In this episode, Ian speaks with Rory Kingan, CEO of Eperoto, a legal tech company based in Sweden that helps lawyers assess cases more effectively and give clients greater clarity into litigation risk.  Originally from Auckland, New Zealand, Rory began his career in Wellington with PricewaterhouseCoopers, building New Zealand’s digital land title system. He moved to London and consulted for several years for Freshfields, Reuters, and GlaxoSmithKline, among others. He later co-founded a legal tech startup Priory Solutions, building products for large law firms to manage their subscriptions and knowledge requests — software used by most of the large US and UK firms.  After selling that company, Rory relocated to Sweden and invested in several tech startups, including Eperoto. In 2024, he took the helm as CEO, leading its international expansion and championing the use of decision analysis for greater clarity into dispute risk.   Links mentioned in the podcast: Rory’s LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rory-kingan/ Eperoto: https://eperoto.com Video walk-through of Eperoto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQL18BcwmEo Land Information NZ: https://www.linz.govt.nz 

In this episode Ian interviews Dr. Sara Hourani, a Senior Lecturer in Law at the School of Law, Middlesex University London. She also holds a Visiting Lectureship at the School of Law, Aix-Marseille University (France). Sara received an LLB degree from Grenoble II University (France), an LLM in International Trade Law and a PhD in Law from the University of Essex (UK). She was granted the prestigious UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) PhD scholarship to pursue her doctoral studies and has been the recipient of different grants and awards to carry out her research since.  Sara’s research examines the impact of automation introduced through new technologies, such as blockchain, smart contracts and artificial intelligence, on international commercial arbitration systems. Her work on the topic analyses the implications of such automation on access to justice and due process amongst other issues.  She has presented this work at numerous conferences and seminars and has published this work in various forms, including a co-edited book titled ‘Access to Justice in Arbitration: Concept, Context and Practice’ published by Wolters Kluwer in 2020. For further information, see Sara’s bio page at:  https://www.mdx.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-directory/dr-sara-hourani/ and https://odr.info/sara-hourani/

In this episode, the tables are turned a bit: NCTDR Executive Director Leah Wing interviews Ian about the trends and themes he's observed over the first 35 podcasts, following on Ian's retrospective from the 2025 ODR Forum in London. Leah is Senior Lecturer II on the faculty in the Legal Studies Program where she has taught since 1993 and she is on the Steering Committee of The Center for Justice, Law, and Societies. Her teaching and research utilize law and society scholarship, to interrogate the relationship between disputing and justice. Her areas of concentration are the impact of inequality and technology on the transformation of conflict and furtherance of justice through dispute resolution processes in offline and online geographies. Her current research projects include AI, ethics and dispute resolution, crowdsourcing and spatial justice, technological responses to disaster and digital harm doing. She completed three National Science Foundation funded research projects on online dispute resolution with multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research teams. Leah is Director of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR), Past President and founding board member of the International Council for Online Dispute Resolution (ICODR), serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution and Conflict Resolution Quarterly, and has served two terms on the Association of Conflict Resolution Board of Directors. About Leah: https://www.umass.edu/political-science/about/directory/leah-wing About NCTDR: http://odr.info

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian interviews Dr. Chris Draper, Managing Director of Trokt, on the evolution of technology, AI, and ODR. Chris Draper is based in Des Moines, Iowa. Chris received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Glasgow. He is also a Venture Partner with VU Venture Partners in San Francisco, California.   Chris’ ‘mission’ lies in reducing the operational risk of how humans interface with technology systems. To this end, he focuses on the development and delivery of technologies that help equitably resolve and avoid disputes ranging from labor relations to construction arbitration, financial compliance and to special needs education. Trokt is a platform designed to optimise the use of digital technologies - to ‘reduce the clutter’ - in managing workflow, negotiations, and the avoidance of digital fraud.  Chris is also Co-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Dispute Resolution Technology Committee. more on Chris: https://odr.info/chris-draper/ more on Trokt: https://www.trokt.com/  

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian interviews REDEK CEO Nicolás Lozada on his evolving work in financial inclusion, empowerment, and ODR in Colombia. Nicolás Lozada is a lawyer with a strong academic and professional background in LegalTech, Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), and international law. He is the founder of CREO, a financial inclusion platform that empowers women in informal transactions, and REDEK [https://www.redek.co/], Colombia's first startup focused on Digital Justice and Online Dispute Resolution. His approach combines technological innovation and law to transform justice systems and resolve disputes more efficiently and accessibly. He is a member of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR) and an arbitrator on the APEC e-BRAM online dispute resolution panel. Colombia appointed him to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III, where he contributed to key initiatives in online dispute resolution and e-commerce. With master's degrees in Law and the Global Economy from New York University and in International and Comparative Law from the National University of Singapore, Nicolás is a recognised expert and advocate for ODR and LegalTech tools. I see too - on the Singapore connection - that Redek has been a consultant to the Monetary Authority of Singapore on Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) for crypto assets and consulting on the impact of generative AI on financial derivatives. He has served as a consultant, lecturer, and professor at universities such as Externado de Colombia, Javeriana, de la Sabana, del Rosario, ICESI, and Santo Tomás, addressing topics related to arbitration, international business, foreign investment, and digital dispute resolution.

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian interviews ODR pioneer Graham Ross about the 2025 ODR Forum he's hosting in London April 29-30 (more information at odr2025.org). About Graham Graham is Founder and President of TheMediationRoom.com.  He is a UK lawyer and mediator with over 20 years experience in IT and the law. Graham is the author of legal application software (accounts and time recording) and the founder of LAWTEL, the popular web-based legal information update service. He co-founded the first ODR service in the UK, WeCanSettle, and designed the blind bidding software at the heart of the system. Graham subsequently founded TheMediationRoom.com, for whom he designed their online mediation platform.  Graham speaks regularly at international conferences on the impact of the law on the Internet and e-commerce and on the application of technology to ADR. Graham was host of the 5th International Conference on Online Dispute Resolution held in Liverpool, UK, in 2007. And one key reason for talking with Graham is that he will again be hosting - or co-hosting - the annual ODR Forum (ODR2025.org), this time in London in April this year.  Graham has been at the heart of ODR developments, not least through his ongoing commitment to the Board of ICODR and their work on standards for ODR.

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Lissa Gerking of the Federal Bar Association in Brussels, and Chair in Civil Law, German, European and International Civil Procedure at the Leibniz University Hannover.  They discuss how the digital transformation of justice can reduce the focus on the core principle of a fair trial, sidelining several procedurally important aspects of in person hearings.  ODR's global adoption is being driven  primarily by efficiency, but that efficiency may be achieved at the expense of justice. Fast justice is not always better justice.   Every society is different, with different stakeholders -- and litigants may have different levels of digital literacy in different countries. There may also be issues around the quality internet access available to individuals, challenges around distinguishing safe and unsafe online locations, and accessing safe and secure places to engage in online processes.  If we are to effectively design a new justice system that leverages technology, we must remain cognizant of these challenges around access. awareness, and understanding of technology. More information about Lissa:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lissa-gerking-689061160/?originalSubdomain=de

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Ayelet Sela, lecturer at the Faculty of Law in Bar Ilan University. Dr. Sela’s scholarship and teaching revolve around dispute system design, law and technology, courts, and empirical legal studies. Her recent academic work focuses on procedural design, procedural justice and access to justice in online courts and tribunals as well as in hybrid (remote) proceedings. She is particularly interested in exploring how the justice system can best serve self-represented individuals in these contexts. In addition, Dr. Sela collaborates with data scientists on the application of machine learning methods to legal data and studies questions related to the use of AI tools in governance mechanisms and judicial contexts. Previously, Dr. Sela was a senior fellow of the Jean Monett Center on Digital Governance, a founding member of the BIU LawData Lab, and a member of the Bar-Ilan University Data Science Institute. She also clerked for the Honorable Justice Eliezer Rivlin in the Israeli Supreme Court and worked as an auditor for the Israeli Ministry of Justice. Dr. Sela holds a JSD and JSM from Stanford Law School and an LL.B and “Amirim” Honors Program diploma from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

In this part two episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Clare Fowler, Executive Vice President of Mediate.com, on the ethical ramifications of using AI in dispute resolution. Clare Fowler is Executive Vice-President and Managing Editor at Mediate.com, as well as a professor at the University of Oregon and a practicing workplace mediator. Clare received her Master's of Dispute Resolution from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law and her Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, focused on reducing workplace conflicts, from Pepperdine University School of Education. Clare also coordinated the career development program for The Straus Institute dispute resolution students. In 2023, Clare published Rising Above Office Conflict: The Light-Hearted Guide for the Heavy-Hearted Employee.

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Clare Fowler, Executive Vice President of Mediate.com, on the future of AI and ODR, and the new International Bar Association standards for using AI in dispute resolution. Clare Fowler is Executive Vice-President and Managing Editor at Mediate.com, as well as a professor at the University of Oregon and a practicing workplace mediator. Clare received her Master's of Dispute Resolution from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law and her Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, focused on reducing workplace conflicts, from Pepperdine University School of Education. Clare also coordinated the career development program for The Straus Institute dispute resolution students. In 2023, Clare published Rising Above Office Conflict: The Light-Hearted Guide for the Heavy-Hearted Employee.

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Zbynek Loebl and Leah Wing about the 2024 ODR Forum, which took place in Prague June 5-6, 2024.   Zbynek is of counsel at PRK Partners in Prague. He specialises in the field of Internet law and legal aspects of ICT and technology projects. With extensive experience in internet law, convergent services, electronic communications, e-commerce, personal data protection, cyber security and intellectual property, he has been a pioneer in the field of ODR for twenty years. Zbynek is a fellow of The National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR). He has also participated in a number of international projects related to cross-border online dispute resolution. He is an author of a book Designing Online Courts (The Future Of Justice Is Open To All), Kluwer Law International, 2019.   Leah is a Professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, as well as the Director of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR). Leah heads the Ethical Principles for Online Dispute Resolution initiative of NCTDR and serves on the ABA Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Standards Taskforce and the ABA Technology Committee. Leah has taught dispute resolution since 1993 and served as a researcher on early experiments in online dispute resolution. Leah is on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution and of Conflict Resolution Quarterly, served two terms on the Association of Conflict Resolution Board of Directors, and is on the advisory board of ODREurope. Leah is also the founding director of the Social Justice Mediation Institute.

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Zbynek Loebl, of counsel at PRK Partners in Prague, and host of the upcoming ODR Forum meeting http://odr2024.org .   Zbynek Loebl specialises in the field of Internet law and legal aspects of ICT and technology projects. A specialist in internet law, convergent services, electronic communications, e-commerce, personal data protection, cyber security and intellectual property, he has been a pioneer in the field of ODR for twenty years. Zbynek worked at IT Law Europe, a free association of lawyers specialised in modern technologies law from its onset; he was the only lawyer from Central Europe. For several years, he was the Czech representative to the International Technology Law Association. Zbynek is a fellow of The National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR). He has also participated in a number of international projects related to cross-border online dispute resolution. He is a Panellist of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center in Geneva for the resolution of domain name disputes under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and of the Arbitration Court Attached to the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic and Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic both for disputes related to .eu domain names and in standard arbitration proceedings. Zbynek is an author of a book Designing Online Courts (The Future Of Justice Is Open To All), Kluwer Law International, 2019.

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Dr. Sanjana Hattotuwa, pioneer in ICT for peacebuilding and citizen journalism.   Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa has recently returned to Sri Lanka after a several years in New Zealand where he completed his doctorate at Otago University with a thesis on "Liking hate? Social media, politics, and conflict in Sri Lanka." He has also been Research Director with the Disinformation Project [https://thedisinfoproject.org/]   Since 2001, Sanjana has been at the forefront of pioneering the integration of technology into peacebuilding initiatives. In 2007, he founded and continued to curate until June 2020, the award-winning Groundviews [https://groundviews.org/], Sri Lanka's first citizen journalism website. His expertise extends beyond Sri Lanka, and South Asia, and covers work in five continents for over two decades, working on civic media, information disorders, new media literacy, web activism, digital security, and online advocacy.    Since 2006, Sanjana has been Special Adviser to the ICT for Peace Foundation [https://ict4peace.org/activities/], with a focus on providing strategic insights and guidance in the deployment of ICTs for the intricate facets of crisis early warning, prevention, management, and recovery.    Between 2002 and 2020, Sanjana was Senior Researcher, Centre for Policy Alternatives [https://www.cpalanka.org/] with a focus on secure strategies for online and mobile communication. In 2002, he played a pivotal role as a lead architect in devising an online negotiation platform, and related information support systems that bolstered crucial engagements, and research surrounding the Track 1, 2, and 2.5 ceasefire agreement processes.

In this episode Ian chats with Janet Martinez, Senior Lecturer - Emeritus and retired Director of the Martin Daniel Gould Center for Conflict Resolution at Stanford Law School. Janet taught negotiation, advanced negotiation, dispute systems design, and ADR law and policy. She practiced corporate law for ten years in San Francisco, latterly as Senior Counsel for McKesson Corporation’s acquisitions and divestitures. She was Senior Consultant for the Consensus Building Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she now serves on the board of directors.  Janet does corporate executive negotiation trainings with LaxSebenius Negotiation Group, as well as with law firms in North America and abroad. Dr. Martinez received her B.S. in Bacteriology from Washington State University, J.D. from Golden Gate University, M.P.A. from Harvard University, and Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.    Janet has published extensively in the ODR field, with a strong focus on the design of ODR systems and, in particular, ethical ODR systems. Her work includes Dispute System Design: Preventing, Managing, and Resolving Conflict (Stanford University Press, 2020); “ODR and Innovation in the U.S.”, with Amy Schmitz, in the major text on ODR, Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice. A Treatise on Technology and Dispute Resolution; and “Designing Ethical Online Dispute Systems: The Rise of the Fourth Party,” with Colin Rule. She and Amy Schmitz also have a forthcoming book, Digital Dispute System Design.   More on Jan: https://law.stanford.edu/directory/janet-martinez/ https://www.cbi.org/about/bio/janet-martinez/  

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Matt Bartlett, a doctoral student at Columbia Law School, where he also recently completed his LLM. His research focuses on the regulation of emerging technologies (particularly AI). He has taught technology law and policy at the University of Auckland, and writes about technology issues at Technocracy. He has also written recently on the EU AI Act and whether it can effectively provide a framework for ChatGPT and other generative AI systems. More about Matt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjamesbartlett/ https://www.openglobalrights.org/matt-bartlett/  

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Dr. Fahimeh Abedi, Research Fellow at the Centre for AI and Digital Ethics (CAIDE) at the University of Melbourne. With a strong research background spanning over 10 years, Fahimeh has focussed her work on exploring the intersection of law and artificial intelligence. She holds a PhD from Victoria University, Melbourne; and an LLM from the National University of Malaysia. Currently, Fahimeh is engaged in the Ninian Stephen Law Program: New Legal Thinking for Emerging Technologies project that focuses on addressing the complex legal and ethical challenges posed by emerging technologies specifically for lawyers in Australia. In addition, Fahimeh is a chief investigator in the development of resilient legal advice for cyber and critical technologies in Vietnam as part of a project with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).  She is also a chief investigator for a research project titled "Measuring and Evaluating Sustainability-SDG 5 – Gender Equality to Empower Victorian Indigenous Women's Ownership of Agricultural Land" that aims to empower indigenous women in Victoria by promoting gender equality and fostering their ownership of agricultural land. Learn more about Fahimeh here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fahimeh-abedi-phd-44651989

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Ben Davis, Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Toledo Law School. Professor Benjamin Davis joined the College of Law faculty in 2003 and retired on Jan. 31, 2021. He is a graduate of Harvard College (B.A.), Harvard Law School (J.D), and Harvard Business School (M.B.A.) where he was articles editor of the Harvard International Law Journal. Professor Davis taught in the areas of contracts, commercial law, alternative dispute resolution, arbitration, public international law, international business transactions, and 3L extended bar preparation. For his final project at the college, he hosted a dynamic virtual conversation with more than 40 experts around the world. Prior to joining the faculty, Professor Davis was an associate professor at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law (now Texas A&M University School of Law). Between 1983 and 1986, he worked in Paris, France as a development consultant in West Africa, and as a strategic business consultant with Mars & Co in Europe. In 1986, he became the American legal counsel at the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) where he supervised directly or indirectly over 1,000 international commercial arbitration and mediation cases, made filings before courts around the world on behalf of the ICC, assisted with the drafting of arbitration laws in countries such as India and Sri Lanka, and led conferences in Eastern and Western Europe, North America, and Asia. In 1996, he was promoted to director, conference programmes and manager of the Institute of World Business Law, where he organized training sessions on international contracts, dispute resolution, project finance, and electronic commerce. Professor Davis is the creator of fast-track international commercial arbitration and the inventor of the International Competitions for Online Dispute Resolution by which students from around the world competed in online negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation (2000-05). He served as former chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution. He is a former board member of the Society of American Law Teachers and a former member of the ABA Council for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Educational Pipeline (Pipeline Council) and the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security. He is also a former member and subcommittee chair for the Arbitration Competition for the ABA-Law Student Division Competitions Committee, which developed the ABA arbitration moot court. Professor Davis led the successful effort in the American Society of International Law to pass only the 8th resolution in its history entitled the ASIL Centennial Resolution on Laws of War and Detainee Treatment. He submitted an amicus curiae in support of respondents on Nov. 26, 2019 in the U.S. Supreme Court Case GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS v. Outokumpu Stainless USA LLC. In 2018, he received the Champion of Change Award of Arbitral Women, the international NGO of women ADR practitioners. Professor Davis has given numerous presentations and speeches around the world. He has published dozens of articles on topics related to international and domestic arbitration, online and offline dispute resolution, and international law. He is also a contributing editor at Jurist.

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian speaks with Keri Morris and Isobel Egerton about ODR for Domain Name Disputes. Keri Morris is ODR Establishment Project Manager at the Domain Names Commission. She joined the Domain Name Commission [DNC] in July 2021 to help set up the Online Dispute Resolution programme. She is a mediator who strongly believes in helping people resolve their own disputes.  She is a Fellow (Mediation) of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK and of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand. A highly experienced Family Dispute Resolution Provider, Keri was instrumental in leading the FDR services for New Zealand’s service provider for many years.  She is a trained CINERGY© conflict coach and a keen writer on all things dispute resolution - some of you will have seen her articles on the mediate.com site.Isobel Egerton is the Domain Name Policy lead at InternetNZ. Isobel was Interim Domain Name Commissioner in 2022 and has expertise in the regulation, management and control of domain names. Prior to joining the domain name industry, Isobel practised law for over 20 years, most recently as legal counsel for New Zealand Police and has significant experience in managing legal risk and a passion for consumer protection.

In this episode of the ICODR podcast Ian interviews Irene Sigismondi, attorney at Law, a trainer and a contract professor at the Universities of Rome “La Sapienza” and LUISS “Guido Carli”, in the field of Public/Constitutional Law, Legal Theory and Law and Technology (including ODR).  After getting her degree in law (LUISS, Rome 1995), she became a practicing attorney in Rome, 1998.  Irene then gained her Ph.D. in Information Technology (ICT) and Law (Sapienza University of Rome, 2003), and served as a visiting fellow (2001-2008) at the Yale Center for Internet Studies and as a researcher for the Italian National Council of Research at the  Insitute for Judicial Studies (IRSIG/CNR, Bologna, Italy 2003-2007).  She has also been a visiting scholar at Paris I-Sorbonne (Centre de Recherche de Droit Public Comparé) and visiting professor at Szczecin University and lecturer in Law and Technology at the  European Master in Law and Policies of European Integration (European Constitutional Law and Multilevel Constitutionalism). Since 2009 she serves as project manager for the Quality Drafting and Better Regulation Module in the ICT Master Program (Master in Diritto dell’Informatica e Teoria e Tecnica della Normazione) at Sapienza University of Rome, Law School. In 2021-2022 she was appointed by the Government as external support to the Legal Team of the Department of Innovation and Digital Transformation.

"You need to believe in a project. If you don't believe in it, you can't take it forward."  In this episode, host, Ian Macduff, talks with guest, Mirèze Philippe--a French lawyer and dispute resolution practitioner---about the following: The problems that have stopped justice services from moving online What is the definition of ODR? ODR as a court-based process as opposed to a settlement process About Mirèze Philippe:   Mirèze is a French lawyer of French and Lebanese origin.  She is a dispute resolution practitioner and was Special Counsel at the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration ICC until her retirement end 2022.  Mirèze has been in the field of online dispute resolution since 2000 and built various platforms, namely for ICC and for ArbitralWomen alongside IT engineers. She was also member of the UNCITRAL Working Group III on ODR. She is Fellow of the National Centre for Technology and Dispute Resolution (“NCTDR”) (http://odr.info/), Board member of the International Council for Online Dispute Resolution (“ICODR”), and Advisory Board member of ODR Africa Network (https://odrafrica.com).  Mirèze is co-founder of ArbitralWomen (AW), an organisation gathering and promoting female practitioners in international dispute resolution. She is member of various organisations promoting gender equality and equal opportunities for equal qualifications. She received the CPR 2018 Diversity Award for outstanding contributions to diversity in ADR. Mirèze published articles on arbitration, online dispute resolution and gender diversity. Her résumé and publications are available on ArbitralWomen website: https://www.arbitralwomen.org/author/mireze-philippe