Los Angeles Superior Court's MVP program eases soaring civil caseloads

Judge Virginia C. Keeny is a big fan of the Los Angeles County Superior Court's Mediation Volunteer Panel (MVP), an initiative launched by the court system late in 2024 to combat soaring caseloads.

"Our caseload is skyrocketing," said Keeny, who runs an independent calendar in downtown Los Angeles.

"Everyone downtown has at least 1,000 cases on their inventory," Keeny continued. "So, the ability to refer cases to the program is invaluable."

Focused on unlimited civil cases referred by judicial officers, MVP provides parties with three hours of virtual mediation at no cost with one of the program's now more than 200 volunteer mediators.

According to Kerry Bigornia, the alternative dispute resolution administrator for the court, judicial officers referred more than 5,000 cases to MVP in 2025, the program's first full year.

Bigornia added that all of MVP's mediators are attorneys.

"Most of the mediators are either attorneys who have practices and are interested in mediation on the side and doing that for their pro bono work," she explained. "Or are professional mediators who mostly do mediations."

MVP mediators must have also completed at least 25 hours of mediation training that meets California Dispute Resolution Programs Act requirements, and they need to have shadowed or completed at least two mediations of at least two hours in length, according to Bigornia.

MVP mediators are tasked with coordinating the mediations as well as conducting them, and Bigornia noted, "If all parties agree to continue after three hours, the mediator may charge their hourly rate listed in their [online] profile."

Keeny explained that complex cases - as well as those featuring many parties or self-represented litigants who might be challenged by the virtual platform - aren't necessarily the best fit for the MVP program.

"But it is perfectly suited to some of the smaller personal injury cases. It's perfectly suited to contract disputes, habitability cases that we get all the time, and also family disputes," Keeny said. "We get quiet title actions and other disagreements among family members over property. Those, I find, work very well in this setting, and we get good results."

MVP mediators conducted more than 1,000 mediations in 2025, according to Bigornia.

"And 46% of the cases that held a mediation were resolved," she said.

Keeny added that she's found it very "reassuring and heartwarming" that attorneys who appear before her know about the MVP program.

"They are happy when I refer them to it," she said. "And they report back about ... really strong mediators they are working with in the program and the hard cases that are getting settled. So, when I hear that, I know we're doing the right thing."

Connon Wood LLP managing partner Nicholas P. Connon helped develop the MVP program. He chairs the MVP advisory committee, reporting back to the court's Alternative Dispute Resolution committee.

A full-time litigator, Connon also works on occasion as a mediator, and is a member of the MVP panel.

"Practitioners should really be aware that they've got a tremendous resource here with the MVP program," he said. "You have experienced mediators who are able to really facilitate a great process. And the prep time and the first three hours of the mediation are donated by the mediators. ... That is, frankly, something practitioners should take advantage of because they can really do right by their clients by getting an early resolution of a case that should settle."

Connon noted that it's not unusual for the MVP mediations he conducts to run over the initial, no-cost session, but he said he's managed to resolve disputes in just those first three hours.

"It's a great program, and I hope the bar becomes more and more familiar with it," Connon added. "I think it's quite a success story and quite a good reflection on an initiative taken by the court to deal with mushrooming caseloads."

Supervising Judge for the Civil Division Lawrence P. Riff described the program as a "win-win-win."

"It's a triple crown or a hat trick of winning," Riff said. "The fact is most civil cases will settle, and to the extent we can catalyze that settlement process earlier, we're helping the parties, and we're helping the court in reducing hearings, trial dates. ... So that's one win for the court, and clearly, it's a win for the parties."

Riff went on to describe a third positive of the MVP program that he feels directly benefits those attorneys who participate.

"The settlement of cases, in my judgment, is a bit of a lost art of lawyering, and our mediators get a chance to hone those skills in cases in which they're not representing a party," he explained. "It's a unique opportunity for them to see that settlement process at work without their being an advocate in that setting. And I contend that that will make them better lawyers in their own cases."

Bigornia noted that the court's alternative resolution program offers 25-hour mediation trainings three to four times a year for attorneys who are interested in joining the MVP program as mediators.

"We also facilitate shadowing experience for them," she added. "I anticipate referrals continuing to rise. Judges have really embraced this program, so the more mediators the better."