Revolutionizing Dispute Resolution: AAA's Acquisition of ODR.com & The Future of AI-Powered Arbitration

Technically Legal - A Legal Technology and Innovation Podcast

This episode involves two people with very distinguished careers. Bridget M. McCormack who now heads the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and Colin Rule, the founder of ODR.com just acquired by The AAA.

Bridget has served in just about every role you can in the legal industry. She started her legal career in legal aid and as a public defender handling trials and appeals. She then moved to teaching law school, first at Yale and then Michigan.

After her stint as an educator, she decided she wanted to help foster even more change and won a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court where she ultimately ascended to the position of Chief Justice. Fast forward to 2023 and she took the helm of the AAA.

One of Bridget’s biggest initiatives at AAA is bringing tech into the arbitration process and that is where Colin Rule comes in. He founded an online dispute resolution (ODR) company, about 15 years ago that ultimately became ODR.com which the AAA just announced it was acquiring.

To say that Colin is an ODR OG is an understatement. He literally wrote the book on ODR way back in the early days of the internet. Ebay brought him on board in the early 2000s where he headed up the company’s ODR function.

In this episode Bridget and Colin discuss:

• AAA's acquisition of odr.com: The strategic partnership between AAA and ODR.com to revolutionize dispute resolution.

• AI's transformative role in dispute resolution: How AAA is using AI internally and through external tools to improve efficiency and accessibility.

• The future of dispute resolution: A vision for a more accessible, efficient, and user-friendly system that leverages technology and data.

Episode Credits

Editing and Production: Grant Blackstock

Theme Music: Home Base (Instrumental Version) by TA2MI