Paris Tech Arbitration – Tech Disputes Café

Our first guest was Jonathan Williams from Calame – The Legal Ops Company, which supports companies and legal departments in their digital transformation. Participants discussed the interactivity between tech and arbitration – the links to be forged and the preconceived ideas to be deconstructed.A range of topics were addressed, to which Jonathan was able to bring his perspective, based on his experience and interactions with industry experts:

• What are the aspects of arbitration that could appeal to tech players and overcome their reluctance towards this procedure? Jonathan and the panelists noted that “tech” actually covers an almost infinite multitude of types of structures. Highly innovative companies (metaverse, crypto and web3) are quickly evolving, which testifies to the adequacy of arbitration and its speed in handling disputes compared to litigation. Tech companies will also see arbitration, with its ability to adapt court expertise, as a more compatible solution to high-tech disputes.
• How can an arbitration practitioner specialise in a field that is constantly evolving and where skill obsolescence is almost instantaneous? Rather than being in a race to constantly update, for example to constantly update a list of arbitrators who would be most up to date with the latest technological developments in each specific sector, Jonathan spoke of the importance for arbitration professionals wishing to deal with these types of disputes to cultivate a sectoral culture – to understand the management of these structures and to be able to never lose sight of the market and trade aspect of the field.
• Will we need to move away from the traditional arbitration structure to consider a procedure more in tune with the field, along the lines of decentralised dispute resolution? Jonathan and the panelists acknowledged that the concept of earning “tokens” to administer justice is an interesting and potentially useful model in an increasingly decentralised economy. They spoke of a future where the civil community contributes to the administration of justice, which is ultimately where arbitration originated.

To stay informed and participate in the next #TechDisputesCafé, please join us on LinkedIn: Paris Tech Arbitration. Please note that all of the events are held in French.