Rob Kaplan’s Fee & Billing Related Information
The following will provide you with current information regarding my fees, billing practices and other helpful information to keep in mind when scheduling a mediation with me:
- I mediate Full-Day & Multi-Day cases only;
- I run all of my cases through ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) provider, Judicate West (and they maintain my calendar);
- I mediate 4 days per week and reserve 1 day each week (ordinarily Friday) for telephonic and email follow-up and pre-hearing telephone calls (when requested) on upcoming cases;
- My standard start time is 10 am. We always work thru lunch (which is always provided on site by Judicate West.) Since I mediate every day (except the 1 above-referenced day reserved primarily for follow-up) I am unable to 'burn the midnight oil'. If I stay too late, I end up short-changing the people I am going to be working with the next day. (The only exceptions to this are Thursday nights (assuming I have no personal commitments that night) and cases where the parties have booked a multi-day mediation – in which case, we can obviously stay as late as everyone is willing to stay, since I will be working with you the next day);
- My Full-Day fee covers up to 10 hours of work, ordinarily split between 1-2 hours preparation time and 7-9 hours session time. If we finish early (which almost never happens) there is no refund for unused time.
- Additional Retainer and Supplemental Bills: If there are more than 2 parties attending the mediation, there will be an $800 retainer collected by Judicate West for each additional party. I generally spend approximately 45 minutes - 1 1/4 hours reviewing each additional Brief (and exhibits). Preparation time exceeding 2 hours will be billed at $800 per hour. Email and telephonic follow-up/inter-session work will be billed at $800 per hour. And, sessions that go longer than 9 hours will be billed at either $800 or $1,000 per hour (depending on location of the mediation). Supplemental Billing for any of the above matters is more fully described in the ‘Other Fee-Related Matters’ section below.) If I do not exceed the time for which a retainer was collected, any unused portion of the retainer will be refunded;
- A note about extremely complex & multi-party cases: My calendar is almost always booked a minimum of 3 months out. The reason I raise this, is because on certain cases, it causes a lot of frustration. More specifically, I have had a number of extremely complex & multi-party cases where we make significant progress and at the end of the session the parties then want to book a 2nd (and sometimes 3rd) session. Unfortunately, my calendar is then booked solid 3+ months down the road. If you do not take ‘Day 2’ when initially scheduling your mediation – it is a given that that day will be filled with someone else’s case. It is very frustrating when we have momentum and everyone wishes we had the next day booked or wants to come back ‘right away’ and my calendar dictates that the earliest we can resume is in 3-4 months. This is why on many extremely complex cases and on most multi-party cases, case managers will ordinarily ask parties if they want to book 2 (or more) consecutive days.
- All of the above pertains to all of the conventional mediations that I do. None of the above applies/pertains to the select Bottom-Line Mediations® that I do – all of which are handled entirely and directly by me -- on a case by case basis.
My Full-Day Rate depends on the LOCATION of the mediation:
San Diego, Orange County & Los Angeles: $8,000 per day
San Francisco, Phoenix, Las Vegas (and other places I can fly to, do the mediation and return to San Diego on the same day): $10,000 for each mediation day (which includes all travel-related costs)
Mediations necessitating travel days on both the front-end and the back-end: $8,000 for each travel day, $10,000 for each mediation day, PLUS all hotel, meal, ground transportation and air travel expenses (with air travel via the lesser available of Business or First Class)
EXCEPTION: Some cases are so extraordinary that the fees on those cases will be set on a case by case basis (eg., certain Multi-Party cases, Class Actions, Mass Tort, MDL (Multidistrict Litigation) cases, Environmental, Entertainment and other extraordinary high-stake cases.)
NOTE: Bottom-Line Mediation® fees are negotiated entirely and directly by me on a case by case basis.
Case Management Fees: Unless otherwise agreed, each party, upon scheduling the mediation, shall be responsible for paying this non-refundable fee to Judicate West (www.judicatewest.org) That fee is currently $150 per party for all mediations other than multi-day mediations – for which the fee is set by Judicate West based on the number of days reserved.
Multi-Party Retainers: As referenced above, if there are more than 2 parties attending the mediation, there will be an $800 advanced retainer collected by Judicate West for each additional party.
Necessary Fee Deposits: Payment in full (including all retainers) for reserved dates is due immediately upon confirmation of the reserved dates; and, in any event the entire fee (including retainers) must be paid in full (to Judicate West) before the mediation begins. Unless there is a written agreement between the parties stating otherwise, the fee (including retainers) shall be equally apportioned between the parties.
Preparation that goes beyond 2 hours: If my preparation goes longer than 2 hours, additional prep time will be billed at $800 per hour -- invoiced (by Judicate West) in a Supplemental Bill, applied 1st against any retainer. Unless there is a written agreement between the parties stating otherwise, any Supplemental Bill(s) for preparation that goes over 2 hours shall be equally apportioned between all of the parties.
Sessions that go ‘Over-Time’: If our session goes longer than 9 hours, additional session time will be billed at $800 per hour in Southern California and $1,000 per hour in all other locations -- invoiced (by Judicate West) in a Supplemental Bill, applied 1st against any retainer. Unless there is a written agreement between the parties stating otherwise, any Supplemental Bill(s) for sessions that go over-time shall be equally apportioned between all of the parties.
Fees for Inter-Session Work: ‘Inter-Session work’ is defined as all telephone calls, preparing outgoing and reading all incoming emails, all in-person meetings pertaining to the case and reviewing all additional documents/briefing -- that occur between multiple sessions. All time for inter-session work will be billed at $800 per hour -- invoiced in a Supplemental Bill, applied 1st against any retainer. Unless there is a written agreement between the parties stating otherwise, any Supplemental Bill(s) for inter-session work shall be equally apportioned between all of the parties.
NOTE: In order to fully preserve mediation confidentiality, all Supplemental Bills for inter-session work will 'white-out' the names of the attorneys and claims people with whom I have telephonic and/or email communications. Furthermore, no Supplemental Bill will disclose the content of any phone call, meeting and/or email (or any other written) communication.
Fees for Follow-Up Work: ‘Follow-up work’ is defined as all telephone calls, preparing and reading all emails and all in-person meetings pertaining to the case that occur following the final (which, depending on the case, may be the 1st and only) session -- which results in getting the case settled. More specifically, if and only if my follow-up work results in getting the case settled, all time for follow-up work will be billed at $800 per hour -- invoiced in a Supplemental Bill, applied 1st against any retainer. Unless there is a written agreement between the parties stating otherwise, any Supplemental Bill for follow-up work shall be equally apportioned between all of the parties.
NOTE: Depending on the case, Supplemental Bills for follow-up work may be a simple estimate of the number of hours spent in connection with follow-up work. Or, the Supplemental Bill may contain specific dates and time spent per telephone call, email, etc. -- 'whiting-out' the names of the attorneys and claims people with whom I have telephonic and/or email communications (as is done in connection with all Supplemental Bills for inter-session work); or, the bill may show the names of attorneys and claims people with whom I have telephonic and/or email communications. In any event, no Supplemental Bill will disclose the content of any phone call, meeting and/or email (or any other written) communication.
Cancellation and Continuance Policy: My policy is the same as the Judicate West 'Cancellation and Continuance Policy' (as is set forth on Judicate West's 'SCHEDULED MEDIATION CONFIRMATION' paperwork that each law firm receives shortly after a mediation date is confirmed.) Said policy is as follows: if the mediation that has been scheduled with me is cancelled, settled and/or continued 30 calendar days or less before the scheduled hearing date -- the hearing fees are non-refundable and are due and payable upon notice. These fees are the responsibility of the party(ies) requesting the cancellation or continuance. All fees will be refunded/no fees will be due -- if Judicate West is able to fill the vacated time.
Any Questions: Judicate West's Regional Vice President, Mark Kaufman, will gladly answer any fee or billing-related questions. Mark can be reached at: (619) 814-1966 or (800) 488-8805.
Other: Judicate West handles all fee and billing-related matters for me on all of my conventional mediations. (I handle all fee and billing-related matters on all Bottom-Line Mediations®.) PLEASE call me directly if there is ever anything that you are not 100% comfortable with any fee or billing related matter.
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