The APADRC is proud to serve a culturally and economically diverse clientele and provide conflict resolution services on a sliding scale. All services are FREE to parties whose annual income is less than $20,000. Parties whose annual income exceeds $20,000 will be charged a $25 case initiation fee in addition to the costs of the applicable conflict resolution service provided for the case. We provide the following services: Conciliation & Mediation.
Conciliation is a process in which mediators communicate with each party separately by phone to facilitate resolution of the conflict. Conciliation services are provided by APADRC’s team of trained volunteer Conflict Resolution Specialists.
Conciliation services provided by the APADRC are FREE for qualifying parties whose annual income is less than $20,000. Parties whose annual income exceeds $20,000 will be charged a $25 administrative fee to initiate the case.
Mediation is a process in which disputing parties are convened for a face-to-face meeting facilitated by one or more mediators. Mediators guide parties through negotiations to create a mutually satisfactory resolution to their dispute. The APADRC’s mediation services distinguish between two categories of cases: Community Disputes and Litigated or Complex Disputes.
Community disputes include matters between private individuals, such as neighbors, landlords and tenants, and family members; non-monetary disputes; and non-litigated disputes. Such disputes are typically classified based on the level of sophistication from the mediator required to resolve the dispute. Community mediation services are provided by APADRC’s team of trained volunteer Conflict Resolution Specialists in the presence of a supervising APADRC staff member.
Community dispute mediations are scheduled for a minimum of three hours and are assessed at a minimum fee of $220.00, corresponding to a rate of $65/hr split between the parties (split between the parties) plus a case initiation fee (payable by the initiating party).
Litigated and complex disputes include matters between individuals and large corporations; business to business disputes; conflicts in which a suit has already been filed in court, or where one or all parties are represented by an attorney; multi-party disputes involving three or more stakeholders; and high-conflict disputes involving complex emotional and/or financial issues. Litigated and complex mediation services are provided by APADRC Staff Mediators and may be observed by a Conflict Resolution Specialist from APADRC’s team of trained volunteers.
Litigated and complex mediations are scheduled for a minimum of three hours and are assessed at a minimum fee of $670.00, corresponding to a rate of $215/hr (split between the parties) plus a case initiation fee (payable by the initiating party).
The APADRC charges an hourly rate to parties using its mediation services. Parties are expected to split the hourly mediation costs evenly among themselves but may agree to a different payment arrangement depending on their own needs and expectations.
Parties will not be charged for time spent convening the parties for mediation. Parties will only be charged for time spent during the mediation session. An invoice will be provided to the parties before the mediation session begins for the minimum 3-hour mediation time slot. Parties must submit payment before the mediation session. If a resolution is not reached at the conclusion of the 3 hours, parties may choose to continue the mediation pending the mediator(s)’s input.
Any additional time spent in mediation over the initially scheduled 3 hours will be charged at the hourly rate specified above. After the mediation, each party will be invoiced separately for their applicable share of the additional mediation charges due.
Please note that any time spent waiting for late parties will count as time spent in session. Cancellation or rescheduling of a session requires 24-hour notice. Should a party not give notice, that party agrees to pay a $25 fee.