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Saturday, April 18, 2009

Online Dispute Resolution




ODR- Online Dispute Resolution-

Here are some resources for resolving disputes online.

1. Squaretrade- eBay buyers and sellers

I worked at Squaretrade for over five years and mediated over 6000 cases. Although they have discontinued mediation services(they are mostly in the warranty business now), they are a good model for online disputes. There are several differences between online dispute mediation and face-to-face mediation. Here are some of them.

A. There are no visual cues and no inflection of the voice. It is almost impossible to be sarcastic or ironic online.

B. Jokes bomb on the internet. Jokes succeed in the delivery and there can be no delivery online.

C. Emails can sound very cold and impersonal. They need to be embellished with some friendly salutations and interest in the parties.

D. Parties can feel neglected online so the mediator must make regular contact to tell both parties what is going on. The Mediator may be caucusing with one party and the other party is wondering what is going on and can become frustrated if not given regular updates.

E. Mediation online can be freeing because generally the mediator does not know the national origin, religion, race, and sometimes sex of the parties. This allows the mediator to concentrate on the issues.

2. Arbitration Online
You may want to look into Arbitration services Online.

A. AAA Mediator and Arbitrator ODR
http://www.aaamediation.com/
The American Arbitration Association does both Arbitration and Mediation online. The Arbitration program has companies, such as a utility, which lists AAA as the arbitrator for any claims in its brochure. AAA does online training for independent contractor arbitrators in each state and assigns the arbitrators cases online. They are mostly default cases, but some costumers do file responses. The arbitrators are paid a fee per case

B. Internet-Arbitration http://www.net-arb.com/
There are some companies that only do arbitration online. Check the site for an application to become an arbitrator.

3. U-Mass ODR Center (Cyberweek) http://www.odr.info/
Every year in September, the University of Massachusetts ODR Center sponsors Cyberweek. This brings together practitioners all over the world to discuss online ODR issues. The proceedings of previous years are available online. There is a moot court mediation competition and online opportunities to find out the cutting edge innovations of the previous year. It is a good way to connect to online mediators globally.

4. Fair Outcomes http://appellex.com/
This is a new company using game theory in resolving disputes. Some of it is initially counter-intuitive and then suddenly makes a lot of sense. There is a format for parties to resolve disputes themselves online and then if it is not resolved, the parties can use an arbitrator for the final decision. Check out the website.


5. Mediation Arbitration Resolution Services (MARS),
http://www.resolvemydispute.com/
Check out this website for a site that does mediation and arbitration.

6. Cybersettle, http://cybersettle.com/
Cybersettle has done much of the technology used to resolve disputes. They have partnerships with the City of New York and American Arbitration Association. If you want to do mediation, you can use their software.

7 New book- Cross-border Internet Dispute Resolution by Julia
Hornle, Cambridge University Press, February 2009
This new book details some of the laws in cross-border Internet Dispute Resolution, especially in Europe. She also shows some model applications.

I am constantly updating my list since new trends, sites and articles are coming out all the time. Start googling and see if anything new pertains to you or your practice. Personally, I have found online mediation very satisfying and a lot of fun.



Mary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author of
How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Winner of six book awards
Best How To Book, DIY Festival
Runner Up, New York Book Festival, E-Book and Self-Help Category
Finalist ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards
Finalist, Best National Book Awards, Self-Help Category
Honorable Mention, London Book Festival
How To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes
Winner of five book awards
Best National Book AWard, Law Category
Best E-Book, New York Book Festival
Best How To Book, Beach Book Festival
Best E-Book, Indie Excellence Awards
Spirit AWard, South Florida Writers Association
Email: howtonegotiate@aol.com
www.marygreenwood.com

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