Pioneers are not only skilled practitioners, but boundary-setters. Those who have helped define what is possible in their field. Their voices offer both experience and foresight. In this inaugural edition of Perspectives from Pioneers, I asked Kenneth C. Gibbs, Esq., widely regarded as the Dean of Construction Dispute Resolution, to share insights from his extensive career mediating, arbitrating and conducting neutral evaluations in multi-million-dollar construction, energy, insurance and other business disputes. Ken, a pillar in the construction industry, has successfully mediated more than 2,500 cases and arbitrated over 200 cases in 25 states involving bridges, dams, arenas, highways, subways, tunnels, airports, hospitals, hotels, office buildings and other major projects.

Globally, you are considered a pillar of the construction mediation and arbitration industry. How did you achieve this?
Being considered a “pillar” or a “pioneer” of the construction ADR community is a bit embarrassing for me, as I still consider myself a simple country lawyer.

I’ve been extremely fortunate in my career. In 1974, upon graduation from law school, I was immediately involved in, at that point, one of the largest construction disputes in California history—the construction of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles—where I was the co-first chair in the representation of the general contractor and its subcontractors. Immediately following that, I led a team to a successful result involving a major construction project at the San Francisco Airport. So, at 32 years old, I was an “expert” construction litigator with a growing reputation.