Mr. Scott is an Officer in the Construction Law Practice Group. Prior to joining Greensfelder, he served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel to an “ENR Top 50” General Contractor. He also previously acted as lead counsel to the infrastructure, buildings and industrial business segments for Sverdrup and Jacobs Engineering, two internationally recognized engineering and construction companies.
Mr. Scott has more than thirty years of experience advising engineers, architects, contractors, design-builders and construction managers on all facets of project delivery, ranging from initial consulting through start-up and project close-out. His recent transactions include a new acute care hospital, a 17-story office tower, multiple EPC transactions for ethanol facilities, and national contract support to an international architectural firm. He has managed numerous complex construction disputes on both public and private projects involving issues of professional liability, construction defects, changes, delay and disruption. He works with clients to develop innovative approaches to project delivery, effective risk assessments and mitigation strategies, and problem solving approaches to conflicts and project disputes.
Mr. Scott is a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers, a former Chair of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry, the nation’s largest organization of construction lawyers, and a member of the American Arbitration Association’s National Panel of Construction Neutrals. He has served for twenty-five years as a Lecturer on design and construction law issues in the School of Architecture of Washington University in St. Louis.
Typical client engagements consist of the following: preparation and negotiation of teaming, joint venture, and alliance agreements; government contracts and assistance with agreements for all forms of project delivery; corporate structuring and professional licensing; risk management, safety and ethics compliance initiatives; due diligence activities for domestic and foreign acquisitions; claim development, presentation, negotiation and resolution.
Publications
- "A Passion for the Remarkable." The Construction Lawyer (2001).
Seminars
- Risk Management and Contract Processes, ABA Forum on the Construction Industry (2009).
- Integrated Project Delivery, American Institute of Architects, Associated General Contractors (2009).
- Building Information Modeling, Design Build Institute of America (2009).
- Collaboration, Conflict Management and Compliance, Construction Industry Institute (2009).
- Dispute Prevention and Resolution, Construction Industry Institute (2008).
- Corporate Compliance and FAR Changes, Construction Super Conference (2007).
- Introduction to ConsensusDocs, Associated General Contractors (2007).
- New Changes in AIA Contract Forms, Lorman (2007).
- Risk Allocation in Design-Build Project Delivery, Design-Build Water and Wastewater Facilities Conference (2001).
- Design-Build Risk Allocation, Canadian College of Construction Lawyers (2000).
Cases
- Led successful closeout of troubled $110 million infrastructure project in India, resulting in favorable contract termination, collection of receivable, avoidance of claim exposure, and government’s agreement to pay claim monies to consortium.
- Successfully mediated wrongful death claims on bridge projects in Illinois, Ohio, and North Dakota.
- Negotiated closeout of design/build contracts at Air Force and Army bases in New Mexico avoiding liquidated damages exposure and resulting in collection of contract balances.
- Led closeout of design/build jail project in south Florida that was in a multi-million dollar loss position, avoided liquidated damages and collected contract balance.
- Led successful defense of a wrongful death case relying on statute of repose, including the organization of an industry-wide coalition consisting of engineering and architecture professional societies and contractor trade associations which sponsored an amicus brief in Blaske v. Smith & Entzeroth, Inc., 821 S.W. 2d 822 (Mo. 1991) where the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the state’s statute of repose.
Transactions
- Led legal due diligence teams for acquisition of aviation consulting firm in U.S. and 3,500-person engineering firm in the UK.
- Directed legal transition for newly acquired engineering subsidiary in UK, establishing legal management function in Glasgow, Scotland with additional support located in Reading, England.
- Prepared and negotiated teaming and joint venture agreements with project partners and managed engineering, program management and construction contract negotiations with large public owner for $500 million rehabilitation and upgrade of waste water treatment plant.
- Prepared and negotiated $64 million at risk CM agreement for school additions in Florida and $200 million plus program management contracts for hospitals in Colorado and Indiana.
- Developed task order style of design-build agreement and negotiated its use on a university’s $9 million classroom and technology building. Model was subsequently used on $3 billion in school programs delivered by Design-Builder.
- Prepared and negotiated joint venture agreement and prime contract for 10-year program management and construction management services for Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport.
- Counseling, negotiation and documentation of protocol agreements in Saudi Arabia, engineering contracts for manufacturing facility in Canada, turnkey air monitoring system for Taiwanese petroleum refinery, and electrical component manufacturing facility in China.