About CPR

What We Do

ABOUT CPR: Established in 1977, CPR is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes the prevention and resolution of conflict to better enable the pursuit of purpose through the CPR Institute and its subsidiary, CPR Dispute Resolution Services LLC.

The CPR Institute builds capacity for dispute prevention and resolution 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 committee discussions and projects, publications, education and training, and hosting events.

CPR Dispute Resolution is a boutique-style 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 responsive, efficient, and detail oriented, and have extensive backgrounds in alternative dispute resolution (ADR). The Panel of Distinguished Neutrals is a carefully curated, diverse group of prominent, experienced subject matter and ADR professionals based in 35 countries. And CPR Dispute Resolution’s Complete Case platform, a holistic end-to-end digital environment designed for ADR, handles matters efficiently and securely. To learn more about CPR Dispute Resolution, visit drs.cpradr.org.

History

Uniquely bringing together in-house and outside counsel since 1977

CPR was the first organization to bring together corporate counsel and their law firms to find ways to lower the cost of litigation. Decades later, CPR continues to facilitate meaningful inside-outside counsel collaboration along with contributions from the academic and neutral community by demonstrating the powerful impact this partnership can bring to dispute management. 

The Power of the Pledge

• In the 1980s, CPR was the first to develop a Policy Statement on Alternatives to Litigation (“CPR Pledge”) to encourage signatories to come to the table and thoughtfully discuss alternate approaches to resolving their disputes, instead of immediately filing claims in  court. To date, more than 4,000 companies and 1,500 law firms have signed the CPR Pledge. These CPR policy statements are bilateral and reflect the signatories’ commitment to consider ADR as a method for resolving disputes.

• CPR then continued its efforts to change the way the world resolves conflict by creating its updated “21st Century Corporate ADR Pledge.” Adopting the original pledge’s principles, the 21st Century Corporate ADR Pledge enhanced the focus on corporate commitment to proactive and thoughtful ADR programs supported by CPR’s full range of best practices and tools. Most importantly, the signatories pledged to seek more thoughtful ways to avoid litigation unilaterally--regardless of whether the opposing party has done so as well. Early pledge signatories included members of CPR’s Board of Directors and CPR Council as well as other leading corporations.

• Most recently, CPR launched a Dispute Prevention Pledge for Business Relationships in 2021.  Signatories to this pledge reflect a commitment to exploring ways to avoid business disputes by identifying conflict early and addressing it constructively before it becomes a costly dispute.


Decades of cutting edge innovation

• Since our founding, CPR and its members have worked collaboratively to develop the most innovative and cutting-edge rules, protocols and best practices to directly address business dispute resolution needs.

• Guided by those CPR-generated tools, CPR launched services to assist parties in dispute. Most recently, CPR formed CPR Dispute Resolution Services, LLC, to house those services along with the case managers and Panel of Distinguished Neutrals who implement them.

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