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S-26 ¦ MARCH 22, 2021 ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Will Virtual ADR Hearings Outlive COVID-19?

By Harry N. Mazadoorian

Commercial arbitrator and mediator Harry N. Mazadoorian is the distinguished senior fellow in the Center for

Dispute Resolution at Quinnipiac University School of Law.

Things certainly have changed during the past I pointed out in a previous article that prior online
12 months. We are one year and counting into ADR uses clustered around smaller-dollar, higher
the pandemic, and so much is still topsy-turvy: volume, primarily consumer centered disputes.
businesses have closed, schools have been restricted At the beginning of the pandemic, a flurry of CLE
to distance learning and Zoom has become a house- courses emerged advising ADR practitioners of the
hold word. mechanics, benefits and risks of virtual proceedings.
Nor has the world of ADR been spared from Initially, out of necessity, attorneys began to utilize
significant impact. One area warrants particular and experiment with the processes, often warily and
mention : Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and with reservations. After a year or so of innovation, a
virtual ADR processes conducted remotely through new body of experience, and in many cases satisfac-
an ever-expanding series of sophisticated platforms. tion, has emerged. With this experience, an additional
Although there has been a heightened interest in layer of questions and cautions arise. But the over-
ODR because of pandemic related limitations on arching question remains: Is ODR in mainstream
movement and gatherings, many of these virtual op- cases merely a stopgap measure born out of necessity
tions have, in some form, been utilized for decades. or a permanent addition to the ADR toolbox?

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