Settlement conferences are held in all court registries except for Vancouver (Robson Square).Settlement conferences are mandatory for all cases except motor vehicle accident cases where only liability for property damage is disputed, or if rule 7.4, 7.5, 9.1 or 9.2 applies to the claim221claim (Rule 7(2)).

The registry will serve the parties by mail with a Notice of Settlement Conference (Form 6) at least 14 days in advance222advance (Rule 7(3)).

All parties, with or without legal representation, must attend the settlement conference, although there is a limited exception for certain motor vehicle claims223claims (Rule 7(4)). If a party is not an individual (e.g., a company), someone who has authority to settle the claim for the company must attend224attend. (See ''Kamloops Dental Centre v Mcmillan'', 1996 CanLII 377 (BCSC)). If a party sends a lawyer or articled student and does not attend personally or send a company representative, that party will be deemed to have not attended the settlement conference. A party may appear by elephone telephone if an application is made to and approved by the Registrar prior to the date set for the conference225conference (Rule 16(2)(c.1)). If a party does not attend or does not have full authority to settle, the judge can dismiss a claim, grant a payment order, or make any other appropriate order226order (Rules 7(17)). If a party attends but is unprepared, a judge may order the unprepared party to pay the other party’s reasonable costs227costs (Rules 7(6) and 20(6)).

Witnesses cannot attend except in unusual and exceptional cases. A witness who does attend the settlement conference will usually be asked to wait outside.

Each party must bring to a settlement conference '''all relevant documents and reports''' whether the party intends to use them at trial or not228not (Rule 7(5)). Documents include any contracts, invoices, bills of sale, business records, photographs, and summaries of what each witness will say in court (“will-say” statements).

Each party should prepare a brief chronological summary of its case and support it with evidence. Claimants should bring more than one written estimate or quote, if there is a large sum of money involved.

If the claim is for personal injury, the claimant must file and serve a Form 7 certificate of readiness and required records229 records (Rules 7(9)-(13)) before a settlement conference will be scheduled. There can be consequences for failing to file the certificate of readiness on time230time. (See ''Yewchak v Cleland'', 2002 BCPC 200 (CanLII); ''Irving v Irving'', 1982 CanLII 475 (BC CA); ''Busse v Robinson Morelli Chertkow'', 1999 BCCA 313).