like given those issues, which they can take back to their clients.
The bar panel relies on volunteer attorneys, but from my experience, these attorneys are happy to donate their time and skills to the program.
The volunteer panelists enjoy volunteering because they enjoy supporting their colleagues in the civil litigation bar, as well as members of the bench and court administrators. Panelists also enjoy helping foster respect and collegiality among plaintiffs and defense attorneys and between the bar and bench. They feel a sense of fulfillment in helping
colleagues settle cases. Panelists also feel a sense of accomplishment and gratitude when they see colleagues whom they’ve helped around the courthouse or on the street who thank them for their service and help. Finally, panelists realize it is good for their reputations, their professional relationships, and their marketing/business development efforts to see and be seen in the courthouse.
How the Bar Panel Benefits the Bar and the Bench
The bar panel offers various benefits to both the Middlesex County civil litigation bar and members of the bench.
The bar panel offers members of the bar a no-cost, less contentious opportunity to discuss a mutually beneficial settlement for their clients. Meetings with panelists are free, rather than parties having to shoulder the expense of hiring arbitrators or mediators.
Obviously, when these sessions bear fruit, counsel and their parties benefit from settling cases and avoiding the time and expense of trial. Meetings with the bar panel—which, again, take place about a month before a trial is scheduled to take place—can help parties’ counsel avoid the time and expense of trial preparation.
The bench benefits from lawsuits that should settle actually settling and coming off dockets, freeing up judges to focus on cases that need to go all the way to a bench or jury trial before the parties resolve them.
The mutually beneficial nature of the bar panel has further cultivated an existing culture of collegiality among and between the bench and bar in Middlesex County. Realizing how beneficial the Bar Panel is, court administrators and judges have continued to foster and grow the program.
An Impactful Program That Should be Emulated Across New Jersey
The Middlesex County Civil Bar Panel plays a critical role in offering parties in civil lawsuits in the county opportunities to resolve them and avoid the time, expense, and risk of trial. The bar panel has a high success rate because respected and neutral local volunteer attorneys help the parties’ counsel understand the facts and relative strengths and weaknesses of their clients’ cases.
The bar panel would not be as successful without the hard work of several individuals, including Judge Michael V. Cresitello Jr., presiding judge of Middlesex County, Judge Michael A. Toto, assignment judge of Middlesex County, and Josephine Marchetta, the civil assignment supervisor in Middlesex County. The Middlesex County bar, and their clients, owe them a debt of gratitude.
Despite the success of the bar panel, most other counties in New Jersey have not adopted similar programs because of budgetary constraints or other operational constraints. However, those other counties should establish their own civil bar panel, as their benches and bars would surely benefit from such a program the way the Middlesex County bench and bar have benefited from theirs.
Paul R. Garelick is an attorney at Lombardi & Lombardi, a leading New Jersey personal injury, workers’ compensation and employment law firm effectively representing the legal needs of its clients since 1975. Garelick
has been a volunteer attorney serving the Middlesex County Civil Bar Panel for more than a decade. He can be reached at PaulG@LombardiandLombardi.com.
