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The pandemic taught us that we can handle a lot more of our legal disputes online. Sure, it might end up creating some embarrassment or surprise jail time, but for the majority of us, moving online just makes everything more efficient.
The American Arbitration Association sees the same opening, and announced yesterday that it’s buying ODR.com and its parent company, Resourceful Internet Solutions, to bring more online dispute resolution products into its toolbox.
The immediate focus of the alliance will be expanding AAA’s mediation services by developing a suite of online dispute resolution (ODR) products. “Demand for ODR is growing rapidly worldwide, and working with the AAA will keep us on the cutting edge,” said RIS CEO Colin Rule. “Our shared goal is to make ADR an accessible choice for everyone, and this alliance will enable us to achieve that goal at an unprecedented level.”
ODR will remain a for-profit entity, but the team that previously built dispute mechanisms for eBay and PayPal will now bring its expertise to bear on expanding AAA’s online offerings.
In an interview with Bob Ambrogi over at LawSites, RIS CEO Colin Rule described another force multiplier:
For Rule, one aspect of the acquisition that particularly excites him is the ability to combine AI technology with the deep wells of data that the AAA has accumulated over its 100 years of existence.
“I think it’s going to allow us to have a step-function increase in access to justice,” he said. “It’s not going to be a gradual 1 or 2% per year…. Over time, building out these tools in line with the best practices and ethical guidelines we have in the field, I think this is going to be a hugely positive thing.”
There’s a lot of justified skepticism over the role artificial intelligence will play in expanding access to justice writ large. While the technology exhibits a lot of potential, it also easily risks becoming yet another tool for the haves to crush the have nots. But opening up arbitration to more people presents one of the most concrete access-to-justice opportunities. Arbitration is a cheaper alternative and an online, AI-assisted arbitration solution could get faster and easier results for tons of potential litigants.
It’s an adapt or die world out there, and as it approaches its 100th birthday, the AAA is embracing the future.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
