Law Commons^™

Measuring "Access To Justice" In The Rush To Digitize, Amy J. Schmitz

Faculty Publications

Access to Justice (A2J) is the hot topic of the day, energizing Twitter and judges alike. Meanwhile, professors and policymakers join in song, singing the praises of online dispute resolution (ODR) as means for expanding A21. This is because ODR uses technology to allow for online claim diagnosis, negotiation, and mediation without the time, money, and stress of traditional court processes. Indeed, courts are now moving traffic ticket, condominium, landlord/tenant, personal injury, debt collection, and even divorce claims online. The hope is that online triage and dispute resolution systems will provide means for obtaining remedies for self-represented litigants (SRLs) and …

Addressing The Class Claim Conundrum With Online Dispute Resolution, Amy J. Schmitz

Faculty Publications

Consumers with similar claims in the United States (U.S.) often join forces to launch representative, or "class", actions. This allows them to obtain remedies with little cost and effort and serves a "private attorney general" function by bringing light to purchase problems that public enforcement offices may not have the resources to address. This is especially important for lower dollar claims that are too costly for each consumer to pursue individually.

Nonetheless, some have criticized class actions in the U.S. for forcing settlements and padding the pockets of lawyers, while leaving consumers with minimal pay outs. At the same time, …