Judicial Perspectives on ODR and Other Virtual Court Processes
13 Pages Posted: 1 Jul 2020 Last revised: 3 Aug 2020
Date Written: May 18, 2020
Abstract
A few short months ago, most US courts significantly lagged behind banking, education, retail, healthcare, and other industries in the use of technology. Until mid-March 2020, that is, when US courts suddenly, overwhelmingly embraced some uses of technology, almost overnight, because they had to. Virtual hearings and ODR are opening up new possibilities that are not only keeping courts functioning during the pandemic, but also showing promise in helping resolve seemingly intractable access to justice issues. When the dangers of the COVID-19 virus have passed, courts anticipate a surge of filings. ODR and virtual hearings can “scale” to meet surges in demand in ways that traditional processes cannot. Out of necessity in response to an unprecedented pandemic, courts are boldly embracing changes that are bringing more court processes into line with available technologies and public expectations.
Keywords: pandemic, ODR, online dispute resolution, legal tech, law and technology, access to justice, A2J, court technology, pandemic
JEL Classification: K40, K41, K49
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation