Stites & Harbison, PLLC

Mr. Reams has significant experience with both litigation and construction contracts for large commercial projects and developments throughout the United States.  Mr. Reams has written and negotiated a variety of complex construction design, design-build and construction management contracts involving hundreds of millions of dollars for malls, shopping centers, industrial facilities, condominiums, and professional sports stadiums.  He has handled commercial and construction litigation matters in multiple states and he is a frequent speaker and writer on construction risk management for construction projects.

Recent Assignments

• Successfully defended a national non-profit corporation in federal court in New Orleans, Louisiana, from a contractor claiming they were improperly denied the award of two construction contracts totaling more than $30 million
• Jury trial of a complex real estate dispute involving competing claims to the same property
• Defended and prosecuted competing claims in federal court in Orlando, Florida, between a real estate developer and contractor
• Represented a lender in a lawsuit involving claims for competing priority between the bank's security deed and the contractor's lien
• Secured final judgments on multiple promissory notes and guarantees between a lender and various corporate borrowers
• Successfully negotiated the resolution of a multi-million dollar dispute involving a lender, developer, and contractor on a project for the construction of a multi-family housing project in New Orleans, Louisiana

Recent Speaking Engagements and Publications

• National Instructor, Design-Build Institute of America Design-Build Contract and Risk Management
• Contributing Author, "The Construction Contracts Book: How to Find Common Ground in Negotiating Design and Construction Contract Clauses," American Bar Association, 2d ed., 2008
• Key Contracts Teaching Assignments: U.S. Army National Guard, Puerto Rico; Panama Canal Authority, Panama City, Panama; Hawaii Department of Education, Honolulu, Hawaii; National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado
• Lecturer, Project Finance Transactions in the Post-NAFTA World, Services in NAFTA: A Decade Later, Tri-Lateral Symposium, Universidad Panamericana, Guadalajara, Mexico, November 2004
• Instructor, "Five Things Every Real Estate Attorney Should Know About Construction Law," Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, 26th Annual Real Property Law Institute, Amelia Island, Fla., May 2004
• Instructor, "Fundamentals of Construction Law in Georgia, The Construction Contract - An Ounce of Prevention," Sterling Education Services, LLC, Atlanta, Ga., February 2004
• Lecturer, "Defending and Avoiding Lien Claims," Avoiding Construction Claims Seminar, Atlanta, Ga., 2000 and 2002, and Washington, D.C., 2003

Before Stites & Harbison

Prior to joining Stites & Harbison, Steve was an Associate with the law firm of Alston & Bird LLP in Atlanta and prior to that, an Associate with Carlton Fields in Tampa, Fla.

More Than Stites & Harbison

Mr. Reams serves as a national instructor for the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA). He teaches the Design-Build Contract and Risk Management course, which is a required part of DBIA's formal certification process. The course highlights the advantages of design-build project delivery and equips construction industry professionals to manage the unique contractual, insurance and bonding risks associated with design-build. Steve has taught this course at locations throughout the United States and internationally to design and construction professionals from the private, public and military sectors. Recent notable teaching engagements have included a series of courses for the major NASA installation across the United States, the Panama Canal Authority in connection with the expansion of the canal, the Hawaii Department of Education who is expanding their use of design-build, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Army National Guard and the Pentagon Renovation Project. In addition, Steve serves on a voluntary basis as Church Legal Counsel and Deacon Chairman for the Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Besides Stites & Harbison

Steve has completed three years of German language study through the Goethe Institute and speaks, reads and writes German proficiently.