Rates — Betts Dispute Resolution Services

Mediation fees are based on Mr. Betts’s regular hourly rate of $400.
Mediation fees are shared among the parties participating in the mediation, and there is no surcharge applied for mediations involving more than two parties. For example, in a mediation involving three parties who have agreed to share the fees equally, if the time devoted to the mediation is ten hours, the total fees would be $4,000, with each party responsible for one-third of that amount.
Although the mediation fees are shared equally by the parties, the parties can agree to any other allocation of the fees.
To provide an additional level of cost certainty, Mr. Betts’s standard mediation agreement provides for a cap on the number of hours to be spent in preparing for a mediation session. The cap is set, with the approval of counsel and their clients, based on the complexity of the case, the anticipated volume of mediation statements and other documents to be reviewed in advance of the mediation session, and other factors.
Although mediation sessions are commonly scheduled for a full day, mediation sessions can be scheduled to occur over multiple days. When appropriate, sessions can be scheduled for one-half of a day.
There are no fees charged for travel time.
There is no charge for a canceled mediation session.

The fees charged for Mr. Betts’s services as an arbitrator vary, depending on whether the case is administered by an ADR provider (e.g., AAA, FINRA, NAM) or whether the arbitration is a private arbitration administered by Betts Dispute Resolution.
For private arbitrations administered by Betts Dispute Resolution, Mr. Betts’s hourly rate of $400 will apply. Following a conference with counsel concerning the complexity of the case, the number of hearing days required, and other factors, deposits to be made by each party in an appropriate amount are requested and will be held in the firm’s trust account, pending completion of the arbitration. Any unused deposits are promptly refunded.
There are no fees charged for travel time.

Early neutral evaluations conducted by Mr. Betts normally involve cases pending the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The Court’s ADR Policies and Procedures, effective January 2, 2019, provide: “Compensation. Unless otherwise agreed by all parties or ordered by the Court, one-half the cost of the evaluator’s services must be borne by the plaintiff(s) and one-half by the defendant(s) at the rate contained in the evaluator’s fee schedule filed with the Court. In a case with third-party defendants, the cost must be divided into three equal shares. An evaluator must not charge or accept in connection with a particular case a fee or thing of value from any source other than the parties. The Court may review the reasonableness of the fee and, if necessary, enter an Order modifying the fee.”

Our litigation valuation analysis services are provided to only one party to a given case or dispute. The fees are either based on Mr. Betts’s hourly rate or an agreed-upon fixed fee. The terms of the engagement, including the amount of fees to be charged, will be set forth in an agreement between Betts Dispute Resolution and the client at the inception of the engagement.
When hourly fees are used, Mr. Betts is amenable to agreeing to a reasonable cap on the number of hours spent on the matter, if the client requests.