Settlement Conference

A Settlement Conference is an opportunity for all parties and their attorneys to meet with a Judge or Court Commissioner to discuss any issues of a case in dispute.

If there are any disputes, all parties are required to participate in a Settlement Conference before they receive a trial date.  At the Settlement Conference, the judicial officer does not make any decisions.  The judicial officer tries to help the parties reach an agreement and avoid a trial.  Some judicial officers make specific recommendations.

Family Court Settlement Conference

​How to schedule a settlement conference:

If your case has custody/visitation issues you must attend mediation or have mediation waived by the court before requesting a settlement conference per LSPR 94.05.

Complete the Request to Schedule Settlement Conference & Trial Form and file the form with the Clerk’s office. The request to schedule settlement conference is an administrative hearing, you do not appear for this date. Once the court has selected a date, all parties will receive a notice with a settlement conference and trial date.

Settlement Conferences are scheduled for one hour, typically on Mondays at 9:00 am, Fridays at 9:00 am, 10:00 am, 11:00 am, 2:30 pm, and 3:30 pm.

For more information about mediation click here.

Click here for more detailed information on settlement conferences.

Forms available:

Request/Response to Schedule Settlement Conference

Settlement Conference Statement

Dependency Court Settlement Conference

Dependency and Termination settlement conferences are held with a Court Commissioner.  All parties and their attorneys are directed to appear for the settlement conference.

How to schedule a settlement conference:

A settlement conference can be requested in court or directed to be scheduled by a Judge at a hearing. 

Parties are required to provide a settlement conference statement to Court Administration and to the opposing sides no later than 2 Court days before the scheduled settlement conference.