Legal Definitions - certificate of conference

A certificate of conference is a section of a legal document, such as a pleading or motion, that certifies to the court that the parties involved have attempted to resolve the matter outside of court, but were unable to reach an agreement.

This certificate is usually included as a separate page near the end of the document and is required by some courts for certain types of motions.

The purpose of the certificate of conference is to encourage parties to try to resolve their disputes without involving the court, unless it is absolutely necessary.

For example, if two parties are involved in a lawsuit and one party files a motion, they must include a certificate of conference stating that they attempted to resolve the issue with the other party before bringing it to court.

Another example would be in a divorce case, where the parties must attempt to reach an agreement on issues such as child custody and property division before bringing the matter to court. If they are unable to reach an agreement, they must include a certificate of conference with their motion.

These examples illustrate how the certificate of conference is used to encourage parties to resolve their disputes outside of court and to ensure that the court is only involved when necessary.