By Suzi Morales
innovation
Return to Table of Contents
winter 2023
In Suffolk Law’s new Online Dispute Resolution course, Professor Chris Gibson is teaching students to navigate the challenges of remote arbitration and mediation.
Students in the class, offered for the first time during the 2021-22 academic year, present both sides of mock arbitrations and mediations over both Zoom and the New Era ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) platform. Suffolk Law is the only law school in the country with no-cost access to the platform created by Chicago-based startup New Era.
Gibson remembers when courts began to transition from paper to electronic filing. At first, some on the bar and bench were skeptical, but e-filing was eventually widely adopted. He says there are many parallels to the current transition from live to video dispute resolution, which he calls a “permanent legacy effect” of the pandemic.
In the “big tectonic shift” to online resolution, Gibson says, parties will face new questions about witness credibility, presentation of evidence, and data security. As parties reconsider whether it is necessary to appear in person, dispute-resolution providers are developing protocols to ensure confidence in their procedures. And with Gibson’s class, Suffolk’s future lawyers will be at the forefront of the transition.
Photographs: Adobe Stock, Michael J. Clarke
