The “stay home” orders around the world are forcing us to minimize personal meetings and maximize technology. One example: mediators and family judges often met with divorced or separated parents to help them resolve issues regarding their children, like child support, parenting time, and education. Those in-person meetings are no longer available, at a time when demand may be increasing due to the stress of the pandemic.

Technology to the rescue: the co Parenter app. According to an ABA report,  “CoParenter is a platform that allows users to create parenting plans and decide everyday issues, such as whether a teen should be allowed to get a mohawk or tattoo. A paid yearly or monthly subscription includes on-demand access to a network of mediators to help the parents reach a resolution if they can’t agree.” Its creator, Jonathan Verk, realized that many angry parents waiting in courtrooms to have a judge decide their parenting disputes were not fighting about legal issues, so they didn’t really need a judge or attorney. And they were unrepresented. So he created an app that “allows divorced or divorcing couples to interact in a businesslike manner that eliminates conflict. The app uses machine learning to identify hostile language that can derail negotiations.” Mr. Verk presented his app at the ABA Techshow 2020 held in late February in Chicago – a perfect time, as it turned out, to tout a technological solution to a problem that was about to become almost impossible to address in person.

Will the app render mediators obsolete? Not likely, humans beings being what they are. But it could help frustrated couples work through at least some of their issues. It’s just another example of how technology is intersecting with dispute resolution.