Rule 6.012 - Pretrial Settlement Conferences(1) In all circuit court civil cases, including dissolution of marriage and post-judgment modification proceedings, if one party requests a pretrial settlement conference, the settlement conference shall be held and shall be conducted according to the procedure set forth in this rule. However, the pretrial settlement conference will not be required if the opposing party demonstrates good cause why the settlement conference should not be held.(2) Each trial attorney and party or representative of the corporation or insurance company who has full authority to settle and compromise the litigation shall personally appear at the pretrial settlement conference; however, the judge may permit telephone appearances for good cause. If the judge allows a telephone appearance, the person appearing by telephone must be available at all times during the settlement conference.(3) Each settlement conference shall be scheduled to allow adequate time for meaningful settlement discussions. Additional settlement conferences may be scheduled by the judge or by agreement of all attorneys and parties.(4) The pretrial settlement conferences shall not delay the trial scheduling.(5) If the case does not settle, the settlement conference judge shall be permitted to act as trial judge only if all parties so stipulate.(6) Before the beginning of the settlement conference, each party shall submit a pretrial statement to the settlement conference judge. The pretrial statement shall contain: a) A brief summary and analysis of the key issues involved in the litigation; andb) The status of any settlement negotiation.(7) The pretrial statements shall be confidential and shall not be placed in the trial court file.(8) Materials or notes prepared by the settlement conference judge will not be placed in the trial court file in the event that the case does not settle or upon request of either party, and in that event, the materials or notes shall be destroyed by the settlement conference judge.Amended effective 2/1/2024.