Tanzanian lawyer offers online conflict resolution

Madeline Kimei, a Tanzanian commercial lawyer tells TBA about the role her company, Resolution Experts, is playing in the growing niche market in Private Dispute Resolution services. 

Q. Tell us about Resolution Experts and how you came to recognize the need for private dispute resolution services?

Resolution Experts specializes in commercial/contract advisory and dispute resolution consultancy and training. We also provide for dispute system design, investigations, workplace conflict management and online dispute management.
 

Madeline Kimei

I set up the company after realizing that there was growing demand for such a service in Tanzania’s legal industry. Since its inception in 2014, my company has introduced a number of products including an online dispute resolution platform iRESOLVE ™ for the resolution of dispute in an online system. 

Q. Why did you become involved in Alternative Dispute Resolution, mediation or arbitration?

A.I began to feel that there had to be a better way to resolve disputes and so started to think about whether I could find a way that would give me greater personal satisfaction in terms of helping companies and private clients. I concluded that arbitration and mediation were alternatives that would enable me to provide a service offering greater value. So I moved my practice in that direction. 

Civil litigation is so uncertain and so expensive that it makes sense to pursue ADR in most cases. For example, the process is private and confidential, reducing the reputation risk often associated with litigation. Besides any award by the arbitrator is equally binding as a court judgment.

Q. Tell us more about commercial mediation?

A. I became a mediator because the cost of litigation, in time, money and emotion, is enormous. It is expensive for both sides. For a business, there is time employees lose from productive work to prepare documents as well as money for lawyers. 

The advantage of mediation is that it enables both parties to explore options and choose decisions that work for them. The mediator’s job is to help the parties negotiate and to provide a sort of “time-out” in the dispute which helps the parties engage and communicate better. However, the mediator, unlike a judge or arbitrator, will not decide for the parties what their decisions should be. 

Q. Tell us about iResolve™ and the platform you have created to resolve disputes?

A. We launched iResolve™ in September 2015 and it is the first online dispute resolution (ODR) platform in Tanzania and in the East African region as a whole. The portal, which is accessed through the web at www.iresolve.co.tz. helps consumers and businesses prevent or resolve their complaints and disputes online, through a quick, efficient and affordable service.

Tanzania courts are inundated with hundreds of legal suits which cost the public purse billions of shillings, while also overloading the Judiciary and causing dissatisfaction. Iresolve™, was created to ease that overload. 

Cost savings derive from the convenience of conducting dispute resolution from wherever the Internet is accessible. The actual cost of communicating is reduced substantially by using e-mails and other forms of electronic communication.

Moreover, the platform provides support for discussion and caucusing, document management, scheduling and case management, and award drafting, allowing neutrals and parties to focus on finding solutions instead of paperwork.

Q. What advice would you give to law students looking to make ADR a significant part of their careers?

A. My advice to law students and young lawyers, regardless of their perceived interests, is to be open to experiencing different types of practices. For example, getting involved in an arbitration early on in your career is might be a good grounding when you establish your own practice years later. I strongly believe that increasingly dispute resolution skills will only become more important and serve to increase the value you bring to your clients, your firm, and your individual development.

Source: www.touchbaseafrica.co.za