Can Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Change the World? (film review)

Bill Glover was kind enough to do a review of the new documentary film on online mediation. Here’s that review:

Can Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) change the world? That’s the question Mac Pierre-Louis, J.D., M.Ed. asks us to consider in his new documentary of the same name.

I was fortunate enough to preview a rough cut, and even without the polish, it was easy to see this is something special. Pierre-Louis travels the globe, visiting and speaking with mediators, then takes us back to the foundations of modern online mediation in the US. There were names and stories I thought I knew: Colin Rule, Ethan Katsh, Janet Rifkin, and the work at UMass Amherst. What I didn’t realize was how much of the modern world we take for granted has already changed due to ODR.

Critical moments in the development of our very online world, at companies like eBay and Zoom, were directly enabled or influenced by ODR.

Pierre-Louis is a new filmmaker and doesn’t come from a traditional filmmaking background, so his first offering doesn’t follow the current trends toward heavily produced documentaries with rapid cuts, dramatic music, and carefully staged set pieces. Instead, we follow a working attorney and mediator as he travels and talks to colleagues and pioneers in his profession, in what I found to be a very watchable, well-paced, and fascinating exploration of topics most people know nothing about.

I believe this story will be of interest to mediators and non-mediators alike.

At 1 hour 33 minutes, this documentary is essential viewing for anyone who cares about access to justice, the internet’s hidden history, or simply well-told stories.

Watch “Can ODR Change the World” at https://www.lmipodcast.com/FILM/ or at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isev7BZFDgw&t=2s

Mac-Arthur Pierre-Louis

I am a former public school teacher turned Assistant Attorney General (AAG) with the Office of the Attorney General of Texas and current family lawyer and mediator working on family and civil mediations in Texas and Florida. Since 2009 I have worked to help parties resolve their legal disputes in… MORE