Event Conflict Resolver

Your task is to design an algorithm that helps determine the maximum number of events that can be attended in a single day without any overlapping schedules.

Each event is represented as a pair [start, end] where:

• start: the start time of the event in a 24-hour format (e.g. 9, 9.5, or 14.25)
• end: the end time of the event in a 24-hour format

Requirements:

• Write a function that accepts an array of events and returns the maximum number of non-overlapping events that can be attended. You must assume that attending one event means you cannot attend another where the times overlap.

• If an event ends at the exact time another starts, consider them as non-overlapping.

Example:

Given the input:

[[9, 10], [9.5, 11], [10, 11], [10.5, 12]]

One possible optimal schedule could be attending the events [9, 10], [10, 11], and [10.5, 12], resulting in an output of 3 events.

Additional Constraints:

• The input list may be unsorted; therefore, your algorithm should handle sorting as necessary.
• Consider efficiency in your approach, as the list may eventually grow, even if it generally contains a few hundred events.

Implement your solution in any programming language of your choice. Ensure your code is well-structured and includes handling for edge cases.