The purpose of this pilot project was to investigate what effect dispute resolution conferences have on the decision to use ADR, the likelihood of settlement, the time to disposition, and the number of subsequent case events. In dispute resolution conferences, trained neutrals examine the parties' positions and interests in the case, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various dispute resolution processes, explore settlement possibilities, and - if the parties agree - mediate any or all substantive procedural matters. Through a comparative study between "experimental" counties that conducted these conferences and "control" counties that did not, the authors found that ADR use increased, the frequency of settlements was more than five times greater in the "experimental" counties than the "control" counties, time to disposition decreased in three of four "experimental" counties and in neither of the "control" counties, and the number of discovery events per case decreased in three of the "experimental" counties and rose in both "control" counties.