Zoom is the most used remote option among our clients. It is an online videoconferencing tool with a highly intuitive interface compatible with most internet browsers. Attorneys can download the Zoom application onto their laptop, tablet or smart phone in a matter of minutes. No formal training or prior experience with Zoom is needed for an attorney to participate in a remote mediation or arbitration, though attorneys should be familiar with the security measures they can take to safeguard their client’s information during a remote proceeding.

Telephonic dispute resolution is also an option for parties. Contact information for all parties involved in a session is compiled by ADR Systems staff and provided to the neutral in advance of the session.

An ADR Systems case manager will help parties determine the best remote option for their case.

If your case goes forward via Zoom, an ADR Systems staff person will email you a secure link to your session a day or two prior to the session.  You need only click the link to access the videoconference at the appropriate time. You will be placed in a waiting room prior to being admitted to the videoconferencing session by an ADR Systems staff person or neutral.  From there, if your session is a mediation, you will be sorted into breakout rooms. These breakout rooms are private; only the neutral, as host of the videoconference, can move in and out of them, providing you and your clients a secluded caucusing space just as you would have during an in-person session.

We recommend that attorneys follow a short checklist to confirm they and their clients are ready for a remote mediation or arbitration.  Review our articles on the subject below:

Resource: Your Technology Guide to Remote ADR Sessions

Article: How Different are Remote and In-person Alternative Dispute Resolution Proceedings?

Article: Are You Remote Ready?

Article: Are You Prepared for Remote Dispute Resolution?

When Zoom usage proliferated at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, news outlets reported instances of “Zoombombing” whereby uninvited participants invaded Zoom videoconferences and displayed offensive content. Zoom has since strengthened security on the platform, adding password security as a default for sessions and adding end-to-end encryption, which prevents Zoom from reviewing or storing customer data as it passes through Zoom’s servers during sessions. Additionally, Zoom updated its platform with a new security icon on its toolbar, accessible only to the host of a Zoom videoconference. This allows the host to regulate and maintain the waiting room and screen sharing features for all the videoconference’s participants, and it allows the host to lock the meeting and remove participants, if necessary. Read more about privacy and security precautions on Zoom here.

Our mediators achieve almost identical results using videoconferencing to facilitate settlements. We settle substantially all our mediated cases at ADR Systems whether they are conducted in-person or virtually. In the rare instance a case does not settle, our mediators will follow up with parties to keep negotiations going forward, contributing to a high overall success rate.

Remote arbitration can be as efficient as an in-person hearing. Our arbitrators have successfully conducted one-day remote arbitrations as well as complicated multi-day remote arbitrations.

Before the arbitration, our staff is available to brief parties on best practices for secure remote sessions and provide demonstrations of videoconferencing tools they can use to display demonstrative evidence and spotlight witnesses, among others. Our staff is also available to answer other questions before the arbitration, and they are available to assist with any technical issues during the course of the arbitration. This hands-on service and careful planning allow ADR Systems to deliver efficient arbitration services remotely.

Resource: Your Technology Guide to Remote ADR Sessions

FAQ: Questions and Answers about Remote Dispute Resolution

Article: How Different are Remote and In-person Alternative Dispute Resolution Proceedings?

Article: Are You Prepared for Remote Dispute Resolution?

Article: Three Cybersecurity Questions to Ask Before Remote Mediation

Article: Are You Remote Ready?

Article: ADR Systems Administers Multi-Week Remote Arbitration

Article: Why Use ADR Systems?