Pandemic Pivot – ADR Poised for Prominence During Recovery
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On January 1, 2020, “zoom” was a verb, a noise a car makes. Three months later, Zoom be came a noun. It happened in the blink of an eye, like when Amazon no longer referred to a river in the rainforest, and Apple was no longer a fruit. Just as suddenly, Corona isn’t a beer served with lime. No one can honestly say the legal profession was prepared for a pandemic. While some companies had a long history of team meetings via WebEx and GoToMeeting, lawyers and the judiciary were far away from regularly using these tools. Yes, we could do arraignments via video from the jail. We could do video depositions. But no one voluntarily selected those options very of ten, especially when in-person transactions seemed more convenient. Now a virtual plat form is our default. Anything in person is the second choice for most. Quite the pivot, born of necessity.
Technology had started to infiltrate the practice of law, especially for those who graduated from law school in this millennium. COVID-19 broke down the door. It has forced lawyers to rethink almost every thing they do and the way they do it. The practice will never be the same.
As frustrating as technology can be, perhaps the bigger current stressor is the un certainty of it all: “Will this ever end? Will we ever get back to ‘normal’? What is ‘normal?’”
Do not despair. Together, even with our adversaries, we have made significant progress in harnessing technology to meet the challenges we face.
What could the mediation process look like on a virtual platform? • Scheduling will be easier, but mediation will require more advance preparation from all participants. This may include practice sessions or trial runs on the virtual platform with participants prior to the actual mediation session. This may also provide the opportunity to “meet and greet” stakeholders before the negotiation session.
• Geography won’t matter. People won’t be traveling. You might actually get the true decision makers into the process, albeit from afar.
• The selection of mediators will go global. Advocates will not be limited to selections in their own networks because there will be no travel costs for the neutral.
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