One option for divorcing couples is private judging. In this process, a private judge is hired to both works to mediate the case, and if for whatever reason the mediation is not successful, to act as a judge in the case. The main job of the private judge is to try and assist the parties in reaching a settlement.  They also work with the client’s and the attorneys to establish a timeline to make the process as efficient as possible.

There are many advantages to private judging the first is privacy, because a private judge is appointed by stipulation of the parties.  They have the authority to both act as a judge, but in doing so those actions are not public as they would be any traditional court case.  Another benefit is cost, while the parties do have to pay the private judge, many of the legal requirements that would be necessary in a standard court case are abbreviated (e.g. settlement conference statements, complex pleadings, etc.), thus saving many hours in legal fees.  Additionally time is much more efficient through the use of a private judge.  The public court system is often quite backlogged, where a private judge takes on as many cases as they believe they can do so efficiently.