Bill Shaughnessy

Construction Law

Bill Shaughnessy assists clients with some of the highest profile construction projects in the United States and abroad, from drafting and negotiating agreements to trying construction disputes in court and before arbitration panels. He represents owners, developers, contractors, design-builders and other parties on all types of commercial development projects, heavy civil and infrastructure projects, power generation and renewables, petrochemical and manufacturing plants, data centers, dams, hospitals, and stadiums. He handles matters throughout the United States and internationally, for clients in both the public and private sectors.

His disputes practice covers delay, differing site conditions, cumulative impact and disruption, design and construction defects, liquidated damages claims, and contractor default. Individual matters frequently exceed $100 million in claimed amounts and involve multiple parties, competing schedule and damages experts, and concurrent proceedings. He has tried and arbitrated these claims in AAA and international arbitration, before dispute resolution boards, in federal and state court, and on appeal, obtaining awards for clients after full evidentiary hearings, including multiple awards in which his client was determined the prevailing party and recovered attorneys' fees and costs. He pursues early mediation and resolution in parallel where it makes sense and is consistent with the client’s objectives, and regularly reaches commercially reasonable outcomes for clients in mediation and other dispute resolution processes.

Bill also serves as project advisory counsel to owners, developers, and contractors. That role begins with the contract. He prepares and negotiates billions of dollars in complex construction agreements across project delivery methods, including EPC, design-build, and guaranteed maximum price contracting, working from both bespoke documents and industry standard forms such as AIA and ConsensusDocs. Bill has experience in energy and infrastructure: offshore wind in the United States, Canada, and Asia; solar generation in Mexico; petrochemical and manufacturing facilities; highway and transportation projects; and large-scale data center, military, and federal construction. Bill works with clients on the commercial issues and risks that arise as the project proceeds, including changes and scope growth, notice and claim procedures, the path for resolving claims that cannot be worked out in the field, schedule and performance disputes, and decisions about default and termination.

Capabilities:

Construction Law

Arbitration and Mediation

Renewable Energy

Commercial Litigation

Member, Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), 2021-Present; Member, Construction Law and Operations Committee (CLOC), 2025-Present

Member, Atlanta Bar Association, 2017-Present; Member, Construction Law Section, 2017-Present; Chair, 2023-2024; Vice Chair/Chair Elect, 2022-2023; Member At Large, 2021-2022; Newsletter Editor, 2019-2021

Member, State Bar of Georgia