Capabilities

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.

We 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:

  • U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers have released their 2022 ratings for the "Best Law Firms" in America. Stites & Harbison earned 81 Metropolitan rankings. In addition, three of the firm's practices were rated National Tier 1. Click here to see the results.

  • 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 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 DisputesRobert 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.
Construction Specialty Areas
Main Contacts
What others are saying about us

Stites & Harbison is the premiere construction law firm in Kentucky and southern Indiana.

This comment was collected as part of the U.S. News — Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" research process. (2018-19)

Stites & Harbison has always been able to help regardless of the issue and/or complexity.

This comment was collected as part of the U.S. News — Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" research process. (2018-19)

I have the utmost faith and trust in Stites & Harbison.

This comment was collected as part of the U.S. News — Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" research process. (2018-19)

The construction law team at Stites & Harbison is outstanding. They have represented our company extremely well for many years. They are knowledgeable, give excellent advice, and they almost always achieve the desired results for our company. I feel like we have received very good value for legal expenses incurred when using the Stites & Harbison construction law team. I recommend them to anyone needing legal advice on construction matters.

U.S. News & World Report / Best Lawyers - "Best Law Firms" Client Interviews (2017)
See more related to Construction
Events

Stites & Harbison Signature Event

Date: 10/11/23
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, 430 West Vine Street, Lexington, KY 40507

Join Stites & Harbison for this Signature Event in Lexington for a special evening at Rupp Arena.

Stites & Harbison, PLLC September 15, 2023
Press Releases

Stites & Harbison Welcomes W. Tyler Lloyd to Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney W. Tyler Lloyd to the Louisville, Ky., office. He joins the Construction Service Group.

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC September 15, 2023
Press Releases

LexArts Elects Rebecca M.W. Sherman to Board of Directors

LEXINGTON, Ky.—LexArts recently elected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Rebecca M.W. Sherman to its Board of Directors. She previously served on the organization’s Corporate Giving and Horse Mania Committees.

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC September 13, 2023
Press Releases

Corporate Counsel Recognizes Marjorie A. Farris with 2023 Women, Influence & Power in Law Award – Managing Partner of the Year

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Corporate Counsel has honored Stites & Harbison, PLLC Chair Marjorie A. Farris as a “Managing Partner of the Year” in its 2023 Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) Awards. She is one of six women honored in this category across the country.

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC August 31, 2023
Press Releases

Stites & Harbison, PLLC Lawyers Named to 2024 Best Lawyers® Publications

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that 101 of its lawyers are included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC August 24, 2023
Events

Negating the Nasty: Negotiating Tough Contract Terms

Date: 8/23/23
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

AssuredPartners, 5905 East Galbraith Road, Suite 500, Cincinnati, OH 45236

Construction attorney Bill Geisen is set to discuss contract terms in this seminar presented by Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) on August 23, 2023.

William G. Geisen August 14, 2023
Events

“To Text or Not to Text…” Challenges to Defending Employment Matters Involving Text Messages

Date: 8/21/23
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:40 p.m.

WEBINAR

Employment attorney Shannon Hamilton challenges an employer may face when defending an employment matter that involves text messaging as evidence along with other matters in this myLawCLE webinar.

Shannon Antle Hamilton July 26, 2023
Client Alerts

Reevaluating Your Company’s Compliance Program

The United States Department of Justice’s Criminal Division (“Division”) announced a new program—called the Compensation Incentives and Clawbacks Pilot Program (“program”)—that will shift the burden of corporate financial penalties away from shareholders and onto culpable corporate employees.

by Michael Denbow, Brian Butler, and Rachel Gumbel, 2023 Summer Associate July 20, 2023
Client Alerts

Supreme Court: Employers Must Accommodate Employees’ Religious Practices Absent “Substantial” Increased Costs in Relation to the Conduct of the Business

Employment attorneys Robin McGuffin and Kyle Schroader take a look at the Supreme Court's decision on Title VII stating that employers must accommodate employee's religious practices.

by Robin E. McGuffin and Kyle S. Schroader July 05, 2023
Client Alerts

Artificial Intelligence: Accounting for AI in Construction Documents

Construction attorney Russ Hutchison takes a look at AI in construction documents in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.

by J. Ross Hutchison June 16, 2023
Client Alerts

Preventing Structural Failures Through Improved Communication of Design Intent

Prevention of structural failures is an objective that contractors, design professionals, owners, developers, steel fabricators, sureties, and construction insurers all share. Just this week an apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, partially collapsed raising concerns about persons who may be trapped inside, and the safety of those who are attempting to perform search and rescue operations in the unsound structure. Construction attorney Greg Parsons takes a look at this issue in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.

by Gregory P. Parsons June 01, 2023
Client Alerts

It's Gotta Stop!

Unfortunately, racial discrimination still occurs on construction sites throughout the country. Fortunately, leaders within the construction industry are taking steps to eliminate racism and other forms of discrimination within the industry. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) is stepping up enforcement efforts against the construction industry, as demonstrated, in part, by the EEOC’s recent $1.2 million settlement with The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company (“Whiting-Turner”) on a discrimination and retaliation claim. Construction attorney Bill Geisen takes a look at the discrimination issues in construction in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.

by William G. Geisen May 15, 2023
Client Alerts

Health Care Providers and Business Associates Beware: Use of Online Tracking Technology May Violate HIPAA

Entities regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) may be surprised to learn that use of certain online tracking technology may result in inadvertently sharing information protected under HIPAA with unauthorized third parties. On December 1, 2022, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance with far-reaching implications for HIPAA regulated entities highlighting their HIPAA compliance obligations when using third-party online tracking technologies designed to collect and analyze information pertaining to a user’s interaction with the regulated entity’s webpages and mobile apps.

by Stacy Shea Luna (Shea) and Sarah Cronan Spurlock April 28, 2023
Client Alerts

“To Text or Not to Text…” Challenges to Defending Employment Matters Involving Text Messages

A client recently received a litigation hold letter from an attorney representing a former employee. It demanded retention and preservation of all “documents and data” relating to or concerning the former employee, their work performance, and termination. The definition of documents and data also included all electronically stored information, “. . . such as e-mail, voicemail, . . . digital audio or video recordings, instant messages, text messages, social media posts, . . . and any other electronic information created, maintained or received by you.”

by Shannon Antle Hamilton March 31, 2023
Press Releases

Caroline Augenstein Joins Stites & Harbison in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney Caroline A. Augenstein to the firm’s Lexington, Ky., office. She joins the Construction Service Group.

by Caroline A. Augenstein March 29, 2023
Events

Dig Down Deep Spring 2023

Date: 3/31/23
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Construction attorneys Steven Henderson and Ross Hutchison will be featured speakers at this NUCA of Middle Tennessee's breakfast and networking event.

Steven M. Henderson and J. Ross Hutchison March 22, 2023
Events

UK Women Innovators Network Panel Discussion

Date: 3/28/23
Time: 3:30pm - 5:30pm

University of Kentucky, Gatton Student Center, Ballroom 212A, 160 Avenue of Champions, Lexington, KY

Join Mandy Decker and the UK Office of Technology Commercialization for the UK Women Innovators Network panel discussion of the book "Funded Female Founders: How to traverse the uneven playing field and secure funding to grow your business."

Mandy Wilson Decker March 10, 2023
Client Alerts

Strengthening Buy America Requirements

In his recent State of the Union speech, President Biden highlighted an intention to increase enforcement of Buy America requirements for federally funded infrastructure projects. The next day, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a proposed rule and notice of proposed guidance aimed at standardizing the implementation of the Build America, Buy America provision of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA or Act) enacted in November 2021. This proposed guidance is intended to clarify and strengthen enforcement of the Buy America requirements. Contractors pursuing and working on infrastructure projects funded by the Act need to be aware of these requirements summarized below.

by R. Daniel Douglass March 10, 2023
Press Releases

Stites & Harbison Attorneys Honored by 2023 Georgia Super Lawyers

ATLANTA—The 2023 edition of Georgia Super Lawyers recently honored three Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys based in the firm’s Atlanta office. The attorneys named on this years list are Dan Douglass, Joe Kingma and Billy Newcomb.

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC February 23, 2023
Events

When Race & Gender Meet: Experiences of Black Women in the Law

Date: 3/7/23
Time: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Louisville Bar Association Bar Center, 600 West Main Street, Louisville, KY 40202

Louisville office attorney Calesia Henson will be a member of the panel discussing "When Race & Gender Meet: Experiences of Black Women in Law" following the Louisville Bar Association's Justice William E. McAnulty Jr. Trailblazer Award presentation.

Calesia Henson February 22, 2023