by Gary Benton
Welcome to SVAMC’s blog – a new dialogue about law, technology and innovation from the heart of the Silicon Valley. This blog fosters an open conversation regarding resolving technology disputes in court and in alternative dispute resolution settings.
At SVAMC, we believe tech dispute resolution should be innovative. Cutting-edge tech companies deserve cutting-edge techniques to address and resolve disputes. That not only means using arbitration, mediation and other ADR methodologies but also thinking about new tech-focused ADR processes and technologies.
More than that, we approach dispute resolution with an entrepreneurial spirit. In Silicon Valley, business is about doing deals and we believe tech dispute resolution should be a smart, innovative and constructive process. That means using tech expertise, promoting creative solutions and looking for a win-win in resolving disputes.
We believe in choice. We promote a user-based system for technology dispute resolution. We believe participants in the tech sector should be able to design the way they want to resolve disputes. SVAMC encourages choices that fit the situation and meet the needs of the parties.
We understand there are circumstances where companies must go to court, or even prefer to do so, but we also know there are more cost-efficient and reliable ways to resolve disputes than relying on the courts. In most cases, it’s smarter to have business disputes resolved by mediators or arbitrators with tech expertise than by juries, local judges who may not have tech industry experience, or judges in foreign courts.
We know from experience that smart ADR can get matters resolved efficiently and effectively without the hassles and burdens of the court system. It also gives the parties – and their counsel – an opportunity to resolve disputes in a comfortable, professional and business-focused environment.
We also know that any dispute resolution system must be fair, neutral and effective. SVAMC advances the use of globally recognized arbitration and mediation processes and looks to leading national and international providers for administered proceedings. The professionals joining our panelist lists represent an array of tech law experts who have been qualified by these leading providers. The ADR processes our panelists and these providers use are legally recognized worldwide and work across cultures and across borders.
Finally, at SVAMC, we hope to bring great legal, tech and academic thinkers and doers together to provide a bash of ideas on how best to handle tech disputes in the future. We plan to be a resource locally, in Silicon Valley and throughout California, and online for the global tech sector.
In this blog you’ll be hearing from me – and others – in the legal tech community. We welcome your feedback, thoughts and ideas. In true Silicon Valley spirit, we don’t have a destination, we have a journey. Enjoy the ride!
Gary
