About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

2020 J. Disp. Resol. 135 (2020)
Designing Online Dispute Resolution

handle is hein.journals/jdisres2020 and id is 137 raw text is: Designing Online Dispute Resolution By Janet K Martinez* I. INTRODUCTION This Essay stems from my role as a commenter for a panel discussion among leading thinkers on the topic of online dispute resolution (ODR).' Generally, ODR utilizes information and communication technology to prevent, manage, and resolve disputes. The conference served as a timely pause to assess what ODR is, how it fills diverse functions in the dispute resolution field, and when it can better meet the needs of parties and increase the accessibility and transparency of dispute resolution.2 The panelists highlighted their study of consumer, commercial, and judicial ODR. As a follow-up, this Essay compares examples offered by the panelists through the lens of dispute system design: the study of the process and product of resolving disputes of a specific category. ODR emerged from the unique needs of online e-commerce where it was geographically and legally infeasible to bring disputes to court for resolution.' In this global online marketplace, eBay was the first to use ODR, building a private online option to address disputes arising from transactions conducted through the site.4 Since that time, ODR platforms have unfolded in both private and public domains. Now, nearly fifty courts in the United States-as well as courts in Canada, the Netherlands, India, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and China-have established ODR process options. ODR potentially enables efficiency through processes that are faster and cheaper-a difference in degree relative to traditional, face-to-face processes. My modest experience as an online mediator suggests a difference in kind, as well in the qualities of online processes. For example, users experience a difference in the use of various communication channels-synchronous versus asynchronous and textual versus visual, respectively, relative to the synchronous, visual communication of face-to-face dispute resolution.5 The experience of online dispute handling may feel foreign to some who prefer person-to-person contact, while the opposite may be true for those who have been online since childhood. * Senior Lecturer in Law and Director, Martin Daniel Gould Center for Conflict Resolution, Stanford Law School. My deep thanks to Colin Rule for introducing me to the world of ODR. I appreciate his comments, as well as those of Stephanie Smith, Amy Schmitz, and Jean Stemlight on this piece; my gratitude to Peter John for research and editing assistance. 1. We presented at a session of the Association of American Law Schools annual meeting in New Orleans in January 2019. My co-panelists included Peter Reilly, Alyson Carrel, Ethan Katsh, David Larson, Amy Schmitz, Colin Rule (by video), and Jean Sternlight, to whom I am very grateful for their stimulating prompts. 2. Colin Rule, Technology and the Future of Dispute Resolution, DIsP. RESOL. MAG. 4, 7 (Winter 2015), http://www.colinrule.com/writing/drmag.pdf. 3. Id. at 5. 4. Louis F. Del Duca, Colin Rule, & Kathryn Rimpfel, eBay's de Facto Low Value High Volume Resolution Process: Lessons andBestPracticesfor ODR Systems Designers, 6 ARB. L. REV. 204 (2014). 5. For example, texting or face-to-face would be synchronous (communicating in real time), whereas email would be asynchronous, with a time lag between messages. Communication can be textual (text or email) or visual (video, such as skype).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most