For my first newsletter of the year, I want to start with a goal I’ve set, and that is 2026 is the year online dispute resolution, or ODR, goes mainstream.
Ever since the 2020 “zoom boom” a lot of conflict resolution professionals like mediators and arbitrators go online to help their parties resolve their disputes outside of court. Prior to that, there was work in the ODR space since the 1990s. But ODR never really took off until the 2020 pandemic, when courts, and law and conflict resolution professionals alike, had to accept the reality that the only way they were going to get interpersonal legal conflicts resolved was through technology.
It’s been good news that since the years after the pandemic, there has not been a retreat from using legal tech or ODR to promote access to justice or resolution. On the contrary, there has been an explosion of tech-based solutions being brought to market intended to help litigants dispose of their legal matters more expeditiously. But have these tools had their effect? Is this really where it ends? Have all the promises of ODR been realized? And are there not more benefits we can achieve if more people adopt ODR?
I believe ODR can help reduce the costs of litigation further; can help clear up court backlogs deeper; and can help promote peace among family law litigants at higher rates than we’re currently used to. But the only way any of this happens is if all the stakeholders to conflict know about their ODR options and help move conflicts into a new paradigm in which tech-based conflict resolution exists at the same level as lawsuits.
Plenty of laws around the world exist to encourage conflict resolution, and rules are being promulgated everyday to have technology facilitate it. What is missing is the spreading of this knowledge to the masses. Tech-based online dispute resolution is not yet mainstream enough because it’s still not widely discussed as an option. “Let’s visit an online mediator” is not a social phenomenon yet like “I’m calling a lawyer” is. You’ll hear “see you in court” or “I’m going to sue you” all day long, but rarely hear of solutions involving neutrals. Most litigants in conflict only learn about alternative means to resolving their conflicts outside of court when they are told to attend mediation or arbitration.
Let’s change all this in 2026. Whether it’s by video or newsletters or on social media, let’s get the news of ODR out to the masses so that the people can have a choice in utilizing the various means for helping them dispose of conflicts. Let’s make 2026 the year everyone hears about ODR. Let’s make it go mainstream.
Guest post by Abigail R.C. McManus M.S Negotiation and Conflict Management, Texas Conflict Coach Audio Blog by Pattie Porter“Ab, stop micromanaging…” My husband Bernard cried out. I was badgering him...
By Patricia PorterChatGPT is a new language generation program available to anyone for free, developed by Open AI. According to ChatGPT, it is “based on artificial neural networks and uses machine learning...
By Kenneth ClokeThe other day, I conducted two mediations between the same plaintiff's counsel, the same defendants and their counsel. The only different party in the two mediations was the plaintiff. One...
By Phyllis Pollack
