Team of dispute resolution experts debut online service

Six top female dispute resolution specialists have teamed up to launch what is billed as a “first of its kind” fully online service for the mediation and arbitration of business and commercial disputes.

The team has been assembled by Rachael Bicknell, founder and director of Squaring Circles. Picture: Iona Duncanson.

The panel of mediators and arbitrators has joined forces with Edinburgh-based dispute resolution business Squaring Circles, to offer the new online alternative dispute resolution (ODR) service, aimed at providing a quicker, efficient and more cost-effective alternative to court and enabling firms to free up time and money for their core business.

The initiative is being delivered through global “market-leading” purpose-built ODR technology, “which has only recently become available to the sector in the UK”. Additionally, the Covid-19 pandemic is seen to be driving demand for technology-led alternatives to traditional face-to-face dispute resolution and court processes.

The team has been assembled by Rachael Bicknell, founder and director of Squaring Circles, which says it is the first business in Scotland to unite a panel of dispute-resolvers comprising mediators and arbitrators, specifically designed ODR processes, including hybrid med-arb processes, and the latest ODR technology.

She is being joined on the panel by Angela Grahame QC, former vice-dean of the Faculty of Advocates; Susanne Tanner QC, director of Ampersand Advocates; Gillian Carmichael Lemaire, member of the Paris Bar; Sheila Webster, partner at Davidson Chalmers Stewart; and Pamela Lyall, Scotland’s Mediator of the Year 2014.

Bicknell said she started to develop the idea towards the end of last year. “For many business disputes, the involvement of lawyers, often leading to the adoption of court processes, means that costs can quickly approach or exceed the value of the claim. Legal costs for commercial disputes will often run to six or even seven figures and frequently result in parties spending as much time arguing about the costs as they do over the claim.

“As we enter what is predicted to be the biggest recession in hundreds of years, litigation is going to be a non-starter for an even greater proportion of companies and individuals who do business in Scotland.

“Now more than ever, businesses need fast, efficient, convenient and cost-effective alternatives to resolve disputes. Research from the US reports that by using ODR, parties can save as much as 80 per cent of the costs of litigation in as little as 20 per cent of the time.”

Tanner said: “Online dispute resolution is a natural evolution of alternative dispute resolution processes rather than a knee-jerk reaction to the global pandemic. Once social distancing restrictions are lifted, ODR will be used in combination with face-to-face dispute resolution processes.”

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