Harper Heckman

Experience

Represented University in arbitration and mediation arising from delayed construction of student housing project

Represented structural steel erector in the defense of three wrongful death claims arising from building collapse

Represented construction manager in the recovery of extended representation fees through mediation with municipal agency

Represented owner of a high rise hotel in Santa Monica, CA in litigation and mediation seeking the recovery of damages caused by defective design

Represented electrical subcontractor in federal court litigation involving delay and disruption claims by and against a general contractor on a federal prison hospital

Represented mechanical subcontractor in collection of delay and disruption claims associated with the construction of a high-rise hotel at Universal Studios

Represented electrical subcontractor in multi-party litigation and mediation arising from delays in construction of University Student Activity Center

Represented owner of multi-phase mixed use and highway construction project in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

Represented hospital in contracting for a $250 million facilities expansion with the architect and general contractor

Represented utility company in defense of jobsite accident and wrongful death claims

Represented highway contractor in disputes involving its subcontractor and the North Carolina Department of Transportation

Represented owners, contractors and subcontractors in proceedings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Board

Practice Areas

Construction Law

Business & Commercial Disputes

Career

As the Chair of Maynard Nexsen's Construction Law Practice Group, and the former chair of the State and National Construction Bars, Harper Heckman has the knowledge and background clients need to take on virtually any industry issue – from contract negotiation to project claims. He has a long list of representative matters to back it up, with experience counseling clients in a number of sectors across a wide range of concerns.

Clients rely on Harper for day-to-day counsel on both routine and complex matters. He is well-versed in a number of legal areas but focuses his practice on construction law.

Harper represents public and private owners, developers, design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. He has tried cases in both state and federal courts and has argued before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the North Carolina Supreme Court, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Harper has served as a neutral in more than 150 construction disputes. In addition to being a NCDRC Certified Superior Court Mediator, Harper is a member of the American Arbitration Association’s Large and Complex Construction Panel of Neutrals. He routinely lectures on a variety of construction-related topics and has authored and co-authored a number of published materials.

Harper’s legal abilities and knowledge of industry issues have earned him a number of notable recognitions throughout the years. In 2015, Harper was elected as chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on Construction Law, the largest group of construction lawyers in the world. Harper is one of only three North Carolina lawyers inducted into the American College of Construction Lawyers and one of only five to receive a Band 1 ranking in Construction law from Chambers USA. In 2016, he was inducted into the Legal Elite "Hall of Fame" as the state's category winner for construction law. He was named Greensboro's 2013 and 2018 Lawyer of the Year for Construction Litigation and Greensboro's 2017 Lawyer of the Year for Construction Law by Best Lawyers in America. He is also a past Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association's Construction Law Section and the Contract Documents Division of the ABA's Forum on Construction Law.

Harper has been listed in Best Lawyers in America for Construction Law since 2008, North Carolina Super Lawyers in Construction Law since 2006, Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite since 2005, and The International Who's Who of Construction Lawyers since 2013.

Harper is active in both state and national Construction Law Bar Associations and is an adjunct professor of construction law at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Education