What happens at a DRO hearing?

This is a session presided over by a senior family law lawyer who reads all of the materials and offers the parties his or her opinion on the likely outcome of the case and guidance on possible avenues of settlement. Although the DRO has no power to make any orders, the session provides litigants and counsel with an excellent chance to hear from experienced counsel about how their case appears to a neutral evaluator and, accordingly, the opportunity to settle before moving the case any further into the litigation process. Case conference briefs are helpful but not required.