Let’s say you’re a rising star in your firm, and you’re looking for a way to break out of the pack. Your clients are frustrated by the glacial speed with which their case is slogging through the courts. They want your firm to do something. Let us introduce you to one of the most powerful tools available to litigators trying to get a case through an increasingly cash strapped — read that, “slow” — court system. It’s flexible, fast, less expensive than court resolution, and it fits any type of case you can throw at it. It is sanctioned by the California Constitution and the Code of Civil Procedure, and it can be put in place at the last minute. It can cover the entire case, or just part of it. And it can be used with equal effectiveness by experienced litigators or relative novices. It is the Judicial Reference.

The tool has been around for years, but it has seen very limited use. Why?

Originally published in The Recorder on October 7, 2013.