Career
Paul Monte is Co-Managing Partner of Peckar & Abramson’s New York City office, Chair of the firm’s Infrastructure practice group, and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. He has practiced construction, procurement and infrastructure law for more than 35 years.
Paul has significant transactional and project support experience on a variety of projects, including mega-projects, design-build, and public-private partnerships (P3s). He has extensive trial, arbitration, and appeals experience, successfully prosecuting and defending complex commercial disputes on behalf of contractors and owners.
Paul regularly represents international, national and local contractors and owners on large and small public and private projects, including bridges, tunnels, highways, process and power plants, airports, utilities, railroads, environmental, and high-rise and institutional buildings. As lead counsel, he has prosecuted and defended numerous delay and extra work claims, wrongful termination claims, and multi-district litigation involving construction and material defects.
Paul’s litigation experience helps him guide clients in transactional and general business matters, including joint ventures, and various regulatory compliance issues. He often provides transactional and project support services, providing advice in the pursuit phase through construction.
Prior to joining Peckar & Abramson, Paul was a partner with Berman, Paley, Goldstein & Monte, LLP. He is a former general counsel to a civil contractor and developer; and acts as outside general counsel to numerous small and mid-size contractors.
Paul has received numerous accolades. In 2017, he became a member of The Moles, and one of the firm’s lead representatives to The Beavers. He has been repeatedly named to Super Lawyers’ list of the Top 100 New York Metro area attorneys; a ranking designated for attorneys who ranked at the top of the list in the Super Lawyers selection process. Paul is recognized by Chambers USA as one of the leading construction lawyers in New York and has been regularly awarded Martindale-Hubbell’s highest AV-rating. He is also recognized as a leading construction lawyer by Best Lawyers and was named as their 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” for construction in New York City. Paul was named to City & State NY’s 2022 “50 Over Fifty” and 2023 and 2024 “Transportation Power 100” lists.
Paul is active in many local and national construction industry groups and trade associations and has participated in numerous seminars and written articles on construction and procurement law. A member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Paul was a member of its Construction Law Committee and Real Estate Law Committee. He is also a member of the American Bar Association, and the Westchester County Bar Association.
Professional Memberships
The Moles
The Beavers
Construction Lawyers Society of America (Fellow)
General Contractors Association of New York (Law & Legislation Committee)
Associated General Contractors of America
Associated General Contractors of America (New York Chapter)
Construction Industry Council of Westchester and Hudson Valley
Design Build Institute of America
New York Building Congress (Transportation and Infrastructure; and Public Building and Procurement Committees)
American Bar Association (Construction Industry Forum, Public Contract Section and Construction Litigation Committee)
New York City Bar Association
Westchester County Bar Association
Society of Construction Law (North America)
Publications
“Contractors Should Expect a New Wave of Climate-Resilient Projects,” P&A Client Alert, December 2021 (Co-Author)
“MTA Debarment Update,” P&A Client Alert, November 2019 (Co-Author)
“MTA’S New Debarment Powers Pose an Existential Risk (rev.),” P&A Client Alert, June 2019 (Co-Author)