Vertical guide · Updated June 2026

Appellate mediation attorney time tracking: Ninth Circuit mediation program coordination, circuit mediator status calls, and settlement authority escalation

Federal appellate practice — Ninth Circuit mandatory mediation under Circuit Rule 33-1, Second Circuit pre-argument conference program, D.C. Circuit mediation, and Eleventh Circuit mediation program — generates three billing-gap sources driven by the circuit mediator's case management schedule, the client's corporate settlement authority calendar, and the court's modified briefing schedule following unsuccessful mediation: Ninth Circuit mediator coordination and status calls on the mediator's case management schedule (15 active appeals × 5 calls × 30 min × 55% untracked = 20.6 hours = $8,240–$14,420/year at $400–$700/hr), settlement authority escalation calls on the client's board or litigation committee calendar (12 matters × 4 calls × 25 min × 55% = 11.0 hours = $4,400–$7,700/year), and post-mediation appellate briefing coordination calls on the court's modified briefing schedule (10 matters × 3 calls × 25 min × 55% = 6.875 hours = $2,750–$4,813/year). For a solo or small-firm appellate practice, the annual billing gap is $15,000–$27,000.

TL;DR

ClaimHour captures every Ninth Circuit mediator status call that arrives on the mediator's case docket management schedule, every settlement authority escalation call from the General Counsel or litigation committee chair when the mediator demands movement on a deadline, and every post-mediation briefing coordination call from the circuit clerk, co-counsel, and court reporter in the compressed 30-day window after mediation terminates — passively, no timer, no audio, no call contents. $29–$59/mo. No PMS required.

Ninth Circuit Appellate Mediation Program: calls on the mediator's case management schedule

The Ninth Circuit Appellate Commissioner's Office assigns civil appeals to the Appellate Mediation Program under Circuit Rule 33-1; the court sends a scheduling order within 45 days of docketing; a court-appointed mediator — a staff attorney of the Ninth Circuit's Staff Attorney's Office or a contract mediator — schedules confidential mediation sessions and follow-up telephone conferences with appellate counsel throughout a 90–180-day mediation window. Mediation sessions typically occur 2–4 times over the mediation window, and the mediator schedules follow-up calls between sessions to test movement on settlement positions and to transmit demand and offer responses. All mediator calls arrive on the mediator's case docket management schedule, which is driven by the mediator's assignment calendar and the Ninth Circuit's case management priorities, not the appellate attorney's billing calendar. The attorney's timer is not running when the mediator calls.

Five Ninth Circuit mediator call types generate billing gaps: (1) initial mediation conference preparation call with mediator (30–40 min) — arrives when the mediator contacts appellate counsel to schedule the opening session, after the mediator's office has reviewed the docketing statement and selected a mediation approach; (2) follow-up mediator status call between sessions testing movement on settlement position (20–30 min) — arrives when the mediator has assessed the other party's response to the last offer or demand on the mediator's negotiation assessment schedule; (3) mediator's shuttle diplomacy call transmitting opposing party's counter-position (15–25 min) — arrives when the opposing party has responded with a counter-offer or counter-demand on the opposing party's decision timeline; (4) mediator's request for supplemental briefing or financial disclosure call (20–30 min) — arrives when the mediator determines that additional financial information or case-specific analysis would facilitate settlement; (5) mediation session scheduling confirmation and logistics call (15–20 min) — arrives when the mediator is coordinating schedules across all parties on the mediator's session-booking calendar. At 55% untracked: 15 active appeals × 5 mediator calls × 30 min avg × 55% = 20.625 hours ≈ 20.6 hours = $8,240–$14,420/year at $400–$700/hr.

Second Circuit pre-argument conference and D.C. Circuit mediation programs use structurally identical mediation call patterns; the same scheduling-dependent billing gap applies in any federal circuit mandatory mediation program. The Eleventh Circuit mediation program operates under 11th Cir. R. 33-1 with an equivalent conference scheduling structure. Attorneys in those circuits face the same mediator-schedule-driven billing gap with call volumes and frequencies comparable to the Ninth Circuit program.

Settlement authority escalation: calls on the mediator's negotiation timeline and the client's board calendar

When the appellate mediator requests a higher settlement authority from the corporate defendant or institutional respondent, the appellate attorney must obtain authorization from the client's board, audit committee, or litigation oversight committee before conveying a revised settlement position to the mediator. This authority escalation process generates billing calls that arrive entirely on external schedules: the mediator sets a deadline for a response (on the mediator's negotiation timeline), the General Counsel calls the appellate attorney when the mediator's deadline has been communicated (on the GC's availability), the board or litigation committee convenes to authorize a settlement range (on the committee's calendar), and outside D&O coverage counsel calls with the coverage tower analysis (on coverage counsel's schedule). None of these calls is scheduled by or controllable by the appellate attorney.

Four settlement authority escalation call types: (1) General Counsel escalation advisory call — should the case settle at the mediator's proposed range? (30–40 min) — arrives when the mediator has set a deadline for a response and the GC needs immediate strategic counsel on settlement authorization; (2) board litigation committee authority call — requesting authority to settle within a specified range (20–35 min) — arrives on the committee's availability calendar, which may not align with the mediator's deadline; (3) D&O coverage tower adequacy advisory call with coverage counsel (25–35 min) — arrives when the proposed settlement range may exceed the primary D&O insurance layer and outside coverage counsel needs to advise on excess layer access; (4) post-mediation settlement offer documentation advisory call with in-house counsel (20–30 min) — arrives when the in-house team is documenting the settlement authority granted and the terms of any mediator's proposal for the record. At 55% untracked: 12 matters × 4 calls × 25 min × 55% = 11.0 hours = $4,400–$7,700/year at $400–$700/hr.

Post-mediation appellate briefing coordination: calls on the court's modified schedule

When mediation ends without settlement and the appeal returns to the court's merits briefing schedule, the Ninth Circuit clerk's office may issue a modified scheduling order extending or compressing the briefing schedule based on the time consumed in mediation. Under Circuit Rule 33-1(c), no substantive appellate work is permitted during the mediation window; the transition back to briefing mode generates a concentrated set of coordination calls within 30 days of the mediation termination notice. These calls arrive from the court, from the court reporter, and from co-counsel — on those parties' administrative processing and drafting schedules — not on the appellate attorney's calendar.

Four post-mediation appellate briefing coordination call types arrive on external schedules: (1) circuit clerk's modified scheduling order clarification call (15–20 min) — arrives from the clerk's office when it processes the mediation termination notice and issues the modified briefing schedule, raising questions about the new deadline dates; (2) co-counsel joint brief writing assignment and word-count allocation call (25–35 min) — arrives from co-counsel on co-counsel's drafting schedule when the joint principal brief section assignments need to be confirmed under the modified timeline; (3) court reporter transcript certification status and extension request call (15–25 min) — arrives from the court reporter when the reporter reaches a certification milestone and needs to coordinate a transcript extension request under the modified schedule; (4) circuit court oral argument preparation and travel logistics call (25–35 min) — arrives from co-counsel or court staff when the court sets the oral argument date on the court's calendar, triggering coordination of preparation sessions and travel. At 55% untracked: 10 matters × 3 calls × 25 min × 55% = 6.875 hours ≈ 6.9 hours = $2,760–$4,830/year at $400–$700/hr.

How ClaimHour fits appellate mediation practice

If you handle civil appeals in circuits with mandatory mediation programs — Ninth Circuit, Second Circuit, D.C. Circuit, Eleventh Circuit — and your invoices consistently understate the mediator status calls that arrive on the mediator's case docket management schedule, the settlement authority escalation calls that arrive when the mediator demands movement from the corporate client's board or litigation committee, and the post-mediation briefing coordination calls from the circuit clerk, court reporter, and co-counsel in the compressed 30-day window after mediation terminates — ClaimHour was built for that gap. The passive capture logs every client call (iOS call metadata: duration, timestamp, direction — not content), every email advisory session, and every document review session. A 2-minute evening digest surfaces each unmatched call for matter attribution. No audio. No call contents. No email bodies. Privilege is preserved under ABA Formal Opinion 512. Join the waitlist and we'll email when early access opens.

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Related questions

How do Ninth Circuit mediator calls generate billing gaps on the mediator's case management schedule?

The Ninth Circuit mediator schedules confidential mediation sessions and follow-up telephone conferences on the mediator's own case docket management schedule — not on the appellate attorney's billing calendar. Five call types: initial mediation conference preparation (30–40 min), follow-up mediator status call testing settlement movement (20–30 min), shuttle diplomacy call transmitting counter-position (15–25 min), supplemental briefing or financial disclosure request (20–30 min), and session scheduling confirmation (15–20 min). At 55% untracked: 15 active appeals × 5 mediator calls × 30 min × 55% = 20.6 hours = $8,240–$14,420/year at $400–$700/hr.

How do settlement authority escalation calls generate billing gaps when the mediator demands movement?

When the mediator demands higher settlement authority, escalation calls arrive on external calendars: the mediator's negotiation deadline drives the General Counsel's call, the board or litigation committee's availability drives the authority call, and coverage counsel's schedule drives the D&O tower adequacy call. Four call types: General Counsel escalation advisory (30–40 min), board litigation committee authority call (20–35 min), D&O coverage tower adequacy advisory with coverage counsel (25–35 min), and post-mediation settlement offer documentation advisory (20–30 min). At 55% untracked: 12 matters × 4 calls × 25 min × 55% = 11.0 hours = $4,400–$7,700/year at $400–$700/hr.

How do post-mediation appellate briefing coordination calls generate billing gaps?

When mediation terminates without settlement, a concentrated set of coordination calls from the circuit clerk, co-counsel, and court reporter arrives within 30 days on those parties' administrative and drafting schedules — not on the attorney's calendar. Circuit Rule 33-1(c) prohibits substantive appellate work during mediation, so the transition back to briefing mode compresses all coordination into a narrow window. Four call types: circuit clerk modified scheduling order clarification (15–20 min), co-counsel joint brief assignment and word-count allocation (25–35 min), court reporter transcript certification status (15–25 min), and oral argument preparation and travel logistics (25–35 min). At 55% untracked: 10 matters × 3 calls × 25 min × 55% = 6.9 hours = $2,760–$4,830/year at $400–$700/hr.

How does appellate mediation billing differ from other appellate practice billing?

Standard appellate practice billing — oral argument preparation, amicus coordination, certiorari petition drafting — is largely attorney-controlled: the attorney drives the work schedule and can time-stamp discrete work blocks. Appellate mediation billing is fundamentally different because all three billing-gap sources are externally scheduled: mediator calls arrive on the mediator's case management schedule; settlement authority escalation calls arrive on the mediator's negotiation timeline and the client's board calendar; post-mediation briefing calls arrive on the court's administrative processing calendar and co-counsel's drafting schedule. None of these calls is predictable or attorney-scheduled, which is why passive call capture — logging iOS call metadata (duration, timestamp, direction) without recording audio or call contents — recovers billing that timer-start approaches miss. The combined annual billing gap is $15,000–$27,000/year.