Our Services
Early Neutral Evaluation
A confidential, 21-day assessment of disputed construction claims — delivered before positions harden, costs accumulate, and project relationships break down.
Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE) is the signature service of Project Neutral®. When a construction dispute threatens your project's budget, schedule, or working relationships, ENE delivers a structured, expert assessment that gives stakeholders the objective basis they need to resolve the matter on the project — not in court.
The Construction Industry Institute has found that disputes addressed during active construction typically cost 30 to 80 percent less to resolve than those addressed after project completion. With nearly 99 percent of civil lawsuits ultimately settling through negotiation, ENE creates the window in which resolution delivers maximum value.
The Three-Week Process
Week 1 — Document Review. The Lead Project Neutral® conducts an in-depth review of the project record: the prime contract and amendments, baseline and updated schedules, change order logs, RFIs, project correspondence, financial documentation, and safety and insurance records. We apply the FIRAC analytical framework — Facts, Issues, Rules, Analysis, Conclusion — to ensure rigor and consistency across every issue under review.
Week 2 — Stakeholder Interviews. We conduct structured interviews with five to ten key project personnel across the parties. These are focused, factual discussions, not positional arguments. They surface the context the documents alone cannot convey: communication breakdowns, undocumented decisions, and the systemic issues driving the dispute.
Week 3 — Evaluation and Recommendations. We synthesize the document review and interview findings into a detailed evaluation that addresses the technical and contractual issues, analyzes schedule and critical path impacts, models the likely outcomes of formal proceedings, and delivers practical recommendations with an implementation framework.
What You Receive
A confidential written evaluation, protected by federal and state mediation privilege, that gives all stakeholders an objective basis for informed decision-making. The report identifies what the record supports, what it does not, and where the dispute can realistically be resolved.
Why Early Neutral Evaluation Works
Traditional construction dispute resolution is reactive — engaged after positions have hardened, legal costs have accumulated, and the project relationship has often passed the point of repair. ENE intervenes earlier, while construction is active and resolution still serves everyone's interests. The process is fast, confidential, and designed for parties who still have to work together tomorrow.
ENE is most effective when:
A claim or dispute has been formally noticed but not yet litigated
The parties want a confidential expert assessment before committing to formal proceedings
The project is active and resolution will preserve schedule and working relationships
The dollar value or schedule impact is large enough to warrant rigorous independent analysis
Engaging Project Neutral®
Each ENE engagement is led by a senior construction executive with decades of project, contract, and dispute experience. All work product is protected under FRE 408 and applicable state mediation privilege.