Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

To initiate any ADR services at Judicate West, all parties must be agreed to our services, and counsel for each party will first be required to sign an Agreement for Judicate West Services ("JW Services Agreement"). For arbitrations and private judging matters, counsel for the paying party(ies) will be asked to pay a refundable retainer. JW and its Neutrals reserve the right to withhold Neutral's services, rulings, or awards until all fees, retainers, and JW Services Agreements are received.

All of our offices have common areas to wait and initially meet with your client(s) and colleagues. Accommodations include comfortable meeting areas including client lounges with cable or satellite TV, private or semi-private guest workstations with computers, phones, printers, and wireless internet throughout our offices. Lunch for all guests is served daily between noon and 1:30pm. You will also find a wide array of snacks, coffee, water, juices, teas and sodas always available at each of our venues. All offices offer conference rooms with speaker phones, dedicated zoom equipment, large screen TVs, audio visual equipment, easels, and legal research capabilities. Please call in advance to reserve the audio/visual equipment. We also have hotel, transportation, restaurant and map information available on our website for parties who may be traveling in from out of the area.

We invite you to experience the convenience of managing your dispute resolution efforts digitally with your complimentary MyJW Account. You can create an account in just a few minutes for yourself, an assistant, or both.

Benefits of a MyJW Account Include:

• Log in to your virtual session with our "Join Session" feature
• Review current cases, party information, and JW paperwork in calendar view
• Add new cases in a quick and simplified way
• Submit briefs and documents directly to JW with streamlined efficiency
• Pay invoices online with all information auto-populated for you
• Search and review invoices and view up to 5 years of full account history
• Access your account from a desktop, laptop, iPad, or smartphone

Register or Sign In

The fees for your matter are dependent on the hourly rate of your agreed upon neutral. The neutral charges hourly for hearing or session time plus review, preparation and deliberation time when applicable. Hourly rates can range from $400-2,000 per hour per neutral. We also offer half day and full day rates for mediation. Rates may vary dependent on the number of parties and/or venue. Please request an individual fee schedule for each neutral you are considering. The division of fees and responsibility of each share must be agreed upon before the hearing is scheduled.

In addition to an hourly rate, a refundable retainer will be charged for estimated additional charges including review/preparation and/or deliberation time in all arbitrations and Private Judging matters, as well as multiparty mediations or those with special circumstances such as substantial briefing or docs submitted. Judicate West (JW) charges a standard administrative and case management fee per hearing or session. These fees apply to all types of cases and hearing formats and are required regardless of the estimated time or value of the case.

The minimum charge will vary per neutral in addition to our Administrative and/or Case Management Fees.

All Judicate West fees are due upon receipt. For consumer arbitrations, please be sure to additionally review Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 1281.97 and 1281.998 regarding deadlines to file applicable fees.

Judicate West can accommodate Visa and Mastercard credit cards as a form of payment although our preferred method of payment is via check, ACH or wire. Click here to pay via credit card or ACH

All requests for cancellation or continuance must be in writing and copied to all counsel. JW prides itself on remaining reasonable and flexible. These fees are an important part of what makes the ADR process successful, but we do not like assessing these fees. For matters scheduled for 1 day or less, more than 14 calendar days notice of cancellation or continuance is required, or fees for the time reserved, as well as case management and filing fees, are non-refundable. For matters scheduled for 2-3 days, at least 30 calendar days notice is required; for matters 4 days or longer, more than 45 days is required. The cancellation policy is reflected in our fee schedules. Please note, no charges other than case management and filing fees will be due if JW is able to fill the vacated time, and credit will be issued for partial time filled.

As required by California Code of Civil Procedure § 1284.3(a)(3), for consumer arbitrations governed by the California Arbitration Act and all consumer arbitration proceedings conducted in California, JW waives fees and costs, exclusive of arbitrator fees, charged to an indigent consumer. Please contact a Judicate West staff member at your earliest convenience to receive a copy of a fee waiver application form with more information and that can be completed and returned in your matter.

There is no charge for actually filing a motion with JW. The moving party should give all counsel statutory requirements for notice and our office will provide the moving party with a hearing date. Depending on the circumstances, the hearing may be live or telephonic. Unless agreed or stipulated to differently in the arbitration rules, contract or agreement, the moving party will be charged a retainer for reserved time and is responsible for any time spent by the neutral. The neutral may adjust the fees as part of the ruling as it relates to a specific motion.

We are honored to receive many inquiries from attorneys and judges about being added to our roster as a neutral. We only add a few neutrals per year and currently are only looking to add neutrals with existing practices and/or niche areas of expertise. Please refer to our process and criteria on our website here. If you feel you are a good candidate after reviewing our criteria, please email us by using our contact form or contact any executive committee member.

Yes! Unless otherwise agreed upon, it is universally expected and very important to the process that all decision makers be present as it will increase the likelihood of a successful mediation. Also, if not given prior notice and cleared in advance, it is very possible your opposition will walk out upon learning your client is not present.

Judicate West is a results oriented organization. Mediation is a voluntary process and requires cooperation; therefore we cannot in good conscience set a matter that is likely to fail. If all sides are not equally interested and prepared there is no justification in setting a mediation..

The best practice is for briefs to be submitted 7 days prior to your hearing or session date if possible. Please upload your MyJW Portal or by email to briefs@judicatewest.com.
If it is less than 7 days until your hearing or session, or if you are unsure at any time, please call us at 1-800-488-8805 or contact your case manager directly.

Yes, JW has a document retention policy for documents that it receives from parties to a case. Information regarding JW's document retention policy can be found here: JW Document Retention Policy.

Yes, in matters other than tort claims for personal injury and wrongful death, you may forward the completed subpoena forms to your arbitrator. The arbitrator will sign and return them to you for service. In tort claims for personal injury and wrongful death, counsel may subpoena their own witnesses.

JW is very sensitive about the timeliness of getting an award to the parties. Our objective is to have a written reasoned opinion forwarded to all parties within 30 days following the closing of record (determined by the neutral), provided all requisite fees have been paid by all parties. When circumstances prevent the final award from being concluded within 30 days, we will contact all parties to give status and do as much as possible to help with managing your client's expectations.