Practice Expertise

  • Construction
  • Litigation & Dispute Resolution
  • Litigation & Dispute Resolution
  •  

Areas of Practice

  • Construction
  • Litigation & Dispute Resolution
  • Litigation & Dispute Resolution
  •  

WSG Practice Industries

Profile

Joe’s twenty years of industry experience combined with his training as both a lawyer and an engineer uniquely qualify him to assist clients with the most technically challenging of disputes and transactions. Clients value Joe as an efficient yet relentless advocate. Joe litigates in state court, federal court, and numerous arbitration forums, both domestically and internationally. His experiences include matters administered by the American Arbitration Association, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the DIAC, as well as ad hoc proceedings.

In addition to his disputes practice, Joe assists clients with the structuring, negotiating and drafting of infrastructure and technology related agreements. He is well versed in the leading forms of contracts used domestically and internationally, including the forms published by FIDIC, AIA, ConsensusDOCS, and DBIA. Joe’s experience covers a wide variety of delivery methods, including Design-Bid-Build, EPC, turnkey, and PPP. Joe also maintains an active knowledge of federal, state, and local procurement regulations and claims procedures and provides counsel to clients on government contracting matters arising from the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and the various public-entity claims processes.

Joe routinely lectures on various industry-related topics, including dispute resolution, mediation, federal contracting, international arbitration, project delivery methods, AIA, and FIDIC. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Legal Forum of the American Council of Engineering Companies, and the International Projects Committee of the International Bar Association. He is a member of the State Bar of California and is licensed as a professional Civil Engineer. Joe lives north of the Golden Gate Bridge with his wife of more than twenty years, his son, and his two daughters.

Bar Admissions

  • California

Education
J.D., University of San Francisco School of Law (1997)
B.S., University of California, Davis (1991)

Areas of Practice

  • Construction
  • Litigation & Dispute Resolution
  • Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Professional Career

Significant Accomplishments
Representing a contractor on claims arising from a municipality's allegations that the contractor committed acts of environmental terrorism.

Representing a deep-pile specialty subcontractor in a wrongful termination action related to the construction of a bridge in Northern California.

Representing a multinational developer in a series of multiparty disputes arising from the failure of a diaphragm-slurry retaining wall during the construction of a 75 story residential tower in Dubai.

The negotiation and drafting of a turn-key EPC contract for the delivery of a Gas Desulfurization Unit and Gypsum Dewatering Facility.

The negotiation and drafting of numerous Engineer, Procure, and Construct agreements for the installations of Flue Gas Desulfurization Units on coal-fired power plants owned by varying power.

The negotiation and drafting of a remediation and construction contract for an underwater power cable between Pittsburg, California and San Francisco, California, financed through a Public-Private Partnership.



Professional Associations
  • American Bar Association, Member
  • American Council of Engineering Companies, Legal Forum, Member
  • International Bar Association, International Projects Committee Co-Chair

Professional Activities and Experience
Accolades
  • Who's Who Legal, Construction (2016, 2020, 2022)
  • The Legal 500, Recommended Construction Attorney (2016)


Articles

"BIM, Wearables, and the Cascading Array of Related Tipping Points," For the Defense (February 2020)
"The Arbitration of International Construction Disputes," The American Journal of Construction Arbitration & ADR (March 2019)

Blogs

HB Briefly

Briefly is designed to provide readers with updates on the latest litigation developments in California. Our focus is on general litigation as well as issues surrounding class actions, products liability, discovery, privacy, cybersecurity, and the professional practice of law.

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