CyberSettle & The NYC Government
CITY USES CYBERSETTLE TO ADVANCE PRE-LITIGATION SETTLEMENTS TO SAVE CITY TIME AND MONEY
- More than 3,000 claims settled via Cybersettle saving City millions -
I am not sure how many people know about CyberSettle, but it is an online based company whose software program allows two parties enter the amount they are interested in either trying to get the other party to pay or the amount they are willing to pay. The program lets them know when there is match and bam- a deal is made. According to the NYC Comptroller's officer, in about a four year period (February '04 through June '08) over 3,000 claimscases were settled using the CyberSettle site.
This service helps New York City expedite claims against the city. That's the good new, however another way I see it is the process narrows the entire dispute to simply money. No interests, no feelings or emotions, no apologies, and empathy. Some would say who cares because it makes the process quicker and cheaper.
That all said, I think the service is a viable form of ADR and it does give people another option compared to the traditional ADR approach or litigation. There are some impressive statistics in the article.
For example, a case using CyberSettle takes between 6-12 months while those which do not take an average of 4 years. Yes, 6-12 months compared to 4 years!
CyberSettle's joint venture with the NYC Comptroller's offfice received an award in 2007 for Most innovative use of technology in New York City and Business Week selected it in 2005 as a "Top 50 Web Applications of the Year."
Read the press release [here].
Biography
Jeff Thompson is a certified international mediator. He is also a law enforcement detective in New York. His law enforcement role include a being a communication and conflict specialist, interfaith dialogue, developing and implementing community engagement programs, and designing training workshops.
Jeff is currently a PhD candidate researching nonverbal communication and mediation at Griffith University Law School. He also received his MS in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution from the Creighton University School of Law. Jeff has presented and trained on the topic of conflict, mediation, communication and nonverbal communication internationally and has been published and featured with numerous international media organizations. He currently writes also at PsychologyToday.com.
(All posts by Jeff Thompson represent his personal reflections and opinions as a mediator and not that of any organization.)
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