Guest Details

Bridget Mary McCormack: President & CEO, American Arbitration Association & ICDRFormer Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court

Episode Overview

Bridget Mary McCormack joins Daniel Gold and Brandon Mack for a candid conversation about modernizing courts, expanding access to justice, and how AI is reshaping both public and private dispute resolution. Drawing on her decade on the Michigan Supreme Court—including four years as Chief Justice—McCormack explains why state courts must operate as system designers, not just adjudicators. She describes Michigan’s rapid shift to remote proceedings during COVID‑19, the state’s proportionality‑based discovery reform, and the importance of designing processes around the people who actually use the courts—especially the 75% of civil litigants who appear without lawyers.

Now leading the AAA, McCormack discusses how the organization is deploying AI to improve user experience, support self‑represented parties, and build new dispute‑resolution options. She emphasizes transparency, auditability, and fairness as essential guardrails, while also challenging long‑held assumptions about what must remain unchanged in the justice system.

Key Takeaways

• Nothing is too sacred to re‑examine. Courts must avoid assuming any process “can never change,” or they risk failing the people they serve.

• Remote proceedings improved access. Michigan saw significantly lower default rates for self‑represented litigants once remote options became available.

• AI is expanding access, not shrinking it. Both courts and the AAA are seeing major increases in filings from self‑represented parties as AI tools help people understand and pursue valid claims.

Action Items

• Build systems that prioritize user needs, not institutional habits.

• Use AI to reduce barriers for self‑represented parties while maintaining transparency and auditability.

• Treat modernization as continuous, not episodic—technology evolves too quickly for five‑year plans.

Chapters with Timecodes

00:00 – Introduction01:16 – McCormack’s Background & Court Modernization02:47 – State Supreme Courts as System Designers04:40 – What Should Never Change? (“Nothing.”)06:29 – Michigan’s Discovery Reform07:56 – State‑Level Discovery Challenges08:15 – Designing Reform with User Input10:05 – Hearing from Pro Se Litigants12:55 – COVID‑19 & Remote Proceedings14:40 – Data on Defaults & Access16:16 – Children & Higher‑Quality Remote Testimony18:01 – Why Mandatory In‑Person Is “User‑Hostile”19:39 – AI & Increased Filings21:55 – State Courts’ Volume Challenges23:17 – Updating the Justice “Operating System”23:39 – AI as New Dispute‑Resolution Options24:53 – Human vs. AI “Hallucinations”26:19 – Why She Chose the AAA27:46 – AAA’s Scale & Innovation Capacity29:37 – Evaluating AI Workflows30:06 – AAA’s AI Strategy31:49 – Innovation Pipeline & Lessons Learned32:34 – AI‑Assisted Arbitration35:01 – Procedural Fairness & Transparency37:22 – Which Decisions Must Remain Human40:13 – When Parties Might Choose Automation43:18 – Six‑Week Innovation Cycles46:11 – Future Legal Frameworks

Compelling Quote

“The courts are for the people. They’re not for the judges… They want to solve their problems. They’re not really in the market for us.” — Bridget Mary McCormack