Bridget M. McCormack is the President and CEO of the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution^® (AAA-ICDR^®), the preeminent global provider of alternative dispute resolution services. She assumed this role in February 2023, bringing an extensive background in judicial service, court administration and scholarship and a track record of advocacy for innovation and technology in dispute resolution.

McCormack has distinguished herself as an educator, advisor and influential member of prestigious legal organizations. She teaches courses on generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for the legal profession at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and is a founding steering committee member of Duke Law School’s Responsible AI and the Legal Profession initiative. She is the chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar. She also serves on the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators’ Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform.

McCormack is a special advisor to the ABA Taskforce on AI, a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and a member of the Council of the American Law Institute. She is also a senior arbitration board member of the American Review of International Arbitration and is on the Board of Trustees for the Foundation for International Arbitration Advocacy.

McCormack speaks and writes frequently about access to justice, alternative dispute resolution, innovation, technology and artificial intelligence in the legal profession.

Before her tenure with the AAA-ICDR, McCormack was the chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 2019 to 2022, after serving as an associate justice since 2013. As chief justice, McCormack championed innovation and technology to improve access to justice while hearing thousands of cases and overseeing a system of 244 trial courts and more than 500 judges. Under her leadership, the Michigan court system saw the initiation of landmark reforms in court processes, including the establishment of Michigan’s Justice for All Commission, which assists those who cannot afford legal representation, a strategic planning process for the judicial branch, and front and back end criminal legal system reform.

McCormack was the chief justice throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and Michigan’s courts were a national leader in swiftly transitioning to remote proceedings, launching the first statewide online dispute resolution platform and a statewide eviction diversion program. She co-chaired the Technology and Rapid Response Committees for the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators.

A graduate of Trinity College and New York University Law School, where she was a Root-Tilden Scholar, McCormack started her legal career in New York City as a trial attorney at The Legal Aid Society and then at the Office of the Appellate Defender. In 1996, she joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Robert M. Cover fellow, and in 1998, she joined the University of Michigan Law School faculty. She was named associate dean for clinical affairs in 2002 and served in that position for a decade. In 2008, McCormack co-founded the Michigan Innocence Clinic, the first non-DNA innocence clinic in the country, which, as of April 2024, has exonerated 41 men and women.

McCormack has been recognized for her leadership and contributions, with several awards highlighting her dedication to diversity, innovation and excellence in the legal profession. Notable recognitions include the Sunshine Award from the Michigan Press Association in 2023 for promoting transparency in public service and the Rebuilding Justice Award from the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System in 2023, recognizing her commitment to legal reform. In 2022, Michigan Lawyers Weekly named her the leading “Influential Woman in Law.” The Detroit News honored her as a Michiganian of the Year in 2020.

McCormack is married to Steven Croley, Ford Motor Company’s general counsel and chief policy officer. They have four adult children.

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