Graham Ross, our CEO, was invited by the Attorney-General's office in British Columbia to attend a brainstorm meeting with court officials and other expert advisors in Vancouver on the 30th April to discuss how to best introduce technology into the mediation services operating through the courts.

The interest in Online Dispute Resolution in British Columbia has increased since the International Forum on ODR visited Victoria, British Columbia, in 2008. Court officials attended the conference and initial meetings were held with Graham at that time.

The Vancouver area section of the BC court system is significantly ahead of that in the UK for its promotion and use of mediation. Mandatory mediation, in which parties to litigation are obliged to attend a mediation,  is part of the fabric of the court process and is seen by the public not as something out of 'left field'  or offered as an escape route,  but as an integral part of access to justice.

The BC, Vancouver,  courts work closely with a network of mediators to ensure a ready supply of mediators specifically trained in court casework, but, importantly, to provide the necessary casework experience for newly qualified mediators who may otherwise struggle to find it.

Use of ODR is seen as a natural aid to enabling the courts to extend their work in mediation out to other courts throughout British Columbia. We go further, and say that the benefit of  in-depth pre-mediation online can significantly improve the sucess rates of in-person mediations.

The Mediation Room is now training its first British Columbia based mediators in the skills of ODR through its accredited distance training course and engaged in continuing discussions with the courts and other parties.