Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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The alternative dispute resolution field has emerged from the pandemic and now looks to the future.

Technology has been an invaluable tool for arbitrators, as well as mediators, in the pandemic period, in serving both the needs of the ADR community and the public interest. The future will provide even more tools for our field with the birth of artificial intelligence, which is on the agenda of conflict resolution organizations world-wide. A.I. will enable parties in ADR to have access to information and data never seen before technologically, and may be becoming a staple of legal education. See, e.g., Joseph Landau & Ron Lazebnik, “Law Schools Must Embrace A.I.,” Nat’l L. J. (July 10) (available at https://bit.ly/3rwBWeK).

Despite optimism for the future, the ADR field is not without its challenges. The overlitigation of arbitration continues, as the numbers of users of this process grow. Indeed, the 2023 New York State of Judiciary Report indicates that in 2022, the court system had 8,000 arbitrations, and more than 12,000 mediations, with 58% of the mediations reaching a full or partial settlement. Anthony Cannataro & Tamiko Amaker, State of Our Judiciary 2023 (Feb. 28, 2023) (available at https://bit.ly/3JPNBeJ). The introductions of ADR and presumptive mediation earlier in the state’s civil litigation process, as stated in the 2023 New York judiciary report, “often lessen conflict, decrease costs, produce satisfactory outcomes, and increase efficiencies in our dockets.”