encourage disposition of civil litigation by settlement when such is in the
best interest of the parties. The Court favors any reasonable means to
accomplish this goal. Nothing in this rule shall be construed to the contrary.
The parties are urged first to discuss and to attempt to reach settlement
among themselves without resort to these procedures. It is also the policy of
the Court that unless an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Procedure is
selected by the parties, the judge assigned to preside over the civil case (the
trial judge) may participate in facilitating settlement.
