Nevada Judiciary

Mediation Supervisor Also Hired

Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice James W. Hardesty has announced that Verise Campbell has been hired as the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program Administrator to oversee the legislatively-created project.



Since 2006, Ms. Campbell has been administrator of a global company that has been involved in the development of a resort hotel-casino in Macao, China.

Prior to that, she worked as Director of Administration for the Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

“Ms. Campbell brings a wealth of hands-on administrative experience to the Foreclosure Mediation Program, which goes into effect on July 1,” said Chief Justice Hardesty.  “We believe that Ms. Campbell’s experience and abilities will make this program one of the best of its type in the nation.”

Ms. Campbell said she is looking forward to the challenges involved in “this very proactive step to address a problem that has dominated Nevada’s overall economic climate.”

“The creation of the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program is a clear indicator of Nevada’s commitment to seek real solutions to the foreclosure crisis,” she said.

Ms. Campbell will be stationed in Las Vegas where the vast majority of foreclosures in Nevada are occurring.  Ms. Campbell will begin the new job on July 1.  Her salary will be $81,140 annually and come from a filing fee on foreclosures, not from the State General Fund.

The Administrative Office of the Courts has also hired Kathryn Ely as Mediation Supervisor to help coordinate the selection and training of the numerous mediators expected to be needed to handle the anticipated requests by homeowners for relief.

Ms. Ely has 13 years of experience as a mediator in employment, homeland security, postal service, and family law.  She is also a paralegal and Certified Civil Litigation Specialist.

She will be based at the Administrative Office of the Courts in Carson City.  Her salary is set at $61,950 annually and, like Ms. Campbell’s, will come from the foreclosure filing fees.

Assembly Bill 149, passed shortly before the end of the session, provides for mediations in foreclosures commenced on or after July 1, 2009, as a way to help home owners find alternatives to losing their houses.

A homeowner who receives a foreclosure notice can request an opportunity to sit down with the lenders and a trained mediator and explore whether a mutually agreeable resolution can be reached.

In the legislation, the Supreme Court was tasked with establishing the rules under which the Foreclosure Mediation Program will function.  The rules are expected to be released Tuesday, June 30, 2009.

In the process of creating rules, the Supreme Court held two hearings – one in Carson City on June 16 and one in Las Vegas on June 26.

The draft rules and other documents are posted on the Supreme Court’s website (www.nevadajudiciary.us).  A link to the foreclosure mediation page is on the home page.