Joshua B. Levy

Career

One of the country’s top construction attorneys and the leader of the firm’s Construction & Design practice, Josh helps clients navigate the challenges they face in the volatile, risky construction industry.

Josh is an industry-focused attorney who has assisted clients with commercial construction projects for more than thirty years—including a stint in-house for a national construction firm. Thanks to decades of experience and his personal passion for the industry, Josh’s knowledge of the construction process is virtually unsurpassed among legal professionals. He offers soup to nuts services to owners, architects and contractors, beginning with negotiation and drafting of sophisticated contracts, often involving projects valued in the hundreds of millions. Josh also provides extensive training to clients and their internal teams, resolves challenges that occur during execution, and, when necessary, represents clients in litigation.

A respected thought leader, Josh founded the firm’s Construction Academy, which serves as a resource for attorneys, clients and other construction professionals seeking to understand the legal fundamentals of the industry. He has also developed the Breachless Execution training program, which seeks to demystify the function and use of contracts in construction projects and which he frequently presents to clients and industry organizations.

Josh’s goal is to help all parties execute their work without a breach. Clients want to deliver their promised services, and he helps them negotiate contracts that will serve as the roadmaps for complete delivery. While no contract can anticipate every possible obstacle that might arise, Josh develops contracts that provide the necessary framework to resolve any challenge—and when a crisis does occur, he is immediately on hand to guide the client through to a resolution.

While Josh is a gifted negotiator who aims to keep clients out of litigation, he is a highly experienced and effective advocate who has successfully represented clients at numerous bench and jury trials in both state and federal court. He’s known for his solid grasp of both the construction process and the facts of a dispute, and his experience on all sides of construction matters helps him anticipate the opposition’s next move. Outside of court, Josh has also represented clients in more than 60 American Arbitration Association (AAA) hearings and has served on the AAA roster of construction industry arbitrators since 2009.

Alongside his legal practice, Josh is deeply committed to the firm’s HB Communities for Change initiative, which promotes economic empowerment among qualifying minority-owned businesses and entrepreneurs through pro bono legal representation. Josh sees the construction industry as an important platform for effecting change for small, minority businesses, and he works with a diverse roundtable of contractors to encourage growth. He also serves as an organizer of the annual Cream City Construction Conference in support of Milwaukee’s minority contractors.

Professional Memberships

American Arbitration Association, Construction Industry Roster, Arbitrator

Association of Licensed Architects, Wisconsin Chapter Counsel

Associated Builders and Contractors, Wisconsin Board of Directors

Construction Financial Managers Association

Surety Association of Wisconsin