Newport Private Judging Attorneys

Using Private Judging to Help You Resolve Your Case

Unbeknownst to many, private judging can offer a fast, easy way to resolve a family law case. Unlike other alternatives to in-court litigation, however, you still retain access to a judge who can help make determinations about your case, making private judging a uniquely attractive option for many Californians.

At Alternative Divorce Solutions, our Newport private judging lawyers can help you use a private judge to resolve your case. Contact us online or via phone at (949) 558-2624 to schedule a consultation with our team.

How Does Private Judging Work?

Private judges are legal professionals, often retired judges and attorneys. Depending on the arrangement parties come to, a private judge can have the same legal authority as an official public judge - in other words, their decision could be just as legally binding.

To use a private judge for a family law case, both parties have to notify the court presiding over their case of that decision. Additionally, both parties must come to an agreement ahead of time concerning the details of the judging. For example, if you may still want to take your case into a public court, you can decide the private judge's decision won’t necessarily be completely binding. Alternatively, if you want to "skip" the experience of attending public court, you could make the private judge's decision final.

Additionally, spouses who use private judging can choose who to hire as a private judge for their case.

The Private Judging Process

To initiate private judging, we'll meet with you and your spouse, and collect disclosures from both parties concerning the details of the private judging arrangement.

After, we'll evaluate your case to determine its complexity and how difficult it could be for a private judge to reach a decision. We'll take care of scheduling the private judging for you.

After preparing a case summary for the private judge, the judging will take place in our office. Once the judge makes their decision, they'll draft a court order finalizing the case (if the parties agreed to give the judge power to do so) and submit it to the court, allowing the court to resolve the legal dispute.

Private judging is a great option for parties who don't want to attend court, or prefer the flexibility that choosing a private judge for a case offers.

If you'd like to work with our Newport private judging attorneys to utilize private judging to resolve your legal dispute, contact us online or via phone at (949) 558-2624.