ODR Forum Montreal 2023: ODR and the Courts

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Moderator : Colin Rule

Speakers: Mrs. Simmi K. Sandhu, Mr. Nicolas Lozada, Prof. Michael Fang, Prof. Jeremy Barnett

Moderator

Prof. Colin Rule

Colin Rule is CEO of ODR.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 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.

Speakers

Prof. Jeremy Barnett – JudicialTech and ODR: The future of AI and the rule of law

Jeremy is a practicing barrister and Honorary Professor of Algorithmic Regulation at University College London. He was the founder of the Court 21 project at Leeds University, which was an academic joint venture between the departments of Law, Computing and the Leeds University Business School, together with Courtroom 21. For many years, Jeremy has been part of the ODR academic community and has participated in a number of ‘Moot Court’ trials at Williamsburg, often from the UK.

At UCL, together with Philip Treleaven, he formed the Construction Blockchain Consortium and ‘Digital Distruption’ at the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, where he has concentrated on use of emerging technologies in the Real Estate Sector.

Together with Philp Treleaven and his team at UCL, Jeremy has co authored a number of papers on the role of emerging technologies in the Real Estate sector, many of which can be found here DigitalDisruption.

Jeremy also sits as a Recorder in both Criminal and Civil Cases in the Crown and County Courts. His practice is in regulatory law (especially cryptocurrency), fraud and professional discipline.  He is head of Regulatory at St Pauls Chambers in Leeds and also a member of Gough Square Chambers (GSC) in London. 

Prof. Michael Fang – ODR in China

A law professor at Nanchang University，a senior member of Complaw Committee of China Computer Federation (CCF)  and an associated researcher at Cyberjustice Laboratory of Université de Montréal. He holds a JD from Washington University in St. Louis. Michael has been a leading advocate for the use of ODR as an appropriate and alternative process for dispute resolution in China since 2011. In September 2016, Michael Fang co-chaired the 16th international ODR forum held in Beijing which enabled many Chinese experts and leaders from various fields to discuss ODR issues with international ODR experts from different countries. In October 2016, Fang helped set up an ODR process for the International Commercial Mediation Center for the Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing and incorporated the UNCITRAL Technical Notes on ODR (Technical Notes) into the new mediation rule. Also, Fang has promoted ODR to resolve cross-border e-commerce transaction disputes at E-business Better Service (EBS) , a professional organization authorized by local government officials to build a better e-commerce environment in Shenzhen city. 

Michael has also used his expertise and international experience to support the deliberations of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group. In 2015, Michael attended the 32nd session of UNCITRAL Working Group III (ODR). He participated in modifying the introduction of the Technical Notes and ensured that the introduction included ODR elements such as “impartiality, independence, speedy (it was replaced by ‘secure’ in the final session, see below), efficiency, effectiveness, fairness, fast, accountability, independence, simple and transparency” (thus making the acronym for ODR elements “I SEE FAST” ). In 2016, Michael Fang attended the 33rd or the final session of the UNCITRAL Working Group III , serving “double duty” as an observer for the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR) and the China Society of Private International Law (CSPIL). Michael Fang succeeded in making a proposal entitled ” [s]uggestion of introduction of the term ‘ security’ into the outcome document reflecting elements and principles of an ODR process”. In 2022, as a member of Inclusive Global Legal Innovation Platform on Online Dispute Resolution（iGLIP on ODR）, Michael attended the UNCITRAL Colloquium on Possible Future Work on Dispute Settlement, taking part in the discussion on developing a possible international legal instrument on  “Access to Justice and the Role of Online Dispute Resolution” which was submitted by iGLIP on ODR.  

Simmi K. Sandhu –  CRT’s role in the civil justice sector in BC (British Columbia, Canada)

Simmi K. Sandhu is Chair of the Civil Resolution Tribunal of BC effective August 15, 2022. She is also currently a Judge of the United Nations Appeal Tribunal having been appointed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2018.

She is trained as a lawyer and was called to the BC Bar in 1990. Her areas of private practice included administrative law, civil litigation, corporate/commercial law and real estate transactions.

In addition, she has extensive experience in quasi-judicial proceedings, having acted as a chairperson of the Board of Referees for over six years. She also has training and experience in conflict resolution and mediation.

Prior to the CRT, she was appointed Chair and CEO of the Property Assessment Appeal Board from 2015 to 2022, having been Vice Chair of the Board from 2001-2015. She was also Vice Chair of the Surface Rights Board until 2021.

Simmi was past President and Director of the British Columbia Council of Administrative Tribunals (BCCAT) and is currently an instructor for BCCAT. She has instructed many adjudicators on administrative law, hearing skills and decision writing, including the Benchers of the Law Societies of BC and Alberta, as well as members of the Civil Resolution Tribunal, BC Utilities Commission, Simon Fraser University, et al.

In 2014, Simmi was awarded BCCAT’s Award for Exceptional Service to the Administrative Tribunal Community. She also served as a member of the Canadian Bar Association’s (BC Branch) Equality and Diversity Committee.

Prof. Nicolás Lozada-Pimiento – ODR in Latin American Courts

Nicolás Lozada-Pimiento is a Colombian attorney. He holds LL.M. degrees from New York University and the National University of Singapore. He teaches at Universidad Externado, Universidad De La Sabana, Universidad Javeriana, Universidad ICESI, among other Colombian universities.

Nicolás Lozada Pimiento is the CEO and innovation manager of REDEK and Creo, two ODR-based startups. He is also a partner at Rincón Cuellar & Asociados, where he has focused his practice in the areas of LegalTech, dispute resolution and international trade.

He also has held legal positions as a consultant and negotiator on trade in services and foreign investment at the Colombian Ministry of Trade, advisor on international affairs to the Colombian Minister of Justice, foreign consultant at the Latin American Arbitration Group of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (Washington D.C and Paris), and as attorney at the World Trade Organization (Geneva).