4.2 Court’s Authority to Refer the Parties

• Library: Virginia Family Law: A Systematic Approach (Virginia CLE) (2018 Ed.)

4.2 COURT'S AUTHORITY TO REFER THE PARTIES

The traditional means of resolving a family law dispute short of a trial is through negotiation by the attorneys for the parties. As the trial date draws closer, the traditional method that courts use to encourage settlement is to conduct one or more pretrial conferences. The General Assembly has given the courts more tools to work with to encourage settlements in civil matters. The court can order parties to participate in an orientation session to help them...