By Nolan Cattell When parties are embattled in a conflict, they often gain tunnel vision and become set on having “their day in court” as they’ve seen for others through movies, television and other media. All they want is to have a judge or person of authority declare for everyone in the room that they are right. Mediation is a relatively new process in the eyes of the public and often gets overlooked by parties in a dispute for reasons that don’t always check out. Here are five myths about mediation that have been debunked, and why the mediation process…
By Hai Tran Advocates of ADR will often emphasize the advantages of mediations but what we hear less often is the importance of learning sound conflict resolution skills. Although mediation services can be useful for conflicts that are at an impasse, if more people are better equipped with the skills to deescalate or resolve conflicts on their own, then mediation might not even be needed in the first place. Mediation can only help individuals resolve the specific issue at hand but if these individuals are able to learn proper conflict resolution skills, these skills can be transferable and be able…
By Alexander Mulligan Last week, Doug Downey, the Attorney General for Ontario, announced that Ontario Courts would be piloting a new software to modernize the justice system. The platform, Caselines, is a document and evidence file-sharing software that is used around the world. Caselines stores documents on a cloud-based server, and uses machine learning to quickly identify, redact, and share documents. In the UK, the number of trials has been cut in half due to Caselines. UK Prosecutors estimate that Caselines makes assembling a case for discovery and hearings up to 80% faster. This all sounds great, so how does…
By Kiana Blake Alternative dispute resolution has garnered significantly more attention over the past two decades. Within Ontario, there is a Mandatory Mediation Program which applies to Toronto, Ottawa, and Windsor. Under this program, cases are referred to a mediator early in the litigation process to provide parties with an opportunity to discuss and possibly settle the issues in dispute. But what is mediation and why can it be a better alternative than litigation? 120
By Rachelle Paquet The 2020 pandemic very abruptly brought all our long-standing practices and procedures to a halt. Not a single service or business, in the public, private, or voluntary sectors, has been immune to its effects. At the outset, services and businesses were classified as either essential or non-essential. If deemed essential, the service or business remained open. Conversely, if deemed non-essential, the service or business shutdown. Whether a service or business remained opened or shutdown did not matter, both categories felt the effects of having to completely revamp existing practices and procedures in order to survive and conform…
By Alexander Mulligan Unprecedented. Strange Times. New Normal. It seems every email, article, or news report you read seems to include one of those phrases. To fit into the current cultural trend, I want to talk about the "unprecedented" uptake of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) during these "Strange Times". ODR could certainly become a "new normal" as a way to settle disputes and improve access to justice. Hopefully, at the end of this article, you'll have an idea of why ODR mediation can work for you! 116
