The ICODR Podcast

Episode 34: Graham Ross on the 2025 ODR Forum in London April 29-30 (odr2025.org)

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian interviews ODR pioneer Graham Ross about the 2025 ODR Forum he's hosting in London April 29-30 (more information at odr2025.org).
About Graham
Graham is Founder and President of TheMediationRoom.com.  He is a UK lawyer and mediator with over 20 years experience in IT and the law. Graham is the author of legal application software (accounts and time recording) and the founder of LAWTEL, the popular web-based legal information update service.
He co-founded the first ODR service in the UK, WeCanSettle, and designed the blind bidding software at the heart of the system. Graham subsequently founded TheMediationRoom.com, for whom he designed their online mediation platform. 
Graham speaks regularly at international conferences on the impact of the law on the Internet and e-commerce and on the application of technology to ADR. Graham was host of the 5th International Conference on Online Dispute Resolution held in Liverpool, UK, in 2007. And one key reason for talking with Graham is that he will again be hosting - or co-hosting - the annual ODR Forum (ODR2025.org), this time in London in April this year. 
Graham has been at the heart of ODR developments, not least through his ongoing commitment to the Board of ICODR and their work on standards for ODR.

Episode 33: Lissa Gerking of Leibniz University Hannover on Tradeoffs Between Efficiency and Quality in ODR

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Lissa Gerking of the Federal Bar Association in Brussels, and Chair in Civil Law, German, European and International Civil Procedure at the Leibniz University Hannover.  They discuss how the digital transformation of justice can reduce the focus on the core principle of a fair trial, sidelining several procedurally important aspects of in person hearings.  ODR's global adoption is being driven  primarily by efficiency, but that efficiency may be achieved at the expense of justice. Fast justice is not always better justice.  
Every society is different, with different stakeholders -- and litigants may have different levels of digital literacy in different countries. There may also be issues around the quality internet access available to individuals, challenges around distinguishing safe and unsafe online locations, and accessing safe and secure places to engage in online processes.  If we are to effectively design a new justice system that leverages technology, we must remain cognizant of these challenges around access. awareness, and understanding of technology.
More information about Lissa:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lissa-gerking-689061160/?originalSubdomain=de

Episode 32: Professor Ayelet Sela of Bar Ilan University on ODR for Self-Represented Litigants

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Ayelet Sela, lecturer at the Faculty of Law in Bar Ilan University. Dr. Sela’s scholarship and teaching revolve around dispute system design, law and technology, courts, and empirical legal studies. Her recent academic work focuses on procedural design, procedural justice and access to justice in online courts and tribunals as well as in hybrid (remote) proceedings. She is particularly interested in exploring how the justice system can best serve self-represented individuals in these contexts. In addition, Dr. Sela collaborates with data scientists on the application of machine learning methods to legal data and studies questions related to the use of AI tools in governance mechanisms and judicial contexts.
Previously, Dr. Sela was a senior fellow of the Jean Monett Center on Digital Governance, a founding member of the BIU LawData Lab, and a member of the Bar-Ilan University Data Science Institute. She also clerked for the Honorable Justice Eliezer Rivlin in the Israeli Supreme Court and worked as an auditor for the Israeli Ministry of Justice. Dr. Sela holds a JSD and JSM from Stanford Law School and an LL.B and “Amirim” Honors Program diploma from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Episode 31: Mediate.com EVP Clare Fowler on the ethical dilemmas of bringing AI into dispute resolution

In this part two episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Clare Fowler, Executive Vice President of Mediate.com, on the ethical ramifications of using AI in dispute resolution.
Clare Fowler is Executive Vice-President and Managing Editor at Mediate.com, as well as a professor at the University of Oregon and a practicing workplace mediator. Clare received her Master's of Dispute Resolution from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law and her Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, focused on reducing workplace conflicts, from Pepperdine University School of Education. Clare also coordinated the career development program for The Straus Institute dispute resolution students. In 2023, Clare published Rising Above Office Conflict: The Light-Hearted Guide for the Heavy-Hearted Employee.

Episode 30: Mediate.com EVP Clare Fowler on AI and the Future of ODR

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Clare Fowler, Executive Vice President of Mediate.com, on the future of AI and ODR, and the new International Bar Association standards for using AI in dispute resolution.
Clare Fowler is Executive Vice-President and Managing Editor at Mediate.com, as well as a professor at the University of Oregon and a practicing workplace mediator. Clare received her Master's of Dispute Resolution from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law and her Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, focused on reducing workplace conflicts, from Pepperdine University School of Education. Clare also coordinated the career development program for The Straus Institute dispute resolution students. In 2023, Clare published Rising Above Office Conflict: The Light-Hearted Guide for the Heavy-Hearted Employee.

Episode 29: Leah Wing and Zbynek Loebl on impressions from the 2024 ODR Forum (odr2024.org)

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Zbynek Loebl and Leah Wing about the 2024 ODR Forum, which took place in Prague June 5-6, 2024.
 
Zbynek is of counsel at PRK Partners in Prague. He specialises in the field of Internet law and legal aspects of ICT and technology projects. With extensive experience in internet law, convergent services, electronic communications, e-commerce, personal data protection, cyber security and intellectual property, he has been a pioneer in the field of ODR for twenty years. Zbynek is a fellow of The National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR). He has also participated in a number of international projects related to cross-border online dispute resolution. He is an author of a book Designing Online Courts (The Future Of Justice Is Open To All), Kluwer Law International, 2019.
 
Leah is a Professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, as well as the Director of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR). Leah heads the Ethical Principles for Online Dispute Resolution initiative of NCTDR and serves on the ABA Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Standards Taskforce and the ABA Technology Committee. Leah has taught dispute resolution since 1993 and served as a researcher on early experiments in online dispute resolution. Leah is on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution and of Conflict Resolution Quarterly, served two terms on the Association of Conflict Resolution Board of Directors, and is on the advisory board of ODREurope. Leah is also the founding director of the Social Justice Mediation Institute.

Episode 28: Zbynek Loebl on decentralized, open source ODR and AI

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Zbynek Loebl, of counsel at PRK Partners in Prague, and host of the upcoming ODR Forum meeting http://odr2024.org .
 
Zbynek Loebl specialises in the field of Internet law and legal aspects of ICT and technology projects. A specialist in internet law, convergent services, electronic communications, e-commerce, personal data protection, cyber security and intellectual property, he has been a pioneer in the field of ODR for twenty years.
Zbynek worked at IT Law Europe, a free association of lawyers specialised in modern technologies law from its onset; he was the only lawyer from Central Europe. For several years, he was the Czech representative to the International Technology Law Association. Zbynek is a fellow of The National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR). He has also participated in a number of international projects related to cross-border online dispute resolution.
He is a Panellist of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center in Geneva for the resolution of domain name disputes under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and of the Arbitration Court Attached to the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic and Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic both for disputes related to .eu domain names and in standard arbitration proceedings.
Zbynek is an author of a book Designing Online Courts (The Future Of Justice Is Open To All), Kluwer Law International, 2019.

Episode 27: Sanjana Hattotuwa on technology, disinformation, and peace

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Dr. Sanjana Hattotuwa, pioneer in ICT for peacebuilding and citizen journalism.
 
Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa has recently returned to Sri Lanka after a several years in New Zealand where he completed his doctorate at Otago University with a thesis on "Liking hate? Social media, politics, and conflict in Sri Lanka." He has also been Research Director with the Disinformation Project [https://thedisinfoproject.org/]
 
Since 2001, Sanjana has been at the forefront of pioneering the integration of technology into peacebuilding initiatives. In 2007, he founded and continued to curate until June 2020, the award-winning Groundviews [https://groundviews.org/], Sri Lanka's first citizen journalism website. His expertise extends beyond Sri Lanka, and South Asia, and covers work in five continents for over two decades, working on civic media, information disorders, new media literacy, web activism, digital security, and online advocacy. 
 
Since 2006, Sanjana has been Special Adviser to the ICT for Peace Foundation [https://ict4peace.org/activities/], with a focus on providing strategic insights and guidance in the deployment of ICTs for the intricate facets of crisis early warning, prevention, management, and recovery. 
 
Between 2002 and 2020, Sanjana was Senior Researcher, Centre for Policy Alternatives [https://www.cpalanka.org/] with a focus on secure strategies for online and mobile communication. In 2002, he played a pivotal role as a lead architect in devising an online negotiation platform, and related information support systems that bolstered crucial engagements, and research surrounding the Track 1, 2, and 2.5 ceasefire agreement processes.