Mr. Lehman has been a construction lawyer and business litigator for over 20 years. His abilities and knowledge in construction law were recognized in 2017 when he satisfied all the requirements to be recognized as a Board-Certified Specialist in Construction Law by the Florida Bar – one of only two bar associations in the country to recognize construction-law specialists.
He has extensive experience in trying cases in arbitration, at bench trials, and to juries. In recognition of his expertise and in 2020, Mr. Lehman was included as one of the the Best Lawyers in America in Construction Law by U.S. News and World Report. He is also rated AV Preeminent rating from his peers by Martindale-Hubbell for both his ethical standards and his legal ability, and he was named as a Super Lawyer Rising Star in Construction Litigation in 2011.
In dispute-resolution proceedings, Mr. Lehman's has represented owners, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and program managers in federal and state courts in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Mr. Lehman has handled construction disputes including matters involving the Diplomat Hotel and other hotels around the southeast, the DeKalb County School Program, All-Aboard Florida, multifamily and single-family construction defects and disputes both in the South and in other states, and retail parcel and outparcel developments across the Southeast.
In addition to litigation and arbitration, Mr. Lehman also has advised contractors, subcontractors, and developers at the beginning of projects to help avoid disputes later in the project. Mr. Lehman has drafted, reviewed, and negotiated contracts for projects of all sizes and types, from customized design-build homes to large mixed-use projects to providing subcontract forms for general contractors to use to manage their projects efficiently and effectively.
Mr. Lehman has lectured and written extensively in the area of construction law and construction contracting. His engagements have included speaking to the Georgia chapter of the American Institute of Architects regarding green construction, electronic documentation protocols, and the A201 terms and conditions of the construction contract. In addition, he spoke at the Fall 2014 Meeting of the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law regarding Guided Choice Dispute Resolution and at the Fall 2013 meeting of the Forum as part of a panel discussing third-party discovery issues in arbitrations.
Mr. Lehman takes an active part in national and local bar associations and industry groups. He was elected in 2020 to serve on the Governing Committee for the American Bar Association's Forum on Construction Law. Previously, he served as the Chair for Division 1 (Litigation and Dispute Resolution) of the Forum and as the Program Chair for the ABA Forum on Construction Law’s Annual Meeting in 2019, “Dealing with Natural Disasters – Here Comes the Flood (of Legal Issues).” Locally, Mr. Lehman is a Past Chair of the Atlanta Bar Association Construction Section and is an active member of the Florida Bar Construction Law Committee’s Litigation Subcommittee. Finally, Mr. Lehman is a past board member of the Florida Prestressed Concrete Association.
Case History
• Represented the owner of a large beach hotel in Hollywood, Florida, in multiple construction design, delay, and defect cases involving violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act, concrete slab design, defective tempered glass, defective window and curtain wall systems, defective underground water piping, and excessive subsurface settlement.
• Represented the City of Hartwell, Georgia in an affirmative claim against the designer and building of its wastewater treatment plant. Successfully negotiated a favorable settlement through mediation.
• Represented a large construction/program manager with respect to claims for increased costs on a multi-year school construction program including allegations of delays, failures to use standardized and bulk purchasing, failures to control change orders and increased construction costs, and failures to document all matters on the nearly three hundred projects properly.
• Represented the Kennesaw State University Foundation related to the architect's and contractor's failure to design and construct on-campus freshman housing in a way to prevent water intrusion into the buildings. Obtained a successful settlement through negotiations.
• Successfully obtained summary judgment on promissory notes on behalf of a multi-state real estate franchisor against a defaulting franchisee.
• Defended a window manufacturer against claims that its windows were defective and failed to prevent water intrusion on a project in Augusta, Georgia. The case settled for nuisance value shortly after a summary judgment hearing.
• Defended a sitework contractor and its surety company in claims of termination for default on multiple projects located in Mobile, Alabama.
Publications
The Dispute Resolver, (The Online Publication of Division 1 of the Forum on Construction Law).
Exposing Experts to Mediation: A Cautionary Note, Under Construction: The Newsletter of the ABA Forum on Construction Law, July 2015 (Vol. 17 No. 2).
Construction Basics: An Overview of CPM Scheduling and Delay Claims, Under Construction: The Newsletter of the ABA Forum on Construction Law, January 2015 (Vol. 17 No. 1).
A New Alternative: The AAA's "Supplementary Rules for Fixed Time and Cost Construction Arbitration," Under Construction: The Newsletter of the ABA Forum on Construction Law, September 2014 (Vol. 16 No. 2).
How to Draft Lawsuits to Trigger Insurance Coverage, Under Construction: The Newsletter of the ABA Forum on Construction Law (with Anthony L. Osborn), April 2014 (Vol. 16 No. 1).
Construction Basics: Betterment, Premium Costs, and First Costs, Under Construction: The Newsletter of the ABA Forum on Construction Law, November 2013 (Vol. 15 No. 4).
Construction Basics: Construction Contract Warranties, Under Construction: The Newsletter of the ABA Forum on Construction Law, August 2013 (Vol. 15 No. 3).
United States Construction Law, The International Comparative Legal Guide to Construction & Engineering Law 2014 Edition, ICLG, July 1, 2014 (with Anthony Meagher).
"Word Tenants' Leases Carefully to Avoid Subcontractor Liens," Retail Construction Magazine, March 2003 (with S. Gregg Joy).
"Creation of a Contract by Solicitation of a Bid," Findlaw, 1999.
Presentations
• "Guided Choice Dispute Resolution," with Paul Lurie, ABA Forum on Construction Law, October 2014 (Divisional Lunch).
• "Multi-Party Arbitrations," Panel Discussion, ABA Forum on Construction Law, September 2013 (Divisional Lunch).
• "Construction on Trial," Atlanta Bar Association CLE Program, February 18, 2005.
• Chair, "Construction Law for the General Practitioner," Institute of Continuing Legal Education of Georgia, September 2007.
• Lorman Education, "Georgia Construction Law," Atlanta, Georgia, 2003.
