Ask a Law Librarian: FAQ's about Legal Research

It is the policy of the Unified Court System to encourage the resolution of civil legal disputes by methods including mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation, in-court settlement practices and summary jury trials. All civil actions or proceedings heard in the Supreme Court, Family Court, Surrogate Court and City Court  shall be presumptively eligible for early referral to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) process unless otherwise excluded pursuant to this Plan. Courts may refer parties to an ADR process at any time after an action has been commenced and are encouraged to do so at the earliest appropriate time.

There are many resources for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) or mediation in the courts. These services can be helpful in family law situations such as custody or disputes between family members sharing homes or apartments. New York City Small Claims Court now offers an Online Dispute Resolution program.

Court Rule 202.11 Consultation prior to preliminary and compliance conference (iii) states: Counsel for all parties shall consult prior to a preliminary or compliance conference about: ... (iii) the use of alternate dispute resolution to resolve all or some issues in the litigation ... As of 6/2022 there are no standard forms for ADR or mediation. Check the ADR pages for each district for the most current information.