In this episode Ian speaks with Dr. Pablo Cortés, who is a full professor with a chair in Civil Justice at Leicester Law School, in the UK, where he teaches and conducts research in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), civil procedure and consumer law. He is also an online arbitrator-adjudicator for CEDR’s aviation, telecommunications and water disputes schemes. He has published widely in the field of technology and dispute resolution, including The Law of Consumer Redress (Cambridge University Press, 2018) and prior to that he edited The New Regulatory Framework for Consumer Dispute Resolution (Oxford University Press, 2016).

He has now written, for Cambridge University Press, Dispute Resolution Processes in England and Wales: Justice, Settlement and Technology; and has published a co-edited volume, Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Courts (OUP, 2025). Of interest to this conversation is his soon-to-be-published paper, “Lex Obscura: The Emergence of Civil Justice Beyond the State in Darknet Markets.”

In this episode Ian chats with ODR leaders Dan Rainey, Leah Wing, and Chris Draper to talk about their new book (also written with Scott Cooper) entitled Governing Artificial Intelligence, part of the Issues in Online Dispute Resolution series from Brill Publishing.

About the book:

"As we face the profound and rapidly expanding impacts of artificial intelligence, ethical and practical questions arise for harnessing it effectively while preventing its worst externalities. Governing Al examines the two main avenues for providing guidance to AI developers and users: regulation/legislation and international and professional standards. Along with an overview of both pathways, an in-depth case study is provided and key questions are raised and suggestions offered. Ultimately, the argument is made that neither regulation/legislation, nor standards alone can effectively govern Al development and use; rather, coordination among government entities, international standards organizations, and international professional standards will be the most effective approach to governance."

Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/Governing-Artificial-Intelligence-Dispute-Resolution/dp/9004736298

In this episode, Ian interviews ODR pioneer John Helie. John founded ConflictNet in 1988 as a communication forum and information sharing network for the Conflict Resolution Practitioners community, and in 1996 co-founded Mediate.com with Jim Melamed (who was interviewed on the last podcast). He also co-founded OnlineResolution.com, one of the first ODR providers, in 2000. A trained mediator and facilitator, John pioneered work with online conflict and communication from the earliest days of the Internet.

More about John:

• https://mediate.com/author/john-helie/
• https://mediate.com/special-episode-interview-with-mediate-com-co-founder-john-helie/
• John's address on the occasion of his receiving the Mary Parker Follett award from the Association for Conflict Resolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPtYyDm0Jig