Joel Heusinger

Practice Areas

Joel Heusinger has practiced law with Woods Aitken since 1986 with an emphasis in construction law and litigation. He has been involved in numerous complex construction disputes throughout the United States involving hundreds of millions of dollars in claims and damages as well as the management and review of millions of pages of documents and electronic data. He has also participated in over 400 mediations and numerous arbitration hearings.

Joel advises and represents contractors, subcontractors, public and private owners, architects, engineers, and surety companies in federal and state courts, mediations, arbitrations, and special master proceedings, on a variety of matters. For example, he has handled client disputes involving airports, military bases, bridges, dams, tunnels, power plants, cogeneration plants, stadiums, hospitals, underground utilities, highways, water treatment facilities, high-rise dwellings, condominiums/multi-family dwellings, renovations, data centers, office buildings, schools, sewers, shopping centers, ethanol plants, wind farms, manufacturing plants, casinos, hotels, and resorts.

Joel works hard to evaluate each client’s situation as early in the process as possible. He then informs the client of his assessment and possible business risks involved in whatever the client is facing. He always explores the available dispute resolution options, and he recommends the course of action that will minimize the potential risks to his clients. Joel has found that a team approach is often the key to obtaining a positive outcome for his clients, so he frequently works in collaboration with the client’s project and in-house team as well as other members of the Firm’s Construction group in a joint effort toward more efficiently achieving the client’s goals.

Joel speaks regularly at industry conferences and seminars and has prepared numerous papers regarding current construction issues. He is actively involved in numerous professional organizations, including as a member of the American Bar Association Forum Committee on the Construction Industry and the Section on Public Contract Law, where he was Chairman of the Construction Contract Committee from 1995-1998.

In 2016, Joel was named as a Fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers. He has also been named in Who’s Who in Construction Law every year since 2005, and he is frequently recognized for his excellent service and many contributions to the fields of construction law and commercial litigation. Joel is also an adjunct professor of Pretrial Litigation and Construction Practice at the University of Nebraska College of Law.

Professional Memberships

-Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers

-American Arbitration Association, Panel Member

-American Bar Association, Forum on Construction Law, Section on Public Contract Law

-Colorado State Bar Association

-Nebraska State Bar Association

-Fellow of the Nebraska State Bar Foundation

Personal

Duke University School of Law, 1986, J.D. (with honors); Bob Jones University, 1983, B.A. (magna cum laude)

Work Highlights

-Represented electrical subcontractor with $19 million in claims arising from work at computer processor manufacturing facility in Colorado Springs. Full recovery was obtained.

-Represented general contractor in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by steel mill in Oregon. The project involved a $200 million addition to the facility. Contractor obtained over $2.5 million recovery and the owner’s $60 million back charge was entirely defeated.

-Represented a joint-venture steel erection contractor in a two-week arbitration regarding claims arising from the construction of the Cincinnati Civic Convention Center. Arbitrator awarded approximately 85% of claim plus attorney’s fees.

-Represented general contractor in claim submission to the GSA on behalf of the general contractor and various subcontractors on $150 million GSA office building in San Francisco. Contractor ultimately obtained $15 million through a staged mediation process.

-Represented highway contractor against state department of roads in one-month jury trial resulting in jury verdict of approximately $1 million.

-Represented contractor in condominium construction defect matter in Denver. Obtained full recovery for contractor of $2.7 million from Insurers.

-Represented a public owner in an insurance coverage dispute pertaining to differing site condition claims arising from the tunnel construction phase of a water intake system located under Lake Mead, Nevada. Following a three-week hearing, the Arbitration panel awarded the owner over $30 million, plus costs of the arbitration and pre-judgment interest.