On May 7, 2025, over 350 participants gathered in Stuttgart for the annual DIS Spring Conference, focused this year on the transformative potential of AI in arbitration. You can find some impressions at the end of the article.
The event opened with a keynote by Bridget McCormack (American Arbitration Association, AAA), who framed AI as a powerful force to democratise access to justice and drive innovation in dispute resolution. She urged legal professionals to proactively engage with AI developments.
A series of panels followed:
Current AI Use in Arbitration: Practitioners from DIS, state courts, corporate legal, and law firms shared concrete examples of AI improving efficiency, transparency, and cost-effectiveness. The panel agreed that, while budget and tech-savviness do matter, mindset is crucial to successful implementation. Florian Diekmann (Landgericht Rottweil), Franziska Fuchs (Robert Bosch), Ramona Schardt (DIS) and Eric Wagner (Gleiss Lutz) provided hands-on insights, with Anke Meier (Noerr) steering the discussion.
AI vs. Human Arbitrators: A lively debate, moderated by Felix Zimmermann (LTO), emerged between Thomas Riehm (University of Passau), who warned that legitimacy in decision-making requires human judgment, and Alexander Steinbrecher (BVG), who emphasized the wide-ranging benefits of AI and argued that, in some respects, it may even surpass human accuracy.
Amara’s Law and Exponential Change: Joerg Risse (Baker McKenzie) delivered an engaging and thought-provoking talk, highlighting the need to embrace AI in dispute resolution. With wit and insight, he presented plausible scenarios in which AI could play major roles in future litigation and arbitration settings.
Best Practices and Limitations: In a practical session moderated by Vanessa Pickenpack (Oppenhoff), the trio of Nathalia Schomerus (CMS), André Janssen (Radboud University) and Daniel Schnabl (Freshfields) explored how tools such as Gemini can already support arbitrator selection, document review and legal drafting, while also cautioning against issues like bias and lack of transparency.
Looking Ahead: Moderated by Andreas Hacke (Zwanzig Hacke Meilke & Partner), legal tech experts Alisha Andert (Legal Tech Verband), Micha-Manuel Bues (Bryter) and Dierk Schindler (Liquid Legal Institute) predicted an inevitable, rapid transformation of the field, driven by practical AI tools tailored to legal needs, external partnerships, and growing demand for innovation.
Conclusion: Stefan Kröll wrapped up the day with a call to action: “Just get started.” The conference sent a clear message – AI is not a distant disruptor but an immediate opportunity for litigation and arbitration professionals willing to embrace it.
A big thank you to all speakers and moderators sparking lively discussions with a highly interested and informed audience, as well as to the entire DIS team, for making this event happen!
Roland Kläger and Claudia Krapfl