A View on Construction Dispute Prevention

The new CPR Institute YouTube Channel video above discusses the principles of guided choice and dispute resolution techniques tailored for the construction industry. The video shows how effective contracting and risk allocation provide dispute prevention, the key goal for builders and developers.

The video’s prevention focus highlights the long-running Guided Choice methods for settling disputes, based on an interview with Jeremy Baker, a Chicago-based construction attorney who heads the firm of Baker Law. Baker shares his philosophy of allocating risk early to prevent disputes in the course of a project.

Baker was mentored by Paul Lurie, a Chicago-based neutral  long active in the CPR Institute. See also, “Negotiate Early? Too Late! ‘Guided Choice’ Offers Neutrals For Initial Talks,” 34 Alternatives 41 (March 2016), and Paul M. Lurie, “Using The Guided Choice Process To Reduce The Cost Of Resolving Disputes,” 32 Alternatives 104 (July/August 2014) (both articles available on Westlaw).

The video provides an overview of the existing techniques for alternative dispute resolution which come into play before a conflict even begins. More can be found about CPR’s Dispute Prevention in the construction industry here.  CPR’s full Dispute Prevention Initiative can be found here.

The video was created by Bryan Ward, as part of his work as a Fall 2025 CPR Institute intern.  He is a student at Brooklyn Law School in New York. The animation is by Owen Guiffre; the music is by William Waugh, and the narration is by Ben Larsen.

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