Getting Ahead of the Wave of Claims: Understanding Dispute Resolution Options

Deborah S. Griffin is senior counsel in the litigation group of the law firm of Holland & Knight LLP. Her practice concentrates in the areas of construction, surety bond law, bankruptcy, and commercial, banking and insurance litigation. She advises contractors, owners, and sureties and handles construction disputes from start to finish. She writes and presents on construction, bankruptcy, surety and litigation issues. Ms. Griffin has chaired the ABA’s Forum on the Construction Industry and served as Vice-Chair of the ABA’s Fidelity and Surety Law Committee of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section where she served as liaison between the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry and the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC). 

H. Bruce Shreves, is managing partner and heads the construction/surety practice group in the law firm of Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, LLP. He handles dispute resolutions in the construction, insurance and surety industry, specializing in complex construction cases. Mr. Shreves is a frequent presenter on construction and surety law issues for the American Bar Association (ABA) and other national programs. He currently serves as Chair of the Louisiana State Bar Section on Fidelity, Surety and Construction law and serves on the American Bar Association, Forum Committee on the Construction Industry. He has authored many publications and is a contributing author to the Law of Suretyship. He is a member of the American College of Construction Lawyers. 

Michael A. Marra will moderate the Seminar. He is Vice President, Construction Division, the American Arbitration Association (AAA). He is responsible for expanding the use of AAA construction ADR services in the Mid-Atlantic States. He also has responsibility nationally for developing the AAA’s construction caseload and works closely with construction industry associations through the AAA’s National Construction Dispute Resolution Committee (NCDRC). In this capacity, Mr. Marra assists the corporate, legal and public sector communities in educating them on the various construction industry dispute avoidance and resolution techniques and in designing dispute resolution systems to meet their specific needs. Mr. Marra is a frequent presenter on the subject of Alternative Dispute Resolution.