The Legal 500

Within Construction litigation: national,

Peckar & Abramson

PRACTICE: Peckar & Abramson is praised for its ‘excellent knowledge of the local markets and outstanding construction attorneys’. The New York-headquartered construction boutique has carved a niche in the representation of general contractors and construction managers in public and private matters, and continues to offer a full service construction practice including a ‘significant’ government contracts practice.

Boasting 42 partners, and just under 100 lawyers throughout its nine offices, who focus on construction matters, the practice is regarded as a go-to for ‘complicated construction issues that require an aggressive response’ and is also praised for its approach of working ‘towards settlement and not litigation’.

The recent downsizing of the firm’s San Francisco-based construction practice saw the departure of three partners and the relocation of its headquarters to its Los Angeles office. This depletion in partner numbers, which also includes the loss of a partner from the Orange County office, has been balanced out in other offices. Additions include the arrival of Michael Neal in March 2008 and Ronald Pierce in October 2007 to the Orange County office, and Joanne Linley in November 2008 to the Miami office. The practice also continues to reap the benefit of its February 2007 acquisition of the Berman, Paley, Goldstein & Monte LLP law firm, which has added a significant civil and heavy construction component to the firm’s already full range of expertise.

In terms of work, the practice recently won four bid protest matters for an aerospace and defense technology company. The most recent matter involved a protest to the US Court of Federal Claims regarding a Defence Department contract of over $2bn. This matter was the only one of its kind to involve the ‘A-76’ program to outsource work performed by government employees, and included issues such as whether the Government had violated regulations regarding the displacement of agency employees.

In the public space, the practice gained a favorable settlement for the design builder of a $33m hospital in southern California, capping a $12m hospital claim at less than £1m.

CLIENTS: The firm represents a number of the construction arena’s leading national construction managers, contractors, design professionals, and owners among others in the US, the Middle East, the Caribbean, South America and Asia. Projects have involved environmental clean ups, manufacturing facilities, residential communities, and airports.

INDIVIDUALS: Peckar & Abramson founder Robert Peckar is noted for his ‘deep knowledge of construction law’ and his ‘practical and efficient’ approach to matters. The partner is resident in the firm’s New Jersey and New York offices.

Miami-based partner Stephen Reisman is praised by clients for being an ‘outstanding construction attorney with very valuable local knowledge of markets, opposing counsel, and the courts’. The ‘tremendous’ lawyer’s knowledge of the local market is underlined by his position as the managing partner of the firm’s Florida offices.

‘Excellent’ and ‘up and coming litigator’ Neal Sklar represents both construction managers and general contractors. The Miami-based partner is praised for his ‘nice touch with the field level staff, which is difficult to do when it comes with mixing lawyers and construction personnel’.

‘Very knowledgeable, diligent and honest’ Washington DC partner Michael Branca is a hit with clients, who praise his expertise in government contracting, where he does a ‘splendid job’. Branca is also regarded as a leader in ‘Federal Acquisition Regulation issues, a subject in which he is an expert’.

Within Construction: District of Columbia,

Peckar & Abramson

PRACTICE: Owing to its location in the nation’s capital, and its lawyers’ past government experience, Peckar & Abramson has a significant government practice in relation to government contracts, compliance and Public Private Partnership matters (PPP). A great part of the practice involves complex claims and litigation, yet the firm is very honed in on preventative measures, risk analysis, and transactional work. Representative projects include a 315MW oil-fired power generation facility in Virginia, a design-build project for a water fabrication facility in Colorado, water/wastewater treatment plants throughout the east coast, and an airport terminal upgrade and expansion project at Ronald Reagan National Airport.

CLIENTS: As with its other offices, the practice’s Washington DC attorneys focus particularly on general contractor and construction manager representation.

INDIVIDUALS: Adrian Bastianelli has devoted his practice to construction claims for over 35 years, with special emphasis on government construction contract claims. Mark Berry has defended and prosecuted actions exceeding $100m in value on a broad range of domestic and international projects, while Michael Branca’s government contract law practice is recommended for ADR matters in relation to his representation of defense contractors, service providers and IT companies.

Within Construction: Northeast,

Peckar & Abramson

PRACTICE: It is difficult to find a major construction practice in New York that does not have a Peckar & Abramson client involved. By way of example, the practice has advised on all five of the new major sports stadiums and arenas being built in New York and New Jersey, and has been involved in Ground Zero projects such as the Freedom Tower. The team may possess ‘top-notch litigation capabilities’, but it is especially adept at helping clients overcome substantial risks so as to enjoy profitable projects without resorting to litigation. This ten-office firm expanded in 2008 to include the attorneys of New York’s Berman, Paley, Goldstein & Monte LLP, a move that gave it a stronghold on the civil and heavy construction side of the business in relation to major infrastructure projects such as bridges, tunnels, highways and power plants.

CLIENTS: The practice sets itself apart from other firms by focusing on top building and civil contractors, and construction managers, as opposed to developers, subcontractors and design professionals. The practice also acts as counsel to a raft of industry associations.

INDIVIDUALS: New York-based Steven Charney is known for his representation of contractors, his experience including advising the owner and developer of a $350m project in the Bahamas, and acting for the developer of the largest private building construction project ever to take place in New York City. Founding partner Robert Peckar is famed for having obtained substantial recoveries in litigation and arbitration, yet is also widely recognized for his ‘formulation of creative solutions’ to complex construction problems.

Within Construction: Southeast,

Peckar & Abramson

PRACTICE: Peckar & Abramson’s three Florida offices act for national and international general contractors on major Florida projects. This ‘truly excellent’ New York-based firm has a solid litigation practice, yet prides itself on successful avoidance of the substantial risks inherent to the construction industry, and has particular expertise in airports, government buildings, highways, power generation facilities, environmental clean-ups, sports arenas, and hospitality industry projects.

CLIENTS: The practice has a curious focus on general contractors and construction managers, as opposed to developers, subcontractors and design professionals.

INDIVIDUALS: Florida managing partner Stephen Reisman is recommended for transactional negotiations and litigation. Melinda Gentile is noted for her construction dispute resolution practice, including contractor’s liens and defect claims.

Within Construction: West Coast,

Peckar & Abramson

PRACTICE: The Los Angeles office of construction law firm Peckar & Abramson handles contract disputes, delay and interruption issues, and payment remedies for defective work claims. The practice has achieved favorable settlements and verdicts on behalf of clients relating to mold contamination, earthquake, interruption damages and water intrusion on projects such as the Haas Pavilion at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at Riverside’s Fine Arts Center, and the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

CLIENTS: The client list is predominantly made up of general contractors and construction managers, but subcontractors, developers, design professionals, owners, financial institutions and sureties also feature.

INDIVIDUALS: Los Angeles-based John Hanover is recommended for his litigation experience, having handled multi-million dollar disputes in court, arbitrations, and mediations, and advised on more than one hundred arbitrations and mediations.