Using technology in litigation and arbitration: A crash course for institutions in no-contact dispute resolution

"I'll see you in Court!", used to be a threat thrown across the negotiating table as a last resort. That threat might sound a little hollow in these days of COVID-19, when protection measures have forced courts as well as arbitration bodies to ban in person hearings.

Hearteningly, courts and arbitration bodies are quickly adapting through the use of technology. While these bodies had started on the path of online dispute resolution, necessity has truly been the mother of invention and we find ourselves in a world where a major class action is being run largely in an online environment with just a small number of representatives in court and the other parties in the offices (or by the pool) watching the proceedings via Zoom or similar platforms. That is one way to avoid those uncomfortable lift rides in the lunch break...