The 1st October 2015 was quite a momentous day for ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) and ODR (Online Dispute Resolution). Its just a pity very few businesses in the UK knew about it. Very few knew that, when they walked into their offices or opened virtually for their online business, they were now the unpaid marketing agents for Online Dispute Resolution. It was from that day that large numbers of businesses were required to comply with The Alternative Dispute Resoluti

Michael Gove, who in May 2015 was given the duel role within the UK justice system and government of Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, used his first formal speech, at the Legatum Institute in London, to criticise our "creaking and outdated" justice system which has, through the barriers of cost and excessive formality, become inaccessible to a large section of society and set out his proposals for the future. He noted that :- " it astonishes businesses an

Looking forward to giving a presentation to a Council of Europe hearing in Madrid on the 30th October as to the role of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) in improving access to justice. Not to be confused with the European Union, the Council of Europe was the body set up by the governments of Europe in the aftermath of World War II to put something in place to learn the lessons from the spread of fascism and to help secure a more democratic foundation for the Europe of the fu

No this is not a photo of an updated Tardis nor a new form of street toilet cubicle. This is the contraption I had to enter into in order to record an interview with Joshua Rozenberg for BBC Radio4's "Law In Action" series. I couldnt find the time to travel to London to be in the studio so I went to what some media people complain of as the broadcasting equivalent of Siberia - Salford Media City. I, and mediator Penelope Overton, discussed a case of a lady who had work done t

Honoured to be invited to present the keynote speech at the 'Future of Justice' conference held by the Information Technology Law Society at the University of Leicester on the 22nd October 2014. The emphasis , of course, was on Online Dispute Resolution. A great credit to the organisers that they were able to attract Colin Rule, COO and Founder of the leading ODR company, Modria (www.modria.com) and the original Head of ODR at eBay and PayPal, the man who designed and ran t

You can download here my presentation slides, with notes (view in notes), to the Annual Conference of the Civil Mediation Council in Leeds on the 22nd May 2014. This is an introduction to the subject of ODR , online mediation in particular, its significance to mediators, together with a review of what facilities are available and what is on the horizon. Click here to download. #adr #civiljustice #onlinedisputeresolution #mediation #onlinemediation #alternativedisputeresoluti

Graham Ross has been appointed a member of a new 12 strong ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) Advisory Group set up by the Civil Justice Council (a public body established under the Civil Procedure Act 1997 with responsibility for overseeing and co-ordinating the modernisation of the civil justice system of England and Wales) “to analyse the costs and benefits of ODR as an alternative means of resolving disputes.” The Advisory Group met for the first time on the 23rd April in th