ODR Forum Montreal 2023 |The State and Future of ODR

Prof. Karim Benyekhlef (Moderator)

Karim Benyekhlef has been a professor in the Faculty of Law at the Université de Montréal since 1989. He has been seconded to the Centre de recherche en droit public since 1990 and served as its Director from 2006 to 2014. He was also the Director of the Regroupement stratégique Droit, changements et gouvernance (Strategic Law, Change and Governance Group), which brings together more than 50 researchers, from 2006 to 2014. At the same time, he was the Scientific Director of the Centre d’études et de recherches internationales de l’Université de Montréal (CÉRIUM – the Université de Montréal’s International Research and Study Centre) from 2009 to 2012.

He also initiated the first online dispute resolution projects (the CyberTribunal Project, 1996-1999; eResolution, 1999-2001; ECODIR, 2000-2005).  He now serves as Director of the Cyberjustice Laboratory, the work of which is designed to increase and facilitate access to justice. From 2011 to 2018, he lead a project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada in the context of the Major Collaborative Research Initiatives (MCRI) Program: Rethinking Procedural Law: Towards Cyberjustice, composed of an international team made up of some 30 researchers from over 23 different universities in Canada, the United States, Australia and Europe. He is now leading the project «Autonomy through Cyberjustice Technologies and Artificial Intelligence» (ACT Project) funded by the partnership program of SSHRC (2018-2024). ACT aims to increase access to justice through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Over the next 6 years, ACT will be able to count on a multidisciplinary and international team of 50 researchers, as well as 42 partners including research centers, public institutions, legal professionals, representatives from civil society and private sector actors.

He holds the Chaire de recherche en information juridique Lexum (Lexum Research Chair on Legal Information). He received in 2016 from the Bar of Quebec the distinction Advocatus Emeritus. He holds the 2019-2020 Alexandre Koyré Excellence Research Chair. A recognized expert and pioneer in cyberjustice at the national and international levels, he has been a guest speaker or organizer at nearly 300 events for organizations, universities and courts around the world. With Pierre-Luc Déziel, he published in 2018 a casebook on the right to privacy in Quebec and Canada: Le droit à la vie privée en droit québécois et canadien, Montréal, Thomson-Reuters, 2018. His most recent work, in 2021, is AI and Law. A Critical Overview, a collective book presenting the effects of AI on law and justice.

Dr. Ernest Thiessen

Dr Thiessen is President of iCan Systems Inc., the developer of the Smartsettle eNegotiation system. Dr Thiessen has led iCan’s research and development efforts since 1993 to implement the ICANS patent, creating the world’s first secure multiparty collaborative negotiation support system on the Internet.

Dr Thiessen also directs the International eNegotiation Exhibition and was a lecturer in 2010 for UNESCO-IHE’s Negotiation and Mediation for Water Conflict Management course. Dr Thiessen has been a guest speaker at many of the Annual International Forums on Online Dispute Resolution since they began in 2002 and is on the editorial board of the first international journal dedicated to ODR – The International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution.

Prior to founding iCan Systems Inc., Dr Thiessen worked for 17 years as a consulting engineer and researcher in Canada and in Nepal.

Dr Thiessen received his PhD degree from Cornell University in 1993, majoring in Water Resource Systems Planning and Analysis in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. While at Cornell University, Dr Thiessen developed an efficient methodology to solve very complex negotiation problems. This methodology has been patented and implemented in the form of eight algorithms that are fundamental to collaborative negotiations seeking fair and efficient resolutions. The resulting intelligent engine now powers both Smartsettle ONE (for the simplest possible cases) and Smartsettle Infinity (for the most difficult multiparty cases).

Prof. Colin Rule (Modérateur)

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.

Prof. Michael Fang

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.  

Prof. Nicolás Lozada-Pimiento

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).

Mrs. Lora Bansley

Lora was appointed as the Registrar of the Court of King’s Bench for Saskatchewan in July of 2023. Prior to that Lora was the Director of the e-Justice program at the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, working on projects to transform and modernize dispute resolution through the implementation of online information and online dispute resolution. This includes providing free legal information and self-help tools, and as appropriate for the dispute type, early collaborate dispute resolution through online negotiation, facilitation, and mediation.  The e-Justice team participated in the Consumer Disputes Online Dispute Resolution Project that was implemented in the Spring of 2023. The project was recently selected as a recipient of the Deputy Minister to the Premier Awards of Excellence for Exemplary Service to the Citizen.

Lora is a legal professional of 25 + years with a passion and dedication to innovation that makes a difference for people and improves access to justice. Lora has over 15 years experience in business transformations involving technology, with a successful track record in conceptualizing, analyzing and implementing transformation initiatives. Lora received her LLB degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1996 and was called to the Saskatchewan Bar in 1997.

Abstract: In this presentation, I will discuss my experience with implementing ODR in Saskatchewan. The presentation will cover considerations in choosing the first project and dispute resolution type to first implement ODR in your jurisdiction based on lessons learned. The presentation will provide an overview of the Consumer Disputes Online Dispute Resolution solution implemented in March of 2023 that has revolutionized how consumers and businesses manage disputes, including the process for a consumer or business to resolve a dispute in the solution. The presentation will conclude with sharing the tangible benefits experienced since the launch including the early statistics that have been collected.

Prof. Ethan Katsh

Ethan Katsh is widely recognized as the founder of the field of online dispute resolution (ODR). Along with Janet Rifkin, he co-founded the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution and together they wrote Online Dispute Resolution: Resolving Conflicts in Cyberspace (2001), the first book about ODR. Since then, he has published numerous articles about ODR and co-edited Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice (2nd ed., 2021). The frequently mentioned metaphor of technology as a “Fourth Party” was first proposed in Katsh and Rifkin’s Online Dispute Resolution (2001). Most recently, he wrote, with Orna Rabinovich-Einy, Digital Justice: Technology and the Internet of Disputes.

Professor Katsh was the Recipient of  2017 D’Alemberte-Raven Award  from the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution. He is a graduate of the Yale Law School and was one of the first legal scholars to recognize the impact new information technologies would have on law. Professor Katsh has served as principal online dispute resolution consultant for the US Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), a federal agency mandated to provide mediation in Freedom of Information Act disputes. During 2010-2011, he was the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Haifa (Israel).He has been Visiting Professor of Law and Cyberspace at Brandeis University and In 2014-2015, he was an  Affiliate of Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. 

Justice Jean-François Roberge (Moderator)

Jean-François Roberge has been a judge at the Court of Québec since September 2020. Prior to that date, he was Professor and Director of the Dispute Prevention and Resolution (PRO) programs at the Université de Sherbrooke’s Faculty of Law. He holds a doctorate in law (LL.D.), a master’s degree in psychology (M.SC.) and a master’s degree in dispute resolution (L.L.M.). Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was a lawyer, a member of the Quebec Bar and an accredited mediator with the Institut de médiation et d’arbitrage du Québec (IMAQ). During his professorial career, Judge Roberge was a member of the Advisory Committee on Trade Disputes of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Centre de justice de proximité de la Montérégie. He has been – and continues to be – interested in the evolution of law and the administration of justice. He is co-founder of the Groupe pour la prévention et le règlement des différends (G-PRD) research laboratory, and has been a research associate at the Cyberjustice Laboratory and on the Accès au droit et Accès à la Justice (ADAJ) project at the Université de Montréal’s Centre de recherche en droit public (CRDP). He won the Best Doctoral Thesis Award in 2007 and the Université de Sherbrooke’s Research and Creation Award in 2017. Judge Roberge is a specialist in conciliation and judicial mediation. He was hired by the National Judicial Institute of Canada (NJI) to train judges in Quebec and other Canadian provinces. For several years, he participated in training sessions on judicial conciliation and mediation delivered by France’s École nationale de la magistrature (ENM). He has also directed training programs in civil and commercial mediation in many West African countries.

Dr. Frank Fowlie

Dr. Frank Fowlie is the Deputy Chair of the Commonwealth Games Federation Ethics Commission. He served as Commissioner with Athletics Canada. Frank was Vice Chair of the Canadian Sport Institute, Pacific.

Dr. Frank Fowlie served as the Independent Mediator with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (2015-2016) and as the Ombudsman at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2012-2015). He was the inaugural Ombudsman at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN is the agency which administers the global domain name system which serves as the backbone for the Internet (2004 – 2011).  Frank is a mediator with the Green Climate Fund based in Korea.

Frank also served as a Capacity Building Consultant with the World Bank in Pakistan, specifically working with the Ombudsman of the Province of Balochistan (2015). Frank was on the Mediation Roster with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (2013 – 2019) and served six years as a Director of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (2009-2015).  Frank served as the Chef de Mission for the Individual Olympic Athletes from East Timor at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

Frank holds a Doctor of Conflict Resolution (DCR) from La Trobe University, Melbourne, and is a Fellow with the Centre for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.  Frank holds the designation of Chartered Mediator.  Frank was awarded the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal for his work with the UN in East Timor. In 2010 Frank was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Regina Alumni Association.  Frank began his career as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  He is presently a Member of the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

Prof. Laurent Charlin

[Current] Associate Professor at HEC Montréal (U. Montreal’s business school).

Assistant Professor at HEC Montréal.

Postdoc at McGill University. Advised by Joelle Pineau.

Postdoc at Princeton University and Columbia University. Advised by David Blei.

Ph.D. in the machine learning group at the University of Toronto. Advised by Richard Zemel and Craig Boutilier.

Master’s at the University of Waterloo. Advised by Pascal Poupart.

Dr. Karl Branting

Dr. Karl Branting is Chief Scientist in the Human Language Technology department of The MITRE Corporation. Dr. Branting’s current research focuses on applying artificial intelligence and computational linguistics to improve access to justice for self-represented litigants. Dr. Branting received a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin, a J.D. from Georgetown University, and a B.A., magna cum laude in philosophy, from the University of Colorado. Dr. Branting was the president of the International Association for Artificial Intelligence and Law (2004-2005) and was a United States Supreme Court Fellow (2001-2002).

Mr. Robert Bergman

A total of 60 years of experience in decision sciences, software engineering, business strategy simulation, defense, Scenario Planning, System Dynamics Modeling, AI, and market research. Mr. Bergman’s background and years of experience of applying quantitative decision methodologies at Intel to improve international standards, negotiations and strategic business decisions bring a unique perspective to the practice of mediating disputes. 

Dr. Leah Wing

Dr. Leah Wing is Director of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR) and Senior Lecturer II, Legal Studies Program, Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. Leah is co-founder and Board President of the International Council for Online Dispute Resolution (ICODR). She heads the Ethical Principles for Online Dispute Resolution initiative of NCTDR and co-led the development of ODR Standards for NCTDR and ICODR. Leah is a member of the International Organization for Standardization Working Group on Online Dispute Resolution. She has taught dispute resolution since 1993 and has served as a researcher on early experiments in online dispute resolution. Her present research projects focus on ethics and ODR, crowdsourcing and spatial justice, and technological responses to digital harm doing. Leah serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution and Conflict Resolution Quarterly, has served two terms on the Association of Conflict Resolution Board of Directors, and is on the advisory board of ODREurope. A mediation trainer and consultant, Leah has worked with hundreds of agencies and organizations both in the U.S. and internationally. Her recent publications include:

·      Wing, L. “Mapping the Parameters of Online Dispute Resolution.” International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution Vol. 9, No.1, 2022, 3-16.

·      Wing, L. with Draper, C. Framing the Parameters of Online Dispute Resolution. National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution, 2022.

Wing, L., Martinez, J., Katsh, E. and Rule, C. « Designing Ethical Online Dispute Resolution Systems: The Rise of the Fourth Party.” Negotiation Journal 37(1), Special Issue: Artificial Intelligence, Technology, and Negotiation, Winter 2021, 49-64

Dr. Chris Draper

Chris Draper, Ph.D., P.E., helps humans make fewer errors when using technology. This expertise was gained through a career of analyzing and reducing the operational risk of how humans interface with technology systems. Chris currently serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Third Coast Commodities, a firm that produces, trades, and ships materials which become products like renewable diesel. In that role he is responsible for all aspects of designing, implementing, and overseeing the technology facilitating its operational and legal obligations. Chris concurrently serves as Founding Advisor for ESG RACs guiding development of its ESG compliance validation and value trading platform. His most recent experience with innovative technology systems includes the development and operation of dispute resolution systems for the legal, court, and educational spaces as Managing Director with Trokt of Des Moines, Iowa; and as a Venture Partner contributing to the FrontierTech evaluation team with VU Venture Partners in San Francisco, California. Chris currently provides strategic leadership within a wide rage of communities as Commissioner for Plan and Zoning in the City of Des Moines, Iowa; Fellow with the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution; and Visiting Scholar with the Indiana University Ostrom Workshop. His publications range from the application of catastrophe modelling in operational risk assessment to labor advocacy in the gig economy, and standards for online dispute resolution system design to the ethical application of artificial intelligence in high-consequence process-dependent systems.

Chris received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Glasgow. 

His LinkedIn profile can be found at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherhdraper

Prof. Amy Schmitz

Professor Amy J. Schmitz is a full professor at The Ohio State Moritz College of Law and Program on Dispute Resolution as the John Deaver Drinko-Baker & Hostetler Endowed Chair in Law and a Co-Director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute (TDAI) for Responsible Data Science at The Ohio State University.  She is also affiliated with The Ohio State Program on Data Governance and is a Co-PI with the Divided Community Project. Before teaching at Ohio State, Professor Schmitz taught at the University of Missouri School of Law and Center for Dispute Resolution as the Elwood L. Thomas Missouri Endowed Professor of Law, starting in 2016. Previously she was a Professor at the University of Colorado School of Law for over 16 years. Prior to teaching, Professor Schmitz practiced law with large law firms in Seattle and Minneapolis and served as a law clerk for the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. Professor Schmitz teaches courses in Contracts, Lawyering and Problem-Solving, Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), Arbitration, International Arbitration, Social Media and Conflict, and Consumer Law. She has been heavily involved in Arbitration and ODR teaching and research for a long time and is a Fellow of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution, as well as the Co-Chair of the ABA Technology Committee of the Dispute Resolution Section and the ODR Task Force.  Professor Schmitz is also an elected member of the American Law Institute and the 2023 winner of the Association of American Law Schools Technology, Law and Legal Education Section Award.

Professor Schmitz has delivered over 170 presentations and hosts The Arbitration Conversation, a highly regarded webcast that moved to a podcast after reaching 115 episodes. She also is a researcher with the ACT Project exploring AI and dispute resolution at the Cyberjustice Lab in Montreal, Canada, and is heavily involved in discussions and research around technology and access to justice. She has published over 65 articles in law journals and books, is a co-author of the leading casebook, Resolving Disputes: Theory, Practice and Law (Aspen 2021), the new book with Stipanowich, Arbitration: Theory, Practice and Law (Aspen 2022) and a book with C. Rule, The New Handshake: Online Dispute Resolution and the Future of Consumer Protection (ABA 2017). She has received the prestigious CPR Award for one of her articles as well as the CPR Book Award in 2023. Amy has been an Expert Consultant on two USAID Projects, and a Fulbright Specialist, and does research, teaching and presentations throughout the world.

Mr. Zbyněk Loebl

Zbynek has managed the first e-justice projects in the Czech Republic, including a project on the preparation of the first online civil court or the project for introduction of online dispute resolution (ODR) into administrative process of resolving traffic fines cases. Zbynek has also initiated currently running EU-funded project Scheme. He also introduced an international concept of decentralized ODR called Open ODR (www.openodr.org).

Zbynek was founder of Youstice, a pioneering company for cross-border consumer ODR. Zbynek also managed an international team which implemented ODR for .eu-related disputes.

Zbynek is a fellow of The National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR) and founding member of International Council for Online Dispute Resolution (ICODR).

Zbynek is an author of a book Designing Online Courts (The Future Of Justice Is Open To All), Kluwer Law International, 2019 and co-author of a book in Czech language Online soudnictví v České republice, Wolters Kluwer, 2021. 

Prof. Vincent Gautrais

Vincent Gautrais is a Full Professor at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Law, as well as researcher at the Centre de recherche en droit public (CRDP). On June 1st 2015, he was appointed Chairholder of the L.R. Wilson Chair in Information Technology and E-Commerce Law.  He teaches several courses in information technology law and business law. Since 1992, he has been doing research, writing books and articles, giving conferences on Electronic Business Law, Electronic Contracts, Cyber-consumption, Network Security, Dispute Resolution by and for the Internet, Intellectual Property and Privacy.
From June 1st, 2005 to May 31th, 2015, he has held the Université de Montréal Excellency Chair in Security and Internet Law. Prior to teaching at the University of Montréal, he was a Professor in the common law section at the University of Ottawa. He holds Licence and Master’s degrees from the Université de Rennes 1 in France and LLD, LLM and LLB degrees from the University of Montréal. His doctoral thesis was published in 2002 by Bruylant (Brussels), and is entitled “Le contrat électronique international”. Vincent Gautrais is also a lawyer, member of the Barreau du Québec.

Mr. Mubarak Nurudeen

Mubarak Nurudeen is a Legal Practitioner and Researcher with a bias for dispute resolution and Corporate law. He completed his first law degree at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria and was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 2019 and 2021 respectively. Mubarak gained valuable experience in the dispute resolution practice group at one of Nigeria’s prominent firms, Babalakin and Co; from 2021 to 2022. During this time, he provided adept guidance and managed disputes for a diverse clientele, including International Oil Companies (IOCs), Financial Institutions, and Telecom companies, representing them before superior courts and both ad hoc and institutional arbitral tribunals. He additionally extends his expertise to provide advisory services to a promising Nigerian technological startup, Droitware, in the areas of dispute management and regulatory compliance, thereby guiding the startup’s strategic decisions.

Presently, Mubarak is pursuing an LLM with specialization in Corporate and Finance Law, at the Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University, U.S.A. He concurrently serves as a Student Legal Researcher at the Office of Technology, Digital Innovation and eLearning. In this capacity, he collaborates with the state authorization team to ensure compliance with federal, state and professional licensing board regulations and laws that impact the institution’s out-of-state educational and licensure program under the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA).