2023: The Year of OArb

Abstract

Recent years have seen new technologies disrupt many established industries and institutions, continually testing our imaginations and expectations. Accordingly, it is no surprise that technology is disrupting the law, and arbitration. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic generated greater interest and comfort with Online Arbitration (“OArb”). Nonetheless, most focus on Zoom arbitration, instead of exploring the full scope of what OArb may mean as we continually move toward the future. This short thought piece hopes to generate discussion as we use system design and problem-solving perspectives to reimagine access to justice (A2J) through OArb.

Keywords: ODR, OArb, arbitration, online dispute resolution, legal tech, legal technology, dispute resolution, A2J, access to justice, empirical research, alternative dispute resolution, courts, legal education