Overview
Joe serves as the managing partner of Burr's Chicago office. He is an experienced litigator and transactional attorney with a national practice that centers on construction, federal government contracting and procurement. His clients include owners, design professionals, general contractors and suppliers. In the federal contracting sector, Joe’s experience includes construction disputes involving:
- constructive changes
- default terminations
- defective specifications
- defective work
- delays/accelerationdiffering site conditions
- payment and performance bond claims
- prime-sub disputes
Joe also has extensive experience in commercial and real estate-related litigation, particularly construction litigation and disputes involving mechanics liens. He represents a wide range of Chicago-based, national and international companies involved in construction-related businesses, drafting and negotiating agreements for construction projects and advising clients at every stage in the construction process.
He also frequently represents and advises clients on corporate governance, regulatory and business issues.
Experience
- Worked on a defect claim relating to a retrofit conversion of a coal-fired steam plant to a green energy biomass plant using a proprietary gasification process.
- Litigated a major construction defect claim involving a government agency-secured site in Chicago, and drafted the transactional documents that abated the defect.
- Tried the two largest mechanic’s lien claims in Illinois history, including one involving the well-known Chicago Spire.
- Represented the prime contractor on a scheduling and delay claim for the Herbert Hoover Dike project around Lake Okeechobee, Fla.
- Drafted a development agreement for Operation Warp Speed that permitted the expansion and build out of manufacturing facilities necessary to accommodate vaccine production.
- Represented a member of a joint venture to bid on the construction of a $600 million nuclear facility for the U.S. Department of Energy.
- Represent employers in disputes arising from employee dishonesty and breaches of fiduciary duties by officers and directors.
Honors & Recognitions
- Named "Construction Litigation Attorney of the Year in Illinois" by Corporate International (2014) and Global Law Experts (2015)
- Included as a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers
Newsroom
News
Professional & Community
Civic Activities
- Furever Home Dog Sanctuary, Construction Board and Committee Member
Professional Activities
- American Bar Association
- Steering Committee, Division 9
- Chair, Boots on the Ground Leadership Committee
- Marketing Committee, Forum on Construction Industry
- Co-managing Editor of the AGC’s 50 State Law Matrix
- Chicagoland AGC, Diversity & Inclusion Committee
- Chicago Bar Association
- Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association (IRTBA)
Paralegal/Assistant
Legal Practice Assistant
Mary Cyr
(843)973-6809
mcyr@burr.com