Construction

National and regional clients involved in a wide range of construction projects turn to Stites & Harbison for top-flight credentials and practical, real-world experience. Our construction attorneys include former contractors, construction-firm owners, civil and mechanical engineers, and journeymen crafts-people. We understand the day-to-day workings of your business in addition to its legal issues.

From aviation and health care facilities to manufacturing and power plants, and from commercial buildings to highways, bridges and other infrastructure, Stites & Harbison’s Construction Service Group understands the critical legal issues that affect your projects.

Our construction lawyers have worked with clients on projects located from coast to coast. We negotiate contracts, assist clients with claim prevention and resolution, and counsel clients on transactions, complex litigation and regulation. We offer many years of experience in mediation and arbitration, both as client advocates and neutrals. Whatever your needs, we have a strong team to represent you, utilizing the broad knowledge and experience of the attorneys throughout our firm. We also understand your concerns about cost effective representation.

Recent Accomplishments:

• The 2025 edition of Best Law Firms® has ranked Stites & Harbison as National Tier 1 for Litigation – Construction. Click here to see the full results.
• Four Stites & Harbison attorneys are Fellows of the American College of Construction Lawyers.
• Stites & Harbison lawyers are LEED accredited professionals and members of the U.S. Green Building Council. We are here to help you meet the rigorous standards of green building.
• The Construction Lawyers Society of America (CLSA) recognized Stites & Harbison with the 2017 and 2018 CLSA Law Firm Award.

We give back to the industry in many ways. Stites & Harbison has represented the American Institute of Steel Construction, National Steel Bridge Alliance, Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana/Kentucky, and the Associated General Contractors of Kentucky. We are also members of other industry organizations, serving as officers, board members, authors, and keynote speakers. Trade associations, professional societies, and members of the organized national construction bar regularly recruit us to provide articles and educational programs to their members. Our construction attorneys participated in the preparation of American Institute of Steel Construction Codes, Standards and Specifications, and have consulted with the American Institute of Architects and the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee on formation of these organizations’ standard construction documents.

Clients, construction trade associations and other industry organizations count on Stites & Harbison for help with a wide range of industry-related areas, including:

• Antitrust issues
• Bidding and procurement
• Contract disputes
• Corporate governance and membership
• Environmental
• Intellectual property
• Labor, employment, wage & hour and immigration law
• Legislation
• Lien enforcement
• OSHA and safety
• Payment disagreements
• State and federal tax code interpretation and enforcement

Other industry contributions from our Construction Law group include:

• “Chapters 18 & 19: Kentucky Construction Lien and Bond Law,” Cassidy R. Rosenthal, Co-Author, Fifty State Construction Lien and Bond Law Book, Third Edition, 2016 Supplement
• “Chapter 6: Discovery by Interrogatories,” William Geisen and Jessica A. Hill, Discovery Deskbook for Construction Disputes, Second Edition, ABA Forum on Construction Law, Editors: John M. Cook, Buckner Hinkle, Jr. and Alexander Moseley, 2015
• Kentucky Construction Law, written and edited by the construction attorneys of Stites & Harbison, published by HLK Global Communications, 2015.
• Discovery Deskbook for Construction Law Disputes – Robert M. Connolly is a chapter author, published by ABA Publishing, 2006.

With nationally recognized experience in construction law and hands-on experience in the business, we are uniquely qualified to address the needs of our construction clients.

A partial list of representative transactional and adversarial construction engagements in which the members of the group have been involved is listed below:

• Developed and negotiated design and construction contracts for owner/developer of $1 billion investment in manufacturing facilities in South Carolina
• Participated in the development of term sheets and EPC contracts for $3 billion coal gasification facility in Western Kentucky
• Drafted and negotiated design build contract for fracking sands plant
• Belk’s, Oxford, Miss. (2010)
• Best Buy, Gulfport, Miss. (2012)
• Camden Paces Apartments, Atlanta, Ga. (2013)
• Delta Wing, Opryland, Nashville, Tenn.
• Disney-MGM Studios Water Tower, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
• Federal Express World Headquarters, Memphis, Tenn.
• GlaxoSmithKline, Memphis, Tenn.
• Holder Construction Company: Stites & Harbison’s Atlanta offices
• Indiana-American Water Company, Jeffersonville, Ind.
• Lake Eola Condominiums, Orland, Fla.
• Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board, (Blue Grass Airport, Lexington, Ky.)
• Lexington-Fayette Urban County Courts Facilities, Lexington, Ky.
• Lexington-Fayette Urban County Detention Facility, Lexington, Ky.
• Louisville Airport Improvement Program, Louisville, Ky.
• Louisville Slugger Museum, Louisville, Ky.
• Mercer University Center, Macon, Ga.
• National Corvette Museum, Bowling Green, Ky.
• National Steel Bridge Alliance, Miss.
• NCNB Tower, Tampa, Fla.
• One Atlantic Center (IBM building), Atlanta, Ga.