In this episode, Colin Rule (CEO of Mediate.com) speaks with Bridget McCormick, the CEO of the American Arbitration Association/International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA/ICDR), about the path that led her from being a public defender in NYC, to a law professor in Michigan, to the Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, and now CEO of AAA/ICDR. They discuss her work in mediation and dispute resolution, how Bridget has updated AAA/ICDR's strategy to embrace mediation and expand access to justice, and the role of technology in the future of the ADR field.

Learn More:

• https://adr.org/
• https://www.lawnext.com/2024/05/american-arbitration-association-acquires-odr-com-and-mediate-com-to-expand-online-dispute-resolution.html
• https://mediate.com/the-mediate-com-aaa-partnership/

About Bridget McCormick:

Bridget Mary McCormack is President and CEO of the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution.

She is also a Strategic Advisor to the Future of the Profession Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Until the end of 2022, McCormack was Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, a position her peers selected her for in January 2019 after she served for six years as a Justice. While on the Court, she championed innovation and the use of technology to improve access to justice.

A graduate of New York University Law School, McCormack started her legal career in New York City. In 1996, she joined the Yale Law School faculty. She then joined the University of Michigan Law School faculty in 1998, where she taught criminal law, legal ethics, and numerous clinics. She was Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs from 2002 until 2012.

McCormack was elected to The American Law Institute in 2013. The Attorney General of the United States appointed her to the National Commission on Forensic Science in 2014. In 2019, the Governor of Michigan named her Co-Chair of the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration. In 2020, she joined the American Bar Association’s Council on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar and currently serves as Vice Chair. In 2021, the Governor of Michigan asked her to co-chair the Michigan Task Force on Forensic Science and to chair the Michigan Jail Reform Advisory Council. She also chaired the Michigan Judicial Council, the strategic planning body for the judicial branch. In 2021, McCormack was also appointed to serve nationally on The Council of State Governments Healthy States National Task Force and the ABA Center for Innovation’s Governing Council. She was also named Chair of the ABA Board of Elections.

McCormack is an Editor of the ABA’s preeminent publication, Litigation Journal. She speaks and writes frequently about access to justice, innovation in the legal profession, and legal education.