Alex R. Baghdassarian focuses his practice on construction contract administration, development agreements, and claims and litigation, including construction defects and delays, and claims involving defaults and terminations. Alex handles binding arbitrations, and jury and bench trials in Federal and State Court, and represents clients in Northern and Southern California.

As part of his diverse construction litigation practice, Alex has handled bid protests involving municipal agencies as well as the Office of Hearings and Appeals for small business administration matters, and disputes involving commercial general liability policies, excess insurance and reinsurance issues, as well as surety coverage.

Alex served as an extern to the Hon. William J. Rea, United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Experience

• Completed a 79 day court trial in San Francisco Superior Court.
• Obtained a $152 million jury verdict for the owner in the Royal Palm Resort litigation and a 10-month jury trial in Guam involving the structural collapse of a high-rise hotel during an earthquake.
• Represented the owners of the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in connection with $60 million in claims asserted by the contractors, working closely with the County of Los Angeles’ in-house and outside counsel to resolve the county’s property rights with respect to the completed concert hall.
• Obtained a $30M arbitration award in a claim for defects in construction of a landfill.
• Secured a defense verdict at arbitration on behalf of a general contractor in a breach of contract claim involving the renovation of a historic building in which the client was also awarded its attorneys’ fees.
• Lead counsel for mechanics’ lien claimants on various matters pending before the Superior Court of California Complex Litigation Panel.
• Negotiated the construction contracts the Wilshire Grand Center, which, upon completion in 2017, became the tallest building west of the Mississippi.
• Negotiated the construction contracts for the Midfield Satellite Concourse project, the first all new terminal construction at the Los Angeles International Airport since the 1960’s, which will house 22 new aircraft gates.
• Acted as Project Counsel for several complex construction projects, including the L.A. Stadium & Entertainment District (SoFi Stadium) project completed at the end of 2020.

Bar Admissions

• California
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Western Division

Education
J.D., University of Southern California (1989)
B.A., University of Chicago (1985)

Professional Associations

• Construction Lawyers Society of America, Fellow
• Los Angeles County Bar Association â?? Construction Subsection
• AGC California â?? Legal Affairs Committee
• Southern California Development Forum

Professional Activities and Experience
Accolades

• Chambers USA, Construction Law, California (2018–2022)

• The Best Lawyers in America©, Construction Law (2015–2023)

• Super Lawyers (2013–2021)

"As Steel Tariffs Come Into Play, Contractors Should Review Contracts," Daily Journal (May 2018)
"Waiving the Right to Sue," Construction and Design Newsletter, Vol. 8 (2002)
"Tactical Disqualification for Attorneys," ABTL Report (May 1992)
"Time Limits at Trial: Cutting The Case Down to Size," ABTL Report (January 1992)