Conferences and Supreme Court Family Law Proceedings

Case conferences are meetings between the parties to a court proceeding, their lawyers (if they have them), and a judge, usually for purposes relating to the management or settlement of the court proceeding.

This section discusses judicial case conferences (JCCs), the most common kind of conference held in the BC Supreme Court — and their uses and limitations. It also talks about case planning conferences (CPCs) — which are relatively new to BC Supreme Court (since September 2023) — trial management conferences (TMCs), and settlement conferences, and provides tips about how you can get the most out of your time and the judge's time at these conferences.

Introduction

Case conferences are held to either move a court proceeding toward trial or to explore options for settlement. Case conferences are usually held in courtrooms or in special courthouse meeting rooms set aside for the purpose. The judge may be sitting at the head of the courtroom on the bench or at a table with the parties and their lawyers. Although case conferences are a little less formal than hearings and trials, they still need to be taken seriously and the judge needs to be treated with the same respect.

All case conferences are recorded by the court, but recordings are not made available to anyone, and are not allowed to be used by anyone without a court order.

Conferences in the BC Supreme Court

The four types of case conference held in the BC Supreme Court are judicial case conferences, case planning conferences, settlement conferences, and trial management conferences.

• Judicial Case Conferences: JCCs are held early in a court proceeding (usually before any other applications can be made to the court), and are focused on settlement of any legal issues that can be agreed to early on. This might be short-term arrangements for the support and parenting of children, if the parties can consent. A JCC can also help parties plan the next few steps in the proceeding. The judge or associate judge will document the outcomes of a JCC in a case management plan. JCCs are mandatory in the majority of cases, and by far the most common form of conference in family law cases before the BC Supreme Court.

• Case Planning Conferences: CPCs were introduced in September 2023. Unlike JCCs which focus on exploring settlement options, the goal of a CPC is to move the case forward with firm timelines and requirements. In a CPC, the judge can make procedural orders on its own (whether or not the parties agree) about matters like disclosure and pre-trial discovery. Final orders still require consent, and CPCs do not replace interim applications for contested issues. No affidavit-based applications can be heard at a CPC, yet a judge's authority to set requirements — for example, demanding certain disclosures, shortening deadlines, or allowing changes to pleadings — can make a CPC quite powerful. Either a judge or a party can request a CPC. Once one is scheduled, each party must file a case plan proposal covering topics such as document discovery, examinations for discovery, methods of dispute resolution, witness lists (including any expert witnesses), and the type of trial (like a summary trial or a full trial). At the end of the CPC, the judge must issue a case plan order, which is a binding order of the court that doesn't require the signature of parties or their legal counsel.

• Settlement Conferences: Settlement conferences are held when both parties request them, or at the direction of a judge. Settlement conferences are aimed at trying to settle the legal issues in the court proceeding so that trial can be avoided.

• Trial Management Conferences: TMCs are only mandatory when 15 or more trial days are booked, where one party won't have a lawyer representing them, or for cases involving Divorce Act claims where a party wants evidence to be dealt with in French. They are held closer to the end of the litigation process, and are focused on making sure that all of the parties are ready to go to trial.

Judicial case conferences

Judicial case conferences, are relatively informal, off-the-record, private meetings between the parties, their lawyers, and a judge or associate judge in a courtroom, held under Rule 7-1 of the Supreme Court Family Rules. JCCs must be held in all contested family law court proceedings — cases where a Response to Family Claim has been filed — and, in most cases, they must be held before any interim applications can be heard. In fact, Rule 7-1(2) says that "a party to the family law case must not serve on another party a notice of application or an affidavit in support" in support of an application until a JCC has been heard.

Under Rule 7-1(10) and (11), the parties must exchange Financial Statements in Form F8 before the JCC. (The Form F8 Financial Statements must also be filed in court, in advance of the JCC, to give the judge the chance to read through them first.) More information about Form F8 Financial Statements is provided in this chapter in the Disclosure and Discovery section.

In general, the more information that is exchanged before the JCC the better. People who are well informed about the facts of their case and who have had the opportunity to get legal advice in advance of the JCC are much more likely to reach a settlement at their JCC, and save the time, expense, stress, and uncertainty of continuing the court proceeding.

Note: The BC Supreme Court places significant emphasis on Judicial Case Conferences. You can find a helpful JCC guide for litigants on the BC Supreme Court's website. It explains the JCC process, and the case management plan that a judge or associate judge will prepare.

The purposes of judicial case conferences

The basic purposes of JCCs are to review the claims each side is making, determine where there is agreement, and see whether there is anything short of trial that will resolve the claims in dispute. JCCs are relatively informal meetings, and in some courthouses everyone sits at a large table with the judge or associate judge who is hearing the JCC. JCCs are private. Only the parties and their lawyers are allowed to be there. They are also held on a confidential, off-the-record basis, so that nothing said in the JCC can be used against anyone later on, like at an application or at trial.

Different judges and associate judges handle JCCs in different ways. Some judges and associate judges are very hands-on; others take a more distant, reserved approach. Some are very keen to try to settle a dispute, and will work almost like a mediator; others are content to leave areas of disagreement alone and focus on getting a resolution in place on the issues that can be settled instead. Some judges and associate judges will provide an informal opinion about the likely result of a particular court proceeding; others won't. There are no guarantees that a JCC will be run in any particular way at all.

However, although JCCs can be a bit unpredictable, they are very useful in almost all cases. Some cases even settle at JCCs, with no need for further litigation! Even when a court proceeding doesn't completely settle at a JCC, JCCs offer a lot of other benefits. The first JCC is a great opportunity for each lawyer to meet the other party, and for the parties to meet each other's lawyers. They help to clarify each person's position and clear up any misunderstandings. They're also very useful for resolving small problems, like about paying a bill or making an upcoming decision about a child, that are too small or unimportant to deal with through an application.

At the JCC, the judge or associate judge will explain why it's usually best to settle family law disputes rather than taking them all the way to trial, for reasons including the amount of money you'll spend getting to trial, the length of time it'll take to get to trial, and the impact of the conflict on the children during the time it takes to get to trial. Each side will have the opportunity to tell their story and explain what they're asking for an why they're asking for it. Most of the time, the lawyers for each party will summarize their understanding of the facts and briefly explain why their clients should have what they're looking for, and the clients will be asked if they have anything to add. JCCs often work best when the parties are able to freely express themselves. Sometimes it's best if the lawyers keep a sock in it.

Because cases often settle at JCCs, it is critical that you get proper legal advice about your situation and options if you don't have a lawyer, and, if you do have a lawyer, that you should speak to them about the range of potential results, areas where you might want to compromise your position, options for settlement, and the likely cost of resolving the court proceeding through trial. You want to do everything you can to maximize the chances of settlement, including making sure you've exchanged Financial Statements as far ahead of the JCC as possible.

It's important to remember that while the judge or associate judge may — and should! — push the parties to agree about certain things, you don't have to agree. The judge or associate judge cannot make any orders, except for procedural orders, that any party doesn't agree with. If you're not happy with a potential order, you have to say so!

Potential outcomes

Some or all of the legal issues in a court proceeding may settle at a JCC. Where there are areas of agreement, the judge or associate judge will make an order on those issues with the consent of the parties, called a consent order. Issues that can't be agreed to will be left for further negotiation and, probably, further litigation.

The court's powers at JCCs are set out at Rule 7-1(15) and are very broad:

(15) The court may do one or more of the following at a judicial case conference:

(a) identify the issues that are in dispute and those that are not in dispute and explore ways in which the issues in dispute may be resolved without recourse to trial;

(b) make orders to which all the parties consent;

(c) mediate any of the issues in dispute;

(d) with the consent of the parties, refer the parties to a family dispute resolution professional, within the meaning of the Family Law Act, other than a family justice counsellor;

(e) refer the parties to a family justice counsellor, or to a person designated by the Attorney General to provide specialized support assistance, if the court has received written advice from the regional manager that the family justice counsellor or designated person is readily available to the parties;

(f) direct a party to attend the Parenting after Separation program operated by the Family Justice Services Division (Justice Services Branch), Ministry of Attorney General;

(g) make orders respecting amendment of a pleading, petition or response to petition within a fixed time;

(h) make orders requiring that particulars be provided in relation to any matter raised in a pleading;

(i) make orders respecting discovery of documents;

(j) make orders respecting examinations for discovery;

(k) direct that any or all applications must be made within a specified time;

(l) reserve a trial date for the family law case or reserve a date for a trial that is restricted to issues defined by the parties;

(m) set a date for a trial management conference under Rule 14-3;

(n) make any orders that may be made at a trial management conference under Rule 14-3 (9);

(o) without hearing witnesses, give a non-binding opinion on the probable outcome of a hearing or trial;

(p) without limiting any other orders respecting timing that may be made under this subrule, make orders respecting timing of events;

(q) adjourn the judicial case conference;

(r) direct the parties to attend a further judicial case conference at a specified date and time;

(s) make any procedural order or give any direction that the court considers will further the object of these Supreme Court Family Rules.

To summarize, a judge or associate judge can:

1. handle the case conference like a mediator, which really lets the court get into the thick of it, push the parties a bit, and see what they're prepared to agree to;
2. explore options for settlement other than trial, which might include arbitration where the parties need a more flexible dispute resolution process;
3. give a non-binding opinion about the likely outcome of an application or the trial, which often provides everyone, including the lawyers, with a really helpful reality check;
4. make consent orders, to get rid of any parts of the court proceeding that can resolved early on; and,
5. schedule another JCC, which gives the parties the benefit of a continuing non-adversarial process.

The bit about non-binding opinions is especially important. From a lawyer's perspective, if their client won't listen to their advice about the likely outcome of an application or a claim, the client usually listens to the judge or associate judge!

Even if nothing can be agreed upon, however, the judge or associate judge will usually make a series of orders about the next procedural steps in the litigation. This is very helpful as well, and usually helps to push the court proceeding down the road toward trial. Typically, orders about procedural steps include:

1. scheduling an application for hearing;
2. setting dates for the exchange of documents and lists of documents;
3. setting dates for examinations for discovery;
4. scheduling a settlement conference;
5. resolving issues about experts and reports about parenting arrangements; and,
6. setting the dates for the trial management conference and the trial.

At the end of the conference, the court clerk will print out a case management plan that will show the orders that have been agreed to, the issues still in dispute, and any schedule for the next steps in the litigation. Most of the time, both parties and their lawyers will sign the case management plan; no one needs to sign a case management plan where nothing was agreed to.

Scheduling a judicial case conference

Unlike family case conferences in the Provincial Court, you don't need a judge to make an order that you have a JCC. You can just schedule one yourself, though the trial coordinator, and then send a Notice of Judicial Case Conference to the other parties in Form F19. What's even better about JCCs is that you can have as many of them as you want! Rule 7-1 says that:

(1) A party may request a judicial case conference at any time, whether or not one or more judicial case conferences have already been held in the family law case.

In fact, I've used a series of JCCs to handle really sensitive problems that could have been handled through multiple applications, but would have blown up if they'd had to go through the usual process for making interim applications, especially with the requirement that the evidence presented at interim applications usually be in the form of affidavits. This approach isn't appropriate for all people in all court proceedings, but dealing with the sensitive problems in these cases through a bunch of JCCs let me resolve them with a minimum amount of conflict. Neither side got upset making or defending interim applications, and neither side had to write affidavits committing themselves to particular positions.

Judicial case conference must be held before other applications can be held

As we've already mentioned, under Rule 7-1(2) no one can serve a Notice of Application or affidavit until a JCC has been heard. That usually gives people a lot of motivation to have a JCC early on in a new court proceeding.

Exceptions to the bar on other applications

There are some exceptions to this rule. Under Rule 7-1(3), applications that are being brought without notice to the other side and applications

1. for property protection orders under the Family Law Act and the federal Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act,
2. for orders that everyone agrees to, called consent orders,
3. to change a final,
4. to cancel or suspend a family law agreement, and
5. to set aside the determination of a parenting coordinator,

can all be brought without first having a JCC. If your application doesn't fit into this list of exceptions, you may be able to apply for an exemption from the Rule 7-1(2) requirement under subrules (4) and (5). Rule 7-1(4) says that:

On application by a party, the court may relieve a party from the requirements of subrule (2) if

(a) it is premature to require the parties to attend a judicial case conference,

(b) it is impracticable or unfair to require the party to comply with the requirements of subrule (2),

(c) the application referred to in subrule (2) is urgent,

(d) delaying the application referred to in subrule (2) or requiring the party to attend a judicial case conference is or might be dangerous to the health or safety of any person, or

(e) the court considers it appropriate to do so in the circumstances.

Applications to be exempted from the JCC requirement are made by filing a special form without an appearance in court. Use a Requisition in Form F17, being sure to use the version that refers to Schedule A of the Supreme Court's Family Practice Direction 18.

Setting a JCC date

To set a date for a JCC, first contact the court registry and get the available JCC dates. (JCCs are given a lot of priority by the registry staff, and you should be able to book a hearing date within a month or two.) In most cases, you will want to give these dates to the other side and select a date on which you are both available. It's just common courtesy to select a date that's convenient for everyone, and you don't want to look petty and mean-spirited setting a date without bothering to check that it works for the other side.

Once you have a mutually-agreeable date, call the registry back and tell them which date you've picked. They will then ask you to fill out and file a Notice of Judicial Case Conference in Form F19 formally reserving that date. You will be charged a filing fee (currently $80). You must then serve a copy of your filed Notice of Judicial Case Conference on the other side. along with a copy of your filed Financial Statement, by ordinary service.

For a summary of how to schedule a JCC, see How Do I Schedule a Judicial Case Conference for Hearing? It's located in the Helpful Guides & Common Questions part of this resource, in the section Other Litigation Issues.

Filing Financial Statements

Under Rule 7-1(10), the person who serves the Notice of Judicial Case Conference must also file and serve a Financial Statement in Form F8. (Normally, you'd do this at the same time that you're filing and serving the Notice of Judicial Case Conference.) Under Rule 7-1(11), the other parties must file and serve their own Financial Statements.

Each party must file and serve their Financial Statements at least seven days before the date set for the JCC, although this rule is rarely followed. Quite often, Financial Statements aren't received until the night before, or the morning of, the JCC. That's a shame, but it's better to get the other side's Financial Statement late than not at all. If you do get the Financial Statement just before the JCC, ask the judge if the start of the JCC can be delayed by five or ten minutes so that you can read the other side's Financial Statement.

Preparing for judicial case conferences

By the time you have your JCC, the claimant will have served the respondent with their Notice of Family Claim. The respondent will have served the claimaint with their Response to Family Claim, and possibly also their Counterclaim. It really is a shame that the rule about exchanging Financial Statements isn't complied with better than it is, because preparing and reviewing these statements always lends important depth to the legal issues in a court proceeding, and, as we've already said, you want to do everything you can to maximize the chances of settlement at your JCC.

When I prepare for a JCC, I usually make notes intended to remind myself about the important events in the parties' relationship. I make notes in point-form about things like:

1. the age and occupation of each party, and anything else that's relevant to their employment or employability, such as any illnesses or disabilities;
2. the dates the parties began to live together, married and separated;
3. the names and ages of each of the parties' children, the grades the children are in and the schools they attend, and any important facts about the children including any illnesses or disabilities;
4. the date the court proceeding started and the basic claims being made against the respondent by the claimant and against the claimant by the respondent;
5. the dates and details of any orders that have already been made; and,
6. the dates and details of any attempts made to resolve the legal issues out of court.

Some lawyers also prepare briefs for JCCs. "Briefs" are short statements of the facts of the case and the applicable law and provide a similarly short argument about why the judge should make the orders sought by the party who filed the brief. (Briefs are a convenient way to make the main argument in favour of a client's position, and I sometimes receive these at the beginning of a mediation.) They're intended to persuade not only the judge or associate judge who is hearing the JCC but also the other parties to the court proceeding. Honestly, I'm not sure that the impact briefs usually have is worth the time or money it takes to prepare them. Quite often, these briefs are handed out — to the judge or associate judge and the other lawyers — at the start of the JCC but never get mentioned again. If, however, a brief can be delivered to the other parties and to the court before the JCC and the judge or associate judge has the time to read the brief along with the court file, it may have a chance of making a difference.

Given how important JCCs can be in settling some or all of the issues in a court proceeding, most lawyers will also prepare their clients for the JCC. I talk to my clients about the importance of being civil and respectful — to the judge or associate judge, to the other parties and to the other lawyers — but encourage them to express themselves and talk about why they want what they want; I review the claims they've made and the facts and the law supporting those claims; I talk about how the JCC is likely to go and the possible results; and, I talk about any urgent or short-term problems that need to be addressed, and hopefully resolved, at the JCC.

Case planning conferences

A case planning conference (CPC) is a fairly new (as of September 2023) procedural step that can be scheduled any time after a JCC has been held. It offers a more hands-on opportunity for the court to guide the progress of a family law case. A party can scheduled a CPC by obtaining a date from the registry, filing a Form F19.2 Notice of Case Planning Conference, and serving it on the other party. Also, the court may direct that a CPC take place at any time after a JCC has occurred.

The procedure is contained in Part 7.1 of the Supreme Court Family Rules. When a party must serve the Form 19.2 notice depends on whether it is the first CPC in the case (35 days before the CPC is scheduled) or a subsequent CPC (7 days notice), but a judge can set a different notice period or the parties can agree to a shorter period. The timeline for serving notice can be shortened by applying to the court using a Form F18.1 Requisition.

Case planning proposals

Prior to the first CPC, each party must file a Form 19.3 Case Plan Proposal summarizing how they propose the case should proceed. This document outlines their proposals on:

• Discovery of documents
• Examinations for discovery
• Obtaining the views of a child, if applicable
• Dispute resolution procedures
• Expert witnesses
• Witness lists
• Trial type, estimated length, and preferred scheduling.

The party requesting the CPC must file their proposal within 14 days of serving the notice, while other parties have 14 days after receiving it to file their own proposals.

CPC attendance and format

Unless the court orders otherwise, the following individuals must attend the CPC:

• Each party's lawyer, if represented;
• Unrepresented parties, or parties ordered by the court to attend.

Attendance can be in person or via telephone or video conference, as long as all participants can communicate effectively. CPCs are conducted by a judge or associate judge, who will guide the discussion and issue procedural orders to advance the case.

Orders made at a CPC

At a CPC, the judge or associate judge must make a Form F19.4 Case Plan Order. Although final orders (other than by consent) and affidavit-based applications cannot be made at a CPC, the court can still create a roadmap for the case by:

• Setting timelines for procedural steps
• Amending pleadings or discovery processes
• Requiring mediation, settlement conferences, or other dispute resolution steps
• Establishing expert witness protocols or limiting the number of experts
• Fixing trial dates or trial lengths
• Addressing witness lists and evidence exchange.

Settlement conferences

The rules don't require a settlement conference for every family law case, but you can ask for one by agreement with the other side. You do this by filing a Requisition in Form F17 at the court registry. A judge or associate judge can also order one. A settlement conference is an informal, private meeting between the parties (and their lawyers, if any) and a judge or associate judge. They are held under Rule 7-2 of the Supreme Court Family Rules. The goal is to explore a settlement of the court case without going to a full trial.

A settlement conference is held in a closed courtroom — only the parties and their lawyers can attend, unless everyone agrees to allow someone else in. Everything said is confidential and off the record, so it can't be used against anyone later if settlement doesn't happen. However, the court does record the session in case there's ever a dispute over what was agreed.

A settlement conference often happens after a Judicial Case Conference, or you can schedule one at any point if a judge or associate judge thinks it might help resolve the issues. If you want a specific judge or associate judge, you can request that, although it isn't always guaranteed. See the BC Supreme Court's Practice Direction 18 - Request to Appear Before a Specific Judge, Associate Judge or Registrar.

Briefs, Financial Statements, and other preparations

Before the settlement conference, it's important that each side share any updated financial information (for example, recent paystubs or bank statements). If there have been big changes since your last Financial Statement, it's wise to complete and file a new Form F8 Financial Statement so the judge or associate judge knows the latest information.

Often, each side will prepare a settlement conference brief. This helps everyone — especially the judge or associate judge — understand the facts and legal points quickly. You can file it at least a week before your conference takes place, and make sure to provide the other side with a copy too. The settlement conference brief usually includes:

• Key facts and dates — such as marriage or separation dates, birthdates of children, big moves, or major financial transactions.
• The issues to resolve — where you outline your position on each topic (e.g. parenting, child support, property division, etc.).
• Important documents and evidence — expert reports, loan papers, marriage agreements, and so on. You might attach copies or bring extra copies to the conference in case someone needs them.
• Your position on settlement
• Relevant law — any legislation or case law that supports your position.

If you have copies of recent appraisals, a "Scott Schedule" (which is a chart or table used by lawyers to organize and compare the parties' positions on property and debt), or expert reports, try to exchange them in advance, and well before the conference. During the settlement conference, each side explains what they want and why. The judge or associate judge may ask questions, point out risks, and offer opinions on how a trial judge might decide, based on similar cases and the facts you've provided.

Like a JCC, a settlement conference works best when you've given the other side full disclosure of documents and you arrive with a realistic sense of your case's strengths, weaknesses, costs, and risks. If you don't have a lawyer, consider speaking with one beforehand to get advice on likely trial outcomes and costs.

Scheduling a settlement conference

To schedule a settlement conference date, contact the court registry to learn which dates are available. Agree on a date with the other party, then call the registry to confirm it. Next, complete and file a Form F17 Requisition to reserve that date. There is no filing fee charged for this form. Finally, serve a copy of the filed Form F17 Requisition on the other party by ordinary service.

If you reach an agreement at the settlement conference, the judge or associate judge can record that in a consent order, which becomes legally binding. If you don't agree on everything, you may still resolve some issues, which can make any future steps more simple and less expensive. One way or another, being informed, organized, and prepared increases your chances of reaching a settlement and avoiding trial.

Trial management conferences

Trial management conferences (TMCs), as the name suggests, are designed to make sure the parties are ready to go to trial. More information about trial management conferences can be found in this chapter, in the section Trials and Supreme Court Family Law Proceedings.

Part 14-3 of the Supreme court Family Rules deals with TMCs. The TMC must occur at least 28 days before the trial date unless the court orders otherwise.

TMCs are automatically required if:

• more than 15 days have been reserved for trial,
• a party is not or may not be represented by a lawyer at trial,
• a party requests a TMC by filing a requisition at least 42 days before the scheduled trial date, or
• in a Divorce Act proceeding, if a party intends to file documents, give evidence, or make submissions in French or both official languages.

A judge or associate judge will discuss how a trial will proceed and what, if any, additional steps must be taken to make sure that the parties are ready for trial, such as exchanging documents and information, organizing experts' reports, or requiring that a views of the child report be prepared.

The parties are normally required to attend the TMC in person, unless they have a lawyer and are available by telephone to speak with their lawyer in the event instructions are needed during the conference.

Resources and links

Legislation

• Supreme Court Act
• Supreme Court Family Rules
• Court Rules Act

Resources

• Litigants' Guide to Judicial Case Conferences from BC Supreme Court's website:
• Judicial Case Conference information page from Justice Education Society's Online Help Guide for BC Supreme Court
• Trial Management Conference Order Picklist from BC Supreme Court's website

Links

• Supreme Court Family Practice Directions
• Supreme Court Administrative Notices
• Supreme Court Trial Scheduling

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Iris Turaglio, 12 December 2024.

JP Boyd on Family Law © John-Paul Boyd and Courthouse Libraries BC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.