When and Why Do People Choose to Engage with the Civil Justice System Through Litigation or Alternatives?

The AALS ADR Section “New Voices in Dispute Resolution” Presents:

When and Why Do People Choose to Engage with the Civil Justice System Through Litigation or Alternatives?

Ashley M. Votruba, JD, PhD
University of Nebraska, Department of Psychology

With commentary provided by Prof. Jean Sternlight

The U.S. faces a serious civil justice crisis—many people need civil legal assistance, yet do not receive help. Alternative dispute resolution processes, such as arbitration and mediation, can serve to increase access to civil justice and promote efficiencies. Yet, the available empirical evidence suggests the vast majority of people will not seek legal assistance for their civil justice problems. Why? In this presentation, Dr. Votruba will consider how parties experiencing a civil justice problem encounter barriers to accessing justice including system barriers, economic barriers, knowledge barriers, and psychological barriers. Dr. Votruba will then discuss findings from her empirical research illuminating psychological barriers that can impede engagement with the civil justice system, including both litigation and alternative processes.

Dr. Votruba serves on the faculty of the Law-Psychology Program at the University of Nebraska. Her research examines how cognitive biases, heuristics, and culture influences policy and legal decision-making in the areas of alternative dispute resolution, tort law, criminal law, and family law.