Team of dispute resolution experts debut online service

The team has been assembled by Rachael Bicknell, founder and director of Squaring Circles. Picture: Iona Duncanson.The team has been assembled by Rachael Bicknell, founder and director of Squaring Circles. Picture: Iona Duncanson.
The team has been assembled by Rachael Bicknell, founder and director of Squaring Circles. Picture: Iona Duncanson. | Other 3rd Party
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 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.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

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.

Read More
Abraham Lincoln sought compromise. So should we – John Sturrock

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.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“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.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director

Related topics:

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.