From Colin Rule, and I am the Director of Online Dispute Resolution at PayPal.

I am writing to invite you to a free conference PayPal is hosting from February 7-9, 2011 in Chennai.

This conference is the 10th Annual Meeting of the Online Dispute Resolution Working Group.  This meeting will build on the research, applications and field development discussed at other international ODR meetings and workshops that were held in Geneva, Melbourne, Cairo, Liverpool, Hong Kong, Haifa, and Buenos Aires.

You may not have heard of Online Dispute Resolution, but you soon will.  The internet is generating millions of disputes, and the courts are unable to effectively handle them.  As a result, the field of ODR is undergoing rapid expansion, because it is the only scalable way to provide redress for these high volume, low value cross-border cases. 

Public bodies have settled on ODR as the solution to this growing challenge.  The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is close to approving a global ODR system for cross-border consumer disputes, UK Ministers are proposing online mediation systems for privacy disputes, and the United States has formally proposed cross-border ODR to the Organization of American States.  ODR is poised to handle millions more cases than it currently manages over the next few years.  Now is the time to learn more.

The leading minds in law, business, technology and conflict resolution are coming together for this free three-day conference in Chennai to share best practices, discuss needed research, and analyze how these changes might affect private companies, judicial systems, and global access to justice.  There is no better forum to learn about what ODR is and what the coming changes will mean for you and your practice.

I hope you can join us in Chennai February 7th to the 9th for this groundbreaking discussion.  And if you have the time, please consider joining us for our post-conference tour across India, where we will visit the Taj Mahal and Delhi.  I promise you it will be an experience you will never forget. 

If you have any further questions, please contact me at crule@paypal.com.

Sincerely,
Colin Rule