Cyberspace settling war hots up

DISPUTE RESOLUTION: second firm joins competition for the on-line market

The battle for the online dispute resolution market is hotting up after a Liverpool solicitor helped launch www.WeCanSettle.com last week.

The site will be in direct competition with the www.esettle.co.uk site to be launched by newly formed umbrella legal IT company Judicium (see [2000] Gazette, 3 August, 4).

WeCanSettle offers a 24-hour 'blind-bidding' service, where parties can submit offers that are not disclosed to the other side.

If a bid is entered that comes within a certain parameter of the last bid from the opposing side, the 'cyberspace referee' will declare a binding settlement at the mid-point.

Leading IT solicitor Graham Ross, of Wirral firm Ross & Co, is WeCanSettle's marketing director.

He said the site 'uses the Internet and technology as a tool to make negotiations smoother.

The vast majority of cases end in settlements, and blind bidding, as we have here, makes the process much easier'.

Blind bidding avoids the common scenario where each party's concern not to disclose too much of their position causes significant delay to the process, he added.

Mr Ross predicted that the on-line market for dispute resolution will grow.

'Other sites will doubtless come along,' he said.

Judicium's business development manager, Robin Stannard, said he welcomed any new players in the market.

'There's certainly room for more than one.

We're trying to encourage the insurance industry to embrace e-commerce, and this new site will help the process,' he said.

Mr Stannard said esettle, which will go live in October, is significantly different to WeCanSettle.

'We are more of a high-volume site, aiming for large-scale use in the industry, whereas WeCan Settle appears to be more directed towards the public.

We also offer a management information facility, giving clients data for analytical and workflowpurposes.'

Victoria MacCallum