Seyfarth Shaw’s Construction Practice Continues Steady Expansion With Additions of Joseph A. Barra and John E. Bryan in Boston

Boston, MA (May 30, 2006) - - Seyfarth Shaw LLP, one of America’s leading full service law firms, announced that Joseph A. Barra and John (Jeb) E. Bryan have joined the firm’s construction practice; they are both based in the Boston office.  Barra joins the firm as partner; most recently, he was partner with Gadsby Hannah LLP.  Bryan is of counsel; prior to coming to Seyfarth Shaw he was Vice President and General Counsel for Vertex Engineering Services, Inc., an environmental and construction consulting company.

Barra has more than 23 years experience as an attorney and civil engineer.  His legal practice includes representing public and private owners, developers, construction managers,  design professionals, general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, architects, engineers interior designers, sureties and construction lenders in litigation and transactional matters involving defective design and construction, delays, payment disputes, certification hearings and U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Organization (OSHA) violations.  He has experience representing owners, developers and design professionals in disputes involving environmental impairment of real property.  In transactional matters, he drafts and negotiates design, construction, and design-build and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts.  Importantly, Barra’s engineering background includes the design and field supervision of several construction projects as well as developing the permit applications necessary for the construction and operation of several municipal solid waste treatment facilities.

Bryan has a strong background in construction and environmental law. While at Vertex, he was responsible for all corporate legal matters, drafting and negotiating construction contracts and managing an environmental services group.  He provided transaction support in connection with M&A and real estate transactions and assisted with due diligence (site assessments and compliance audits) and risk management of environmental liabilities arising from real estate transactions.  Bryan has project management and technical expertise in construction contracting, surerty defense, and construction management, as well as hazardous materials management, environmental regulatory compliance, environmental due diligence, oil and hazardous material site investigations, remediation, groundwater treatment system design and installation and environmental management.  Prior to his legal career, Bryan was a project engineer/civil engineer.

“The addition of Joe and Jeb complement the deliberate growth of our construction group in the Boston/North East marketplace that, with their solid backgrounds as attorneys and civil engineers, benefit our overall practice,” stated Richard McKim Preston, managing partner of the firm’s Construction Practice Group.  “Their joining the firm demonstrably and measurably underscores our commitment to growing the practice and enhancing the deep bench of attorneys offering significant construction law representation to our national client base.”

Seyfarth Shaw’s construction practice is one of the largest and most sophisticated in the country.  The construction group has extensive experience in developing contract documents that are designed to preclude costly disputes as projects progress.  The firm’s construction attorneys have worked with professional societies, including the Design Build Institute of America and the Associated General Contractors of America, to develop standard form agreements for use by architects, regional general contractors, and material suppliers.  On domestic and international projects, Seyfarth attorneys advise contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, and public and private owners engaged in commercial, industrial, and government construction.

Within the last 12 months, Seyfarth Shaw has welcomed several recognized and established attorneys to its formidable national construction practice.  Leah A. Rochwarg, also based in Boston (and also from Gadsby Hannah) focuses on the representation of owners and contractors involved in public and private construction projects in all aspects of construction law, arbitration and mediation.  Joining Barra from Gadsby Hannah is associate Jonathan Hausner, adding further depth and experience to the practice group and Boston office.

“We are very fortunate to be in the advantageous position of adding Joe, Jeb and Jon to the firm’s Boston office and the expanding construction group at the same time,” noted Lisa J. Damon, managing partner of Seyfarth Shaw’s Boston office. “Because their respective business relationships have national and international interests, their work distinguishes the group’s presence in Boston and very effectively strengthens our firmwide initiatives as well.”

Barra holds a B. S. in Civil Engineering from the Virginia Military Institute and received his J.D. from Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center.  Bryan earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Kansas and received his J.D. from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College.  Hausner has a B.A. from Roanoke College and a J.D. from Suffolk University.

“I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to be a part of Seyfarth Shaw’s substantive construction group,” stated Barra.  “I’m looking forward to working with my new colleagues in advancing our strong practice in Boston and beyond.”

“The beneficial challenges of working in Seyfarth Shaw’s nationally recognized and respected construction practice is the reason I’m transferring my in-house counsel experience for the dynamics of a large law firm practice group,” explained Bryan.  “This is an exciting next step in my career and I’m delighted to be part of this firm.”

Seyfarth Shaw has over 650 attorneys located in nine offices throughout the United States including Chicago, New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento as well as Brussels, Belgium.  Seyfarth Shaw provides a broad range of legal services in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation and business services.  The firm’s practice reflects virtually every industry and segment of the country’s business community. Clients include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, newspapers and other media, hotels, health care organizations, airlines and railroads. The firm also represents a number of federal, state, and local governmental and educational entities.  For more information, please visit www.seyfarth.com.

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