Fill and Sign the Settlement Conference Aid Form

CLIENT INFORMATION - PRETRIAL SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE Enclosed herewith is a Notice for Pretrial Settlement Conference that has been scheduled for . This is the first step toward getting a final resolution of your case either through settlement or by trial. At the Pretrial Settlement Conference, the Referee will encourage the attorneys and their clients to reach a settlement. The Referee may offer his/her advice regarding areas which need to be compromised. If a settlement can be reached at the settlement conference, the terms of the agreement will be formally presented to the Court. After the presentation of the contract terms to the Court, the Judgment and Decree will be drafted, and the divorce will be granted. If a settlement cannot be reached at the time of the Pretrial Settlement Conference, then a Pretrial Order will be issued noting the areas of dispute and ordering that the case be set for trial. In Ramsey County, trials are being set approximately six to eight weeks after the settlement conference. This would be approximately . The trial date will be set for a particular date. Three to four other cases will also be scheduled for the same date before the Judge. The Court theory is that 80 percent of the cases will settle before the trial date and that only one or two will be unsettled. Thus, it is possible that if your case does not settle, it could be rescheduled to another trial date if other cases for that day also do not settle. However, this will not be known until the day of trial, after we go to the Courthouse. If your case gets rescheduled, it will be to another fixed date. My paralegal, Susan Whitfield, will be calling you in the near future to go through the Pretrial Statement form. If you will be difficult to reach, please call Susan within a week after you receive this letter so that she can go through the Pretrial Statement with you. The Pretrial Statement is an important document that the Court requires us to file prior to the time of the pretrial hearing. To avoid any delays or complications, I would like to have your cooperation in preparing this document as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please let me know.