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→Conferences in the Supreme Court
To me, the highlights of the powers provided by Rule 7-1(15) are these. The judge or master can:
#handle the case conference as a mediator, which really lets the court get into the thick of it and see what the parties are prepared to agree to;#explore options for settlement other than trial, which might include arbitration where the parties need a flexible dispute resolution process;#give a non-binding opinion about the likely outcome of an application or the trial, which often provides the parties with a really helpful reality check; #make consent orders, to get rid of any parts of the court proceeding that can resolved early on; and,#schedule another JCC, which gives the parties the benefit of a continuing non-adversarial process.
The bit about non-binding opinions is especially important. If my client won't listen to me about the likely outcome of an application or a claim, they'll usually listen to a judge or master!