Melinda S Gentile

Practice Areas

Construction & Infrastructure

Contracts, Project Documentation and Risk Management

Construction Dispute Resolution

Business Litigation

Government Contracts

Career

Melinda S. (“Mindy”) Gentile is Of Counsel in P&A’s Miami office, and serves as co-chair of the firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. Leveraging her more than 35 years’ experience as an esteemed construction lawyer and commercial litigator, she now dedicates her practice to focus solely on alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Mindy is an exceptionally qualified Arbitrator, Mediator, Neutral Evaluator, Dispute Board Member, Special Master, Fee Expert, and Private Resolution Judge.

Mindy’s full-time practice involves assisting parties in resolving disputes relating to the development, design, and construction of private or public projects and other general commercial disputes. Her insightful and practical approach, coupled with her deep understanding of the construction process and risk assessment, enables Mindy to bring thoughtful, creative, and effective dispute resolution services to each engagement. She has a unique tenacity and tireless commitment to the process of resolving disputes that enables her to provide an extraordinary level of service. An exceptional communicator with well-honed negotiation skills, Mindy effectively designs dispute resolution strategies to build consensus and assist parties in achieving success through voluntary resolution. Mindy is highly proficient in virtual platform-based dispute resolution processes.

While serving clients previously as a construction litigator and advisor, Mindy’s experience included preparing and negotiating bid and project documents, advising through the project administration phase, and handling matters ranging from government procurement and bid protests to contract disputes, and from construction liens to defect, impact, bond, and insurance claims. As she does now, Mindy has always recognized the importance of early identification and resolution of disputes – actively assisting her clients in avoiding litigation wherever possible. When dispute resolution could not be accomplished, Mindy vigorously represented her clients in varied complex litigation proceedings. She successfully handled a variety of matters before state and federal courts, and in arbitration, mediation, administrative proceedings, and private negotiations.

Coupled with her deep commitment to dispute resolution is Mindy’s dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the construction industry and in construction law. As co-creator of the annual Groundbreaking Women in Construction (GWIC) conference along with P&A Founding Partner Robert Peckar, Mindy champions national efforts toward removing barriers and promoting women and other diverse individuals in the construction industry and the construction bar. Mindy serves as co-chair of P&A’s Diversity Equity & Inclusion Committee, where she leads a firmwide committee of existing and emerging leaders as they build on the firm’s solid culture to create an even stronger future, both at P&A and outside the firm. Mindy was shortlisted for Outstanding Contribution at the Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards: North America 2021 for her efforts in furthering the advancement of diversity and inclusion.

Mindy is certified by the Supreme Court of Florida as a Circuit Civil Mediator and is a Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator. She is certified as a Specialist in Construction Law by the Florida Bar, and served on the inaugural Construction Law Certification Committee, which prepared the first exam for lawyers seeking certification as an expert in construction law in the State of Florida. She has also served as a Broward County Magistrate. Mindy was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Bar, Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, Construction Law Committee and was recently named to City & State Florida’s Construction Power 100 list. She has written and spoken extensively on construction, ADR, diversity, and ethics-related topics.

Professional Memberships

Florida Bar (Construction Law Committee and ADR Committee)

American Bar Association, Forum on Construction Law

Florida Academy of Professional Mediators

Broward County Bar Association (Construction Law Committee)

Miami-Dade County Bar Association

The National Association of Women in Construction

The Construction Association of South Florida

Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.

Publications

•“Building Bridges: The Realities and Implications of Diversity and Inclusion in Construction Law,” Best Lawyers Magazine June 2020.

•“Is the Construction Industry Ready? Hurricane Preparation in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic”, Daily Business Review, July 2020.

•“The Occupational Freedom and Opportunity Act Becomes Law”, Construction Ink!, July 2020.

•“COVID – The Construction Industry and Hurricane Season”, Daily Business Review, July 2020.

•“Virus Snarls Hurricane Preparation”, Engineering News Record, June 2020.

•“COVID-19 And Florida Construction: Lessons From the Frontlines in New York, New Jersey, and Around the U.S.,” Peckar & Abramson Client Alert, April 2020.