CPR Bestows Inaugural Award for Outstanding Leadership in Dispute Prevention to Groton

New York, NY – The International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), a global non-profit organization that manages conflict to enable purpose, is pleased to announce that James P. (Jim) Groton, retired partner of global law firm Eversheds Sutherland, will receive the inaugural award for Outstanding Leadership in Dispute Prevention.

CPR harnesses the insights and experiences of its members to prevent and resolve business disputes through its think tank, the CPR Institute. CPR Dispute Resolution provides alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services – mediation, arbitration, dispute prevention initiatives and more – through innovative and practical rules and procedures and through CPR’s Panel of Distinguished Neutrals.

Groton is a retired partner of the law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan LLP in Atlanta, now Eversheds Sutherland, where he formerly led the Construction Practice and Dispute Prevention and Resolution practices of that firm. He continues to write, speak and network for CPR to develop dispute prevention techniques and spread the ideas that conflicts do not have to lead to value depleting disputes.

“The need for dispute prevention is as obvious as its implementation may be daunting. A focus on how to avoid retrenchment and hardening of positions but instead to work toward solutions requires courage and leadership. The winner of this inaugural award goes to the person who embodies both,” said CPR President and CEO Allen Waxman. “Jim Groton has been a leader for dispute prevention in our community for over 30 years. We are truly honored to be able to recognize him. He gives meaning to CPR’s vision of Less Conflict. More Purpose.”

“This award demonstrates to the world the fact that dispute prevention has now become one of the best - if not the best - of the ‘alternatives to the high cost of litigation’,” said Groton. “This award means to me that CPR is always going to be faithful to the focus of its name on Prevention.”

As a practicing lawyer during Atlanta’s building boom in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Groton specialized in construction matters, transitioning from trial lawyer, to troubleshooter, to behind-the-scenes counselor, to problem solver, to pioneer in the application of proactive techniques for preventing, controlling, de-escalating, and achieving the earliest possible resolution of disputes.

In his practice he achieved a remarkable record of success in helping to “keep the peace” on numerous construction projects and in other business relationships and transactions.

Groton was an early student and advocate of newly-invented dispute prevention processes such as partnering, dispute review boards, and incentives to encourage cooperation, and he has sponsored research into documenting the relative transaction costs of various methods of addressing disputes, to provide empirical data for business executives making decisions about selecting the most appropriate methods for dealing with potential disputes.

Over time his experience convinced him that proactive pre-dispute processes that prevent and de-escalate disputes are the most cost-effective and time-saving ways to prevent disputes and strengthen business relationships.

Since his retirement from law practice in 2001, he has remained as active as ever, enjoying the luxury of freedom to pursue a variety of interests that are an extension of his career-long passion of providing, mitigating, and finding efficient ways of addressing problems and potential disputes. He has authored and co-authored numerous articles and book chapters, as well as sat for interviews on the subject of dispute prevention. His body of work is a widely-used resource by those currently learning and working in the field.

Groton received his AB from Princeton University in 1949 and his LLB in Law from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1954.

In early 2023, CPR plans to name this award the James P. Groton Award for Outstanding Leadership in Dispute Prevention, and will bestow it to leaders in the field of dispute prevention.

For more information on CPR visit cpradr.org.

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About CPR

Established in 1977, CPR is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes the prevention and resolution of conflict to better enable purpose through the CPR Institute and CPR Dispute Resolution.

The CPR Institute drives and advocates for a global prevention and dispute resolution culture through the thought leadership of its diverse members – companies, leading mediators and arbitrators, law firms, individual practitioners, and academics – who share best practices and develop innovative tools for dispute management through Committees and events.

CPR Dispute Resolution is a boutique provider of leading-edge dispute management services – mediation, arbitration, custom appointing services, a panel of dispute prevention specialists, and more – that leverages resources generated by the CPR Institute. The case administrators are experienced attorneys with a combined 40 years of experience in ADR who speak five languages. The Panel of Distinguished Neutrals is a carefully curated, diverse group of prominent, experienced subject matter experts based in 35 countries. To learn more visit www.cpradr.org.

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