Professor Shestowsky to study online dispute resolution

Professor Donna Shestowsky will conduct an 18-month empirical study of online dispute resolution (ODR).

Shestowsky, working with The Pew Charitable Trusts, will evaluate online platforms for mediations, negotiations and hearings. These platforms would eliminate the need for some parties to appear in physical courthouses.

“I am intrigued by the theoretical possibilities of ODR to help courts bring access to justice to their constituents, especially those who are unrepresented, lack financial resources, or live in remote areas,” Shestowsky said. “As an empirical scholar, I appreciate the fact that we should study ODR in its nascent stages to understand how it operates in practice.”

Originally developed for the private sector, ODR has been adopted by some public courts in the United States. But there has not been a neutral, empirical study before this one, initiated by The Pew Charitable Trusts in partnership with Shestowsky and the nonprofit National Center for State Courts.

The project will evaluate data from several courts that are piloting ODR programs. Shestowsky and her research team will focus on courts in Hawaii and Texas. Because of her study’s scope, Shestowsky is partnering in the research with Chicago’s Resolution Systems Institute, a nonprofit that aims to enhance court alternative dispute resolution systems.

The study will consider, among other questions, whether ODR reduces the time and stress on parties and courts; affects case outcomes; improves litigants’ use of court procedures and navigation of court rules; and increases users’ sense of procedural fairness.

Shestowsky directs UC Davis Law’s Lawyering Skills Education Program and is an expert in alternative dispute resolution. In May, the Association of American Law Schools’ Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution named her article “Inside the Mind of the Client: An Analysis of Litigants’ Decision Criteria for Choosing Procedures” as the best of 2018.