During these COVID times, technology offerings have allowed us all to accommodate our myriad personal and professional needs, all while limiting potential exposure. In the last year, we have taken advantage of digital methods to hold meetings, have virtual school, get food delivered, visit the doctor and more.

That extends to courts across the country, which are integrating new platforms and applications to ensure they can continue their work. Specifically, many are finding that online dispute resolution tools enable them to offer justice that's more accessible, more affordable and COVID-safer for the poor and disadvantaged.

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What is Online Dispute Resolution?

Online dispute resolution (ODR) is an application that offers an exclusively online space in which parties can connect, discuss, dispute and resolve a legal matter. ODR was initially used in disagreements between buyers and sellers on websites like eBay. Because users could get issues resolved quickly, they were willing to keep making purchases online. ODR was so successful for e-commerce sites that it was used to resolve more than 60 million such disputes annually, which the Oklahoma Bar Journal notes is more than the entire U.S. civil court system.