From project conception to completion, Jones Walker’s team of over 20 construction attorneys delivers comprehensive legal services to clients throughout the construction industry. Our national footprint, the depth and breadth of our team, and the scale of the projects on which we have worked enable us to provide effective counsel on virtually every issue our clients may face, at every step in the process.
Our representation is as geographically broad as it is diverse. Members of our construction team regularly represent clients across the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa, and excel at handling large-scale construction and infrastructure projects across industries such as energy, natural resources, healthcare, retail, and education. Among recent engagements, our attorneys have represented international and domestic owners, contractors, architects, and builders in the design and construction of hotels, resorts, hospitals, high-rise office towers, power plants (coal-fired and nuclear), clean-energy facilities, refineries, pipelines, transportation-related manufacturing (including aircraft, locomotive and ship building and maintenance), and universities, as well as environmental remediation and closure projects.
Major construction projects often have a significant governmental component. We have deep familiarity with the full scope of U.S. and international procurement and government contracting regulations, and regularly help negotiate and close agreements that involve economic development funding, tax incentives, and public-private partnerships. Drawing on the resources of the firm’s key practices, we also advise on environmental regulation and permitting, real estate, finance, government relations, labor and employment, and other areas of law that come into play when planning and executing projects.
Our construction litigation team helps clients identify potential risks and minimize the likelihood of disputes with vendors, providers and government agencies. When conflicts do arise, our construction litigation team offers trial lawyers with many years of experience litigating billions of dollars in construction disputes in state and federal courts, in arbitration, and before administrative and industry panels worldwide. We have won numerous court victories and have successfully prepared and presented government claims. Members of our team are themselves highly trained, registered mediators and arbitrators, and several serve as neutrals for the American Arbitration Association.
The foundation of our practice is strong and straightforward: we consider our work to be part of our clients’ overall business strategy, and act as key members of project teams to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. We have experience negotiating and drafting design and construction contracts that appropriately allocate risks and help clients avoid costly disputes as projects progress, and are committed to providing cost-effective fee structures and billing arrangements.
As boots-on-the-ground lawyers, we are well-known, highly regarded participants in the construction industry. Members of our team have been trained in and practiced in construction- and design-related disciplines prior to entering the practice of law. We actively support and participate in legal and trade organizations such as Associated General Contractors, Associated Builders and Contractors, American Institute of Architects, the American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on the Construction Industry, the Fidelity and Surety Law Section of the ABA, the ABA Litigation Section Construction Law Committee, the International Bar Association, the Surety and Fidelity Association of America, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, and the Construction Specifications Institute. A number of our attorneys have been recognized among the top legal providers by Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, The Legal 500, Super Lawyers, The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, and The International Who’s Who of Construction Lawyers.
As industry thought leaders, our attorneys have authored papers and articles in journals such as Transportation Builder Magazine, Construction Law Update, The Construction Lawyer, World Arbitration, and Mediation Report and more. We have presented programs at the local and national level on a variety of construction law issues, including claims, claim avoidance, commissioning, damages, indoor air quality, public and private works acts, and public bid law.
