(a) Authority to Adopt. Subject to the approval of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the county administrative judge of each circuit court shall develop and adopt maximum hourly rate fee schedules for court-designated individuals conducting each type of fee-for-service ADR. In developing the fee schedules, the county administrative judge shall take into account the availability of qualified individuals willing to provide those services and the ability of litigants to pay for them.

Committee note: The maximum hourly rates in a fee schedule may vary based on the type the alternative dispute resolution proceeding, the complexity of the action, and the qualifications of the ADR practitioner.

(b) Applicability of Fee Schedules. The court's fee schedules apply only to ADR practitioners who are initially designated by the court, and not to an individual selected by the parties as a substitute mediator or to an ADR practitioner selected by the parties at the outset, even if the selection is subsequently memorialized by the court in an order of referral or consent order.

(c) Compliance. A court-designated ADR practitioner subject to a fee schedule may not charge or accept a fee for the ADR in excess of that allowed by court order, and the amount stated in the court order may not exceed the fee stated in the applicable schedule. Violation of this Rule shall be cause for removal from court-approved ADR practitioner lists.

Source: This Rule is derived from former Rule 17-108 (2012).