I. Introduction

The construction industry is prone to disputes due to such factors as

misallocation of risk, ambiguous contract documents, thin profit margins

and an ever-changing job site. A single project can generate dozens of

disputes. Construction professionals want to avoid protracted, costly

methods of dispute resolution. The Dispute Review Board (DRB) is an

alternative dispute resolution (ADR) method increasingly utilized for

construction disputes. It has compiled an almost 100% resolution rate on

many hundreds of contracts aggregating over $23 billion. Issues of interest

to lawyers involve whether to provide for a DRB in the construction

contracts, and advising parties to contracts with DRB provisions.

A DRB serves two functions. One is timely third-party resolution of

claims that have not been resolved by bilateral negotiation. The other is

prevention of claims and disputes by (1) promoting early and rational

identification of issues, (2) promoting constructive communication, and

(3) making available a prompt nonbinding remedy, which promotes

bilateral negotiations. The existence of the latter function has been

established through post-contract debriefing.1 A DRB helps address four