As many of you visiting this website will know, in May, 2019, in collaboration with Ms. Marney Lutz, Q.C., a Symposium, so-called, was staged at the National Music Centre, Calgary.
Context and Background – Private Dispute Resolution (mediation, arbitration and med/arb) has emerged, over the past decade in particular, as a significant parallel system to traditional litigation and as an increasingly appealing option to resolve disputes and avoid litigation altogether. The exploding demand for and use of private dispute resolution services, while encouraging, has also revealed less than optimum understanding and utilization of these dispute resolution platforms by counsel, clients, mediators and arbitrators.
The Symposium was intended to be comprised of high level presentations and discussions aimed at educating and sensitizing counsel, clients, mediators and arbitrators to the fundamentals of practice in the field, principles to be understood and implemented and ways and means to maximizing the effectiveness of all manner of private dispute resolution processes. This focus was intended to include considerations related to advocacy, effective negotiation strategies and the essential need to preserve and respect the integrity of private resolution processes.
We were fortunate to attract and benefit from a powerhouse line up of speakers for the day long Symposium capped off by a keynote luncheon address from the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C., former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. We could think of no one better suited to reflect and address the underlying theme to this Symposium – enhancing and preserving the respect, integrity and effectiveness of our judicial process and more specifically private dispute resolution services, than our former Chief Justice.
The original intention of this programme was to stage an annual day long gathering to continue the high level presentation and dialogue commenced with the inaugural Symposium in May, 2019. Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic that descended upon all of us starting in early 2020 precluded the option of a major in-person gathering in 2020. Planning will continue aimed at other mediums and platforms to advance the conversation amongst us all – smaller gatherings, webinars, blog pieces and the like.
Please enjoy the content included here as a refresher from Symposium #1 – the brochure, a collection of slides that played as a backdrop to the speakers presented and discussion that unfolded throughout the day, a transcript of the keynote address delivered by the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C., and a short video on the subject of artificial intelligence (A.I.) – its promise and limitations from the perspective of capabilities, down the road, in the dispute resolution context. It was prepared by Mr. Philip Hume based in Toronto, Ontario. He has been at the forefront of the evolution, understanding and application of computer and internet technologies for over 35 years.
Mr. Philip Hume on Artificial Intelligence - its promise and limitations