Texas Association of Mediators Conference
The Texas Association of Mediators will hold their annual conference in San Antonio next month. I am scheduled to deliver the plenary keynote, and Jeff Aresty and I are scheduled to conduct a session on access to justice. Here are the conference program descriptions of both:
Since the introduction of the desktop computer, information and communication technology (ICT) has become an integral part of our social existence and our professional existence. Like many fundamental changes, ICT has affected the practice of mediation, and conflict engagement generally, in an evolutionary way. The plenary presentation and discussion will focus on the impact of that evolutionary process and highlight the significant impact the use of ICT has had on the ethics and standards of practice for mediators. The plenary presentation may also suggest that we, as third parties, should engage in a little creative revolution in the use of ICT.
Access to Justice in the Digital Age
Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) was first developed to handle unique disputes created online during e-commerce transactions that could only be handled by an online dispute resolution system. Today, perhaps the most rapidly developing area of ODR is that related to the justice system and access to justice. The workshop will address the revolutionary work being done in access to justice, and will particularly address the role of non-lawyer third parties as a key element in improving access to justice.