Again, in order to promote the possibility of settlement, the New Brunswick Rules of Court permit the Court, at the request of a party or on its own motion, to direct the solicitors for the parties, any party and any other person, to appear before a judge for a settlement conference. A Settlement Conference Judge will then conduct a Settlement Conference (akin to Pre-trial Mediation by a Judge), for the purpose of exploring the potential and possibility of settlement prior to trial. While Settlement Conferences are presided by actual judges of the court, the Settlement Conference Judge is precluded from subsequently hearing the trial of the action in question.

(Note: Although there is no mandated requirement in the New Brunswick Rules of Court obligating the parties to engage in, or participate prior to trial in Alternative Dispute Resolution procedures including private mediation, voluntary mediations of claims by the parties before a private mediator do often occur and are essentially the norm in New Brunswick.)

The time and place for conducting a Settlement Conference will be set by the Clerk of the Court and the parties and their respective lawyers will then prepare and file briefs with the Court. The parties with their lawyers will subsequently appear at the appointed place and time before the Appointed Settlement Conference Judge.

A Settlement conference is typically scheduled 1 to 2 months prior to the actual trial date. The Settlement Conference, and associated procedures, occur under the direction of the Settlement Conference Judge, and the possibilities of settlement are discussed, along with the strengths and weaknesses of each party's case. All records disclosed and discussions occurring during a Settlement Conference are privileged and confidential and non-admissible at trial.

In addition to Settlement Conferences, the Rules of Court also provide for the possibility of a Pre-Trial Conference, where a judge, (usually the appointed trial judge), is put to the task of considering items, issues and procedures, which may facilitate the hearing of the trial in the most expeditious and least expensive manner, such as the consideration of scheduling of key witnesses, and pre-trial agreements on the admissibility of documents and exhibits. At the conclusion of a Pre-Trial Conference, the parties may complete a memorandum outlining the results of their agreements achieved at the conference, or the court may, of its own initiative, make an order or give directions to the parties on all relevant procedural issues. The memorandum and order are thereafter binding on the parties, in connection with the subsequent conduct of the trial. It should be noted that, unlike the Rules in other Canadian jurisdictions, the New Brunswick Rules of Court do not contain any provision for the possibility in civil proceedings of obtaining pre-trial rulings on the admissibility of evidence. All issues related to the admissibility of evidence are left to the discretion of the trial judge and such discretion may not be usurped.