Steven M Charney

Practice Areas

Construction & Infrastructure

Contracts, Project Documentation and Risk Management

Construction Dispute Resolution

Public-Private Partnerships

Career

Steven M. Charney is Chair of the firm and is regarded as one of the foremost construction lawyers in the United States of America. Steve’s practice includes ongoing representation of contractors that are among the top ten as reported by Engineering News Record. Steve’s background couples extensive academic and hands-on experience in the construction industry with decades of experience in litigating for and providing legal counsel to contractors and developers.

Throughout Steve’s career, he has handled numerous construction related disputes, in court, arbitration or in alternative dispute forums. Steve frequently handles multimillion-dollar delay, lien, default, equitable adjustment, termination and construction and design defect matters. Steve’s experience includes the representation of contractors and owners in connection with some of the most prominent projects built throughout the United States. He represented the developer of the largest private building construction project ever to take place in New York City and represented contractors and design/builders in connection with numerous professional sports facilities (such as the Arthur Ashe tennis stadium and several National Football League and Major League Baseball stadiums). Steve led the Associated General Contractors of America to establish a task force to study mold related issues, and then vice-chaired that task force as it drafted the industry’s first guide to understanding this problem.

Steve serves as an adjunct professor for Columbia University, in both the College of Engineering and College of Law.

Before joining Peckar & Abramson, Steve served as Eastern Division Counsel for Turner Construction Company. Steve was employed by Turner Construction Company for nearly a decade, prior to entering private legal practice, and served in a number of operations related roles, including field superintendent, cost and scheduling engineer, and manager of litigation and claims, before serving as counsel.

Steve is a member of the Associated General Contractors of America, and was awarded the prestigious Gold Coin for his contributions to that organization, including his service on the Risk Management and Contract Document Committees of this leading national organization. Additionally, his contribution to the construction and development industry includes serving as general counsel to the Building Trades Employers Association New York (BTEA) and active engagement with the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure (AIAI).

Steve has often published commentary regarding issues applicable to the construction and development industries, including commentary in New York Construction. He is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and served on the Construction Law Subcommittee of that association. He is also a member of the American Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association.

In view of his accomplishments, Steve has been repeatedly recognized by Chambers USA, as a leading attorney in the field of Construction Law in New York. He has also been repeatedly named to Who’s Who of International Construction Lawyers, selected for inclusion in the publication Best Lawyers, and listed in New York Magazine as a top construction attorney in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area. Steve is also a fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers.

Steve is a graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law, where he attended as an evening student while working full-time in the construction industry. In 1983, Steve received a Master of Science degree in construction management from the School of Civil Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology (where he also studied as an evening student while working full-time in the construction industry). Steve also holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Syracuse University, with a concentration in construction technologies. In 2021, he completed FIDIC Certified Course Module 2: Claims and Disputes Resolution.

Professional Memberships

New York City Bar Association

New York State Bar Association

American Bar Association

Building Trade Employers’ Association

Associated General Contractors of America

Fellow, American College of Construction Lawyers

Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Contract Documents Committee and

Risk Management Committee

Publications

"MTA Implements Revised Contractors Debarment Regulations," P&A Client Alert, June 2020

"Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Guidance For Contractors," P&A Client Alert, March 2020

"Consequential Damage Waivers and Limitations of Liability: When Should I Include Them in My Contract and How Do I Overcome Them When They Gouge Me? Proving Bad Faith and Fraud", Construction