MEDIATION POST COVID: THE RISE OF ONLINE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
With Colin Rule, CEO, Mediate.com
August 30, Tuesday | 5:30-7:30pm PDT | Online via Zoom

Overview

As the pandemic forced many of us to move our lives online, many mediators looked to the field of online dispute resolution (ODR) for best practices and lessons learned. Developed over the last twenty years (largely in response to the growth of eCommerce) the ODR field has generated a deep well of theory and practice while also identifying potential ethical dilemmas and risks.

In Colin’s clinic, he will talk about the rise of ODR, describe what we know and what we still need to know, and sketch out a vision for the future where technology (referred to as the “fourth party” in ODR parlance) plays an integral role in how we mediate disputes across society. Colin will conclude with a Q&A session.

Learning Objectives

With Colin, participants will:

• Discover of the range of tools and techniques encompassed by various definitions of online dispute resolution (ODR)
• Learn the history of ODR’s development
• Consider some of the ethical challenges raised by ODR practice
• Understand the key questions and choices that need to be made in designing ODR systems
• See examples of where and how ODR is being implemented to assist negotiators

In addition, Colin will discuss and answer these questions:

• What Is Online Dispute Resolution (ODR)? How did it develop?
• How are mediators using ODR? What are some examples?
• What Ethical Standards are important for ODR?

After registering, participants will receive the clinic’s Zoom information and a link for a ODR Bibliography in the transaction confirmation email.

TRAINER
Colin Rule
Colin Rule is CEO of Mediate.com. In 2011 Colin co-founded Modria.com, an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) provider based in Silicon Valley, which was acquired by Tyler Technologies in 2017. From 2017 to 2020 Colin served as Vice President of ODR at Tyler. From 2003 to 2011 Colin was Director of ODR for eBay and PayPal.

Colin is the author of Online Dispute Resolution for Business and co-author of The New Handshake: ODR and the Future of Consumer Protection. He serves on the boards of the Consensus Building Institute and the PeaceTech Lab at the United States Institute of Peace. He is currently Co-Chair of the Advisory Board of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution at UMass-Amherst and a Fellow at the Gould Center for Conflict Resolution at Stanford Law School. Colin co-founded Online Resolution, one of the first online dispute resolution (ODR) providers, in 1999 and served as its CEO and President. Colin also worked for several years with the National Institute for Dispute Resolution in Washington, DC and the Consensus Building Institute in Cambridge, MA.