Summit County, Ohio - Settlement Week 2024 will be held from Monday, October 21 through Friday, October 25, 2024, at the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, General Division, located at 209 South High Street in downtown Akron.
Offered at no cost, the weeklong event will bring civil litigants and highly-trained volunteer mediators into the Summit County Courthouse to resolve civil disputes. Only civil cases currently pending in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, General Division, are eligible to participate.
“I am pleased to announce that Settlement Week 2024 volunteer mediators will be eligible to participate in free, continuing legal education (CLE) training opportunities that will be facilitated by the Supreme Court of Ohio,” said Summit County Court of Common Pleas, General Division Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands. “We hope these free CLE training opportunities attract more attorneys to participate. The more volunteer mediators we have, the more likely we are to succeed!”
The Supreme Court of Ohio Dispute Resolution Section will offer CLE training to Settlement Week 2024 volunteer mediators on Friday, September 6, 2024, from 1 – 4:15 p.m. and again on Friday, October 4, 2024, from 9 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Both trainings will be held at the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, General Division. Settlement Week 2024 volunteer mediators will receive three CLE credits for participating in the mediation training. In support of Settlement Week 2024, the Supreme Court of Ohio will provide the mediation training at no cost.
Mediation is a proven process in which a neutral third party facilitates communication and negotiation between parties to help them reach a voluntary agreement regarding a dispute. The mediator provides a forum that allows parties (and their attorneys) to discuss their dispute and any other issues that may concern them with the goal of settling the case. Settling a civil case through mediation is quicker, more efficient, less expensive, and less stressful than a trial.
Settlement Week allows civil litigants to have their cases mediated by experienced civil trial lawyers specializing in subject matter case law, such as contract disputes, personal injury, property disputes, small business, and workers’ compensation cases.
Summit County Court of Common Pleas, General Division encourages attorneys to participate in Settlement Week 2024, FREE CLE
“Last year, 90 (64%) of the 140 civil cases mediated during Settlement Week were successfully resolved,” said Summit County Court of Common Pleas, General Division Chief Magistrate and Mediation Supervisor Kandi O’Connor. “2023 was a record-setting year for Settlement Week in Summit County. A higher percentage of cases were resolved during Settlement Week 2023 than at any time since the event’s inauguration in 1988.”
To learn more about resolving disputes through case mediation, visit
https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/services-to-courts/dispute-resolution/.
Experienced civil trial attorneys interested in serving as volunteer mediators for this in-person event must complete and submit the Settlement Week 2024 Volunteer Mediator Form by Friday, August 16, 2024.
Attorneys who would like to have their civil cases assigned to the Settlement Week 2024 roster must complete and submit the Settlement Week Case Request Form by Friday, August 30, 2024.
For more information about Settlement Week 2024, scan the QR code or click on https://www.summitcpcourt.net/settlementweek/.
###