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Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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Typically, third-party neutrals are associated with dispute resolution through mediation or arbitration. In the 1970s, organizations in the construction industry began using a panel of third-party neutrals, referred to as a Dispute Review Board, or DRB, in a more proactive manner where the neutral embeds into the contracting parties’ continuing governance as a way to help prevent disputes.

Over the years, the concept of using neutrals with the focus on dispute prevention has evolved and is now often referred to more broadly as a “Standing Neutral,” with the first use of the term Standing Neutral appearing in a CPR publication. James Groton, Preventing and Resolving Construction Disputes (CPR Legal Program Construction Disputes Committee, 1991) [the CPR Institute publishes this newsletter]; see also, “Special Supplement: Preventing and Resolving Construction Disputes,” 9 Alternatives 182 (December 1991) (available athttps://bit.ly/3Ettxzx).