CA · rules
Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.859
Compensation and gifts
(a) Compliance with law
A mediator must comply with any applicable requirements concerning compensation established by statute or the court.
(b) Disclosure of and compliance with compensation terms
Before commencing the mediation, the mediator must disclose to the parties in writing any fees, costs, or charges to be paid to the mediator by the parties. A mediator must abide by any agreement that is reached concerning compensation.
(c) Contingent fees
The amount or nature of a mediator's fee must not be made contingent on the outcome of the mediation.
(d) Gifts and favors
A mediator must not at any time solicit or accept from or give to any participant or affiliate of a participant any gift, bequest, or favor that might reasonably raise a question concerning the mediator's impartiality.
History
(Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2007.) Rule 3.859 amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007; adopted as rule 1620.9 effective January 1, 2003. Advisory Committee Comment Subdivision (b). It is good practice to put mediation fee agreements in writing, and mediators are strongly encouraged to do so; however, nothing in this rule is intended to preclude enforcement of a compensation agreement for mediation services that is not in writing. Subdivision (d). Whether a gift, bequest, or favor "might reasonably raise a question concerning the mediator's impartiality" must be determined on a case-by-case basis. This subdivision is not intended to prohibit a mediator from accepting other employment from any of the participants, consistent with rule 3.858(d).
Provenance
- Source
- courts.ca.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-14
- Edition
- 2026-09-14
- Content hash
26cdd1b950e490330f63e2e931ea9ce327f7c7cc9ab3b0eefc146736b034a7e1
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.