Court Proceedings

The Case Conference
The first court appearance is for a Case Conference. In essence, this is an informal meeting with a Judge where both parties present the outstanding issues and their positions in respect of those matters. Prior to the Case Conference, the parties exchange Case Conference Briefs outlining their position. The Judge prepares himself for the conference by reading the Briefs.

A Case Conference is an informal meeting and often takes place in the Judge’s chambers (his office). If it does take place in Court, it is a less formal setting and is closed to the public. Some Judges are very forward and will give parties opinions on issues, others simply facilitate discussion. The focus of a Case Conference is on discussing the issues. A Judge will not make any substantive Order unless it is on consent – meaning that the Judge cannot force you to accept any resolution to the issues you don’t agree with at this point.

Unless it is an urgent matter, a Case Conference must occur before the parties can have a motion [link to interlocutory steps]. Case Conferences can also be used to set out timelines and schedules for the exchange of documents and to devise a plan for the progression of the case. Case Conferences are also a good time for the parties to resolve all of their issues, as there is a Judge present and all the parties are forced to discuss the case.

A Case Conference requires approximately two hours of preparation time, and one to four hours of court time.

The Settlement Conference
If the parties are unable to come to a final resolution at the Case Conference, they will schedule another appearance called a Settlement Conference. These two appearances are similar in nature – they both involve briefs and a private conference between the parties, their lawyers and a Judge.

The difference with the Settlement Conference is that the Judge will certainly give his opinion on the matter, he will be interested in hearing about any attempts to settle the case, and will likely attempt to find a reasonable settlement rather than moving the case along. That being said, much like at a Case Conference, the Judge cannot make a substantive Order without the consent of the parties.

A Settlement Conference requires approximately three hours of preparation time, and one to four hours of court time.

Trial Management Conference
The Trial Management Conference is the last stage of the court process before Trial. As with the other conferences, the parties submit a Brief. However, these briefs are quite different. Rather than outline the issues and a proposal to resolve matters, these briefs put forward the information needed to schedule the trial. The parties indicate who they intend to call as witness and how long their portion of the trial will take.

A Trial Management Conference requires approximately three hours of preparation and one hour of court time.