Positive Impact = Online Dispute
Almost 40% of people who resolve legal cases through online dispute resolution (ODR) wouldn’t have been able to get to the courthouse, said MJ Cartwright. For many, scheduling, transportation and other impediments to access stand in their way.
In response, convenient and accessible dispute resolution alternatives are cropping up on the internet. To date, tens of thousands of ODR cases have been resolved online, Cartwright said. And strong outcomes and positive experiences with the judiciary have been reported.
Cartwright said that based on initial outcomes data from Court Innovations and Michigan courts, 39% of individuals who used ODR said they wouldn’t have otherwise resolved cases. In addition, 80% said ODR was a time savings and 92% reported fines and fees were paid within 30 days.
Cartwright positioned ODR as a potential solution to help address the backlog of court cases and enhance judicial efficiency and efficacy. ODR technology positively affects judicial economy, she said, and is correlated to increased access to justice and decreased cost of resolution.
Speaker Bio
MJ Cartwright is the CEO of Court Innovations. She has led the strategy and built the team to take the Matterhorn online dispute resolution (ODR) platform from an academic idea in 2014 to a platform in use by over 50 locations in 10 U.S. states in 2019.
Throughout her career, MJ has successfully applied her engineering and business education, and her leadership and relationship-building skills, in industries including manufacturing, healthcare and now dispute resolution. MJ participates in several court-industry task forces and initiatives, including the IJIS Courts Advisory Committee. She speaks at conferences and workshops nationally and internationally on ODR initiatives.
MJ’s vision is for expanded access to justice via technology. In partnership with court and alternative dispute resolution leaders, the Matterhorn platform enables people to resolve cases “in” and “outside” court.