The Suffolk Riverhead ADR Part.
Come Ready to Evaluate the Case.
Suffolk County Supreme Court runs a court-annexed Civil ADR program out of Riverhead, and it catches out-of-county firms off guard for a simpler reason: the Neutral Evaluation session is a working settlement event, not a status call. This guide covers how the program runs, who the court requires to attend, and how to prepare the file so the session accomplishes something.
Book ADR CoverageLast verified: August 5, 2026
Program description, the dual-track structure, the 120-day and 60-day intervals, the excluded case types, the attendance requirements, and the no-cost provision were confirmed against the Suffolk Alternative Dispute Resolution page on nycourts.gov. The document requirements for any individual case come from the ADR Preliminary Conference Order in that case, which the court does not publish. Confirm current requirements against your own order and the notices in your case before the conference date.
Most conference parts forgive a thin file. You appear, you report on status, you take the next date. The Riverhead Neutral Evaluation session is built differently. A neutral sits down with both sides to evaluate liability, injuries, and value, and that conversation only works if the substantive documents are already in the case file. Arrive with nothing for the neutral to read and the session becomes a scheduling call.
Key Takeaways
- The Suffolk County Riverhead ADR Part is the court's court-annexed Early Neutral Evaluation program, run out of the courthouse at 1 Court Street, Riverhead.
- The ADR conference is an evaluative settlement event, not a status appearance. The neutral works through liability, injuries, specials, and number ranges.
- The ADR Preliminary Conference Order issued in your own case sets the limited discovery required before the Neutral Evaluation session. Read that order, because the court does not publish a county-wide list of documents.
- Counsel for both sides must attend, personal injury plaintiffs should be reachable by phone, and the appearing attorney needs settlement authority or same-day access to it.
- Arriving without the required uploads on file wastes the appearance and signals to the court that the case was not taken seriously.
- The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson provides per diem coverage for Riverhead ADR conferences, with a written report delivered by end of business the same day.
What the Riverhead ADR Part Is
The ADR Part is Suffolk County Supreme Court's court-annexed alternative dispute resolution program, run out of the courthouse at 1 Court Street, Riverhead. It is an early Neutral Evaluation program on a dual track: after the RJI and request for a preliminary conference, the case is screened for ADR, an ADR PC Order issues providing for the limited discovery needed for a meaningful evaluation, and the case is simultaneously assigned to an IAS justice. The initial Neutral Evaluation session is set roughly 120 days from the PC Order, with a compliance conference before the assigned IAS judge roughly 60 days after that.
The sessions are presided over by judges, Judicial Hearing Officers, court attorneys, and court-approved retired judges and retired litigators. The typical referral docket is motor vehicle, slip and fall, contract, and consumer credit cases; medical malpractice, Labor Law, and Commercial Division matters are outside the program. Counsel for both sides must attend, plaintiffs in personal injury actions are expected to be available by phone, and the defendant's insurance claim representatives, where applicable, must also be available by phone. Supreme Court ADR is free to litigants.
For a personal injury case, the session is a real evaluation conversation: liability, injuries, specials, and number ranges, not a scheduling call. Because the session is evaluative, the program front-loads the paperwork. The neutral cannot evaluate what is not in the file.
The court publishes a contact for questions about the Civil ADR process. The Civil ADR Coordinator is Oliver Raymond Voorhees, III, Esq., Court Attorney-Referee, at 1 Court Street, Riverhead, New York 11901, 631-852-2400, sufsup-civadr@nycourts.gov.
Preparing the File Before the Session
The court's published materials describe the ADR Preliminary Conference Order as the document that provides for the limited discovery necessary to conduct a meaningful Neutral Evaluation. That order, not a county-wide part rule, is what fixes the discovery obligations in a given case. Suffolk County Supreme Court does not publish a standing list of documents that must be on file before a session, so read the ADR Preliminary Conference Order in your own case and treat it as controlling.
In our own covered sessions in this part, the neutral wanted the bill of particulars and the police report in the file and worked from them. That is our experience in the part rather than a published rule, and it is the practical reason we ask for both documents when we cover a Riverhead ADR conference.
Why firms miss it
The ADR notice looks like any other conference notice, and firms outside Suffolk treat it like a compliance conference: send an appearance, report status, get a date. The discovery obligations sit in the ADR Preliminary Conference Order rather than on the face of the calendar entry. If your calendar clerk dockets the date without pulling that order off NYSCEF, the obligation goes unnoticed until the neutral asks for the file.
Practical tip
Upload both documents as soon as the ADR conference is scheduled, not the night before. If the police report is outstanding, order it the day the notice arrives. And whoever appears should carry copies anyway; the appearance where everything is already on file and in hand is the appearance that ends with progress.
Who Should Attend
Send someone who can talk about the case, not just about the calendar. Because the ADR conference is a settlement event, the appearing attorney should know the liability theory, the injuries and treatment history, the specials, and the current demand and offer posture, and should either hold settlement authority or have direct same-day access to the person who does. A pure status appearance wastes the part's purpose and usually earns a follow-up date that could have been avoided.
When we cover an ADR conference for a referring firm, we ask for exactly that package ahead of the appearance: the BP, the police report, the medicals summary, and the authority posture. It is the difference between reporting back "adjourned" and reporting back movement.
Pre-Conference Checklist
Before the Riverhead ADR conference
- Pull the ADR Preliminary Conference Order off NYSCEF. It sets the limited discovery the court expects before the session, and it is case-specific.
- File the bill of particulars and the police report. Not a published county-wide rule, but the documents the neutral worked from in the sessions we have covered. If the police report is not yet in hand, order it immediately.
- Confirm both uploads appear in the case file. Do not assume; verify on NYSCEF.
- Prepare an evaluation summary. Liability, injuries, treatment, specials, demand and offer history.
- Settle the authority question. Who can say yes to a number on conference day, and how the appearing attorney reaches them.
- Brief the appearing attorney. If per diem counsel is covering, send the package early enough to be read, not skimmed in the hallway.
ADR Coverage in Riverhead
Riverhead is a long day from anywhere west of it. The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson provides per diem coverage for ADR conferences and other appearances at Suffolk County Supreme Court, with a written report delivered by end of business the same day. We have been handling court appearances throughout New York for more than 20 years, and we have covered this part, so the upload requirement and the conference format will not be a surprise on your case.
If your Suffolk date is a motion rather than an ADR conference, see our Suffolk Motion Part guide on when motion appearances are actually required.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be on file before a Suffolk Riverhead ADR conference?
The ADR Preliminary Conference Order issued in the case provides for the limited discovery the court considers necessary for a meaningful Neutral Evaluation, and Suffolk County Supreme Court does not publish a county-wide list beyond that. Read the order in your own case. In the sessions we have covered, the neutral worked from the bill of particulars and the police report, so we file both and verify that both appear on NYSCEF before the date.
Is the ADR conference just a status appearance?
No. The conference is an evaluative settlement event conducted through the court's ADR program. The appearing attorney should know the liability theory, injuries, specials, and negotiation posture, and should have settlement authority or same-day access to it.
Where does the Suffolk ADR Part sit?
At Suffolk County Supreme Court, 1 Court Street, Riverhead, NY 11901, roughly 75 miles east of Manhattan. The distance is the main reason firms outside Suffolk County retain per diem counsel for these conferences.
Can per diem counsel cover a Riverhead ADR conference?
Yes, and it is common. The covering attorney needs the case package ahead of time: the Bill of Particulars, the police report, a medicals and specials summary, and clarity on settlement authority. The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson covers ADR conferences in Riverhead and delivers a written report by end of business. Call 212-233-0666 or text 917-686-3827.
What happens if you are not prepared at the Riverhead ADR conference?
The session is an evaluative settlement event, so an appearing attorney who cannot discuss liability, injuries, specials, and numbers, or who has no settlement authority, gets very little out of it. Read the ADR Preliminary Conference Order, confirm that the substantive documents are on NYSCEF, and secure settlement authority before the conference date.
How do you arrange per diem coverage for a Riverhead ADR conference?
Provide the conference date, the Bill of Particulars, the police report, a medicals and specials summary, and settlement authority to the covering attorney. The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson, 160 Broadway, Suite 500, New York, NY 10038, covers Riverhead ADR conferences and returns a written report by end of business. Call 212-233-0666 or text 917-686-3827.
The Bottom Line
The Riverhead ADR Part rewards preparation and exposes its absence. Read the ADR Preliminary Conference Order as soon as the session is scheduled, get the substantive documents on file, send someone who can talk numbers, and the session becomes what the court designed it to be: a real chance to move the case.
Phone: 212-233-0666 | Text/Emergency: 917-686-3827 | Email: fabramson@abramsonlegal.com
When your case is on the line, send someone who knows the courtroom.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson, 160 Broadway, Suite 500, New York, NY 10038. 212-233-0666.
See our complete Suffolk County Supreme Court Guide, the Suffolk Motion Part Guide, or the Suffolk County judge directory.
Revision Notes
- August 2026: Deleted the statement that "the ADR Part rules require" the bill of particulars and the police report to be uploaded before the conference. Suffolk County Supreme Court publishes no such rule. The page now attributes discovery obligations to the ADR Preliminary Conference Order issued in the individual case, which is what the court's own materials describe, and identifies the bill of particulars and police report practice as our observation from covered sessions rather than as a court rule. The page title, the headline, the meta description, the key takeaways, the checklist, and two FAQ answers were rewritten to match.
- August 2026: Verified against the Suffolk Alternative Dispute Resolution page on nycourts.gov: the dual-track structure, the ADR Preliminary Conference Order, the initial Neutral Evaluation session at approximately 120 days from the order, the compliance conference before the assigned IAS judge at approximately 60 days after that, the referral case types, the exclusion of medical malpractice, Labor Law, and Commercial Division matters, the composition of the neutrals, the attendance requirements for counsel and for insurance claim representatives, and the statement that Supreme Court ADR is free to litigants.
- August 2026: Added the court's published Civil ADR Coordinator contact information.
- July 2026: Initial publication.