Missouri District Courts have had mediation programs in place since 1992

The Western District of Missouri is one of five demonstration districts designated by the Civil Justice Reform Act. 

The Early Assessment Program was established by the court in 1992 as an experiment for early case evaluation and settlement.  The intent was to use such tools as mediation, arbitration in a non-binding process or the parties involved could elect to mediate their case with an Early Assessment Program administrator, according to information published at the Western District of Missouri web pages.

This week the Early Assessment Program and its effect on the legal world of the Western District is discussed in an article published in the Kansas City Business Journal, written by Jonna Lorenz.  ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION HELPS KEEP CASES OUT OF COURT (page 19)   A number of area lawyers share their opinions of the program which "continues to evolve into a must-use option for many area litigators and their clients, Lorenz writes..     It seems that the process of mediation may not be less expensive in terms of money costs, but the stress on the pariticpants could be less.