Mediation panels; qualification; procedure for selecting mediator

(1) A circuit court providing mediation referral under ORS 36.185 to 36.210 shall establish mediation panels. The mediators on such panels shall have such qualifications as established by rules adopted under ORS 1.002. Formal education in any particular field shall not be a prerequisite to serving as a mediator. (2) Unless instructed otherwise by the court, upon referral by the court to mediation, the clerk of the court shall select at least three individuals from the court’s panel of mediators and shall send their names to legal counsel for the parties, or to a party directly if not represented, with a request that each party state preferences within five judicial days. If timely objection is made to all of the individuals named, the court shall select some other individual from the mediator panel. Otherwise, the clerk, under the direction of the court, shall select as mediator one of the three individuals about whom no timely objection was made. (3) Upon the court’s or the parties’ own selection of a mediator, the clerk shall: (a) Notify the designated person of the assignment as mediator. (b) Provide the mediator with the names and addresses of the parties and their representatives and with copies of the order of assignment. (4) The parties to a dispute that is referred by the court to mediation may choose, at their option and expense, mediation services other than those suggested by the court, and entering into such private mediation services shall be subject to the same provisions of ORS 36.185 to 36.210. (5) Disputing parties in mediation shall be free, at their own expense, to retain jointly or individually, experts, attorneys, fact finders, arbitrators and other persons to assist the mediation, and all such dispute resolution efforts shall be subject to the protection of ORS 36.185 to 36.210.