Closure ADR Group

Frank E. Riggs is a partner in the Atlanta office of Troutman Sanders LLP. He graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1974; and received his undergraduate degree in 1971 from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he was president of the student body and a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa honorary society.

Mr. Riggs’ practice is limited to construction law matters, including the counseling of owners, general contractors, construction managers, trade contractors, suppliers and design professionals in dispute avoidance, as well as the representation of construction industry participants in complex construction disputes. Mr. Riggs is an active national lecturer and writer in the field of construction contract law. As a senior member of his firm’s Construction and Government Contracts Practice Group,

Mr. Riggs has practiced before the Claims Court in Washington, various Federal Boards of Contract Appeals, and in state and federal courts across the country. He is a member of the Georgia and Colorado Bar Associations, the Construction Financial Management Association, the ABA Section of Public Contract Law, and the ABA’s Forum Committee on the Construction Industry. He has served on the American Arbitration Association’s panel of arbitrators for construction contract disputes. Mr. Riggs is a past Director of the Construction Law Division of the Atlanta Bar Association, and a past co-chair of the Bonding and Insurance Committee and of the Subcontracts Committee of the ABA Section of Public Contract Law.

Publications and Speeches

Contributing Editor, Financial Management and Accounting for the Construction Industry, published by the Construction Financial Management Association (1997)
National Editor, Lienlaw Online, a comprehensive on-line resource covering lien laws in 50 states, published by Lienlaw Online, Inc. (2002)
Speaker, Fundamentals Of Construction Law—Learn The Basics From The Pros, ABA Forum On The Construction
Industry (2002)
"Subcontract Termination: Ten Rules for Managing the Risks," Construction Accounting & Taxation (July 2003)
"Practical Recommendations For Documenting And Demonstrating Extra Work Costs," CFMA Building Profits (January 1997) (to be reprinted in the January/February 2004 "Timeless" issue of CFMA Building Profits)
Co-author and Presenter, Georgia Construction Law, Lorman Business Center, Inc. (1998)
Contributing Author, "Common Sense Construction Law," Wiley Publications (2001)
"Ten Commandments For Selecting Your Construction Lawyer," Dixie Contractor (November 1992)
"Managing Payment Risks: Navigating The Lien Law Maze," CFMA Building Profits (January 2002)
"Avoiding Environmental Risks," Dixie Contractor (April 1996)
"Owner’s Damage Claims," presented at the first Annual Meeting of the ABA Forum Committee On The Construction Industry (1985)
"Default Termination Checklist," State Bar of Texas Construction Law Newsletter (Spring 2001)
Co-author and Presenter, Georgia Construction Law, Federal Publications, Inc. (1996- )
Co-author and Presenter, Georgia Construction Law: From Bidding To Final Payment, Lorman Business Center, Inc. (1999)
Co-author and Presenter, Construction Mechanics’ And Materialmen’s Liens, Institute Of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia (2003)
"Millennium Bug Checklist," Dixie Contractor (June 1999)
Visiting Lecturer, Southern Polytechnic Institute, Graduate Construction Law Courses (2002- )
Co-author and Presented, Practical Construction Project Documentation, an SCH-published practical manual for construction supervisors (1990-2003)
Author and Lecturer in numerous seminars and workshops on construction law, alternative dispute resolution, and claims avoidance with industry groups over the last 25 years.

Bar Memberships and Positions

American Bar Association
State Bar of Georgia
State Bar of Colorado
Atlanta Bar Association
Past Director, Atlanta Bar Association, Construction Law Section
Co-Chair, American Bar Association Section of Public Contract Law, Bonding and Insurance Committee
Co-Chair, American Bar Association Section of Public Contract Law, Subcontracts Committee
Member, ABA Section of Public Contract Law
Member, The Construction Financial Management Association
Selected as a "Georgia Super Lawyer" for 2004 in the March 2004 Atlanta Magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers magazine.

Admitted To Practice Before

Supreme Court of Georgia (1974)
United States District Courts in Georgia (1974)
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth and
Eleventh Circuits
United States Claims Court
Various Federal Boards of Contract Appeals

Experience

Partner, Troutman Sanders LLP, 2005-Present
Partner, Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP, 1980-2005
Associate, Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP, 1974-1979>/li>

Education

University of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 1974)
University of Southern Mississippi (B.S., Political Science, with honors, 1971)

Memberships

Atlanta Bar Association, Construction Law Section, Member; Past Board of Directors
American Bar Association, Section of Public Contract Law, Subcontracts Committee, Past Co-Chairman
American Bar Association, Section of Public Contract Law, Bonds and Insurance Committee, Past Co-Chairman
Construction Financial Management Association, Member and publications author
Design/Build Institute of America, Member
The Dispute Resolution Board Foundation, Member
Closure ADR Group, Arbitration and Mediation Panelist
American Arbitration Association, Past Construction Panel Member

Presentations

Speaker, Owner Damage Claims, Annual Meeting of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry (1985)
Speaker, Georgia Construction Law, Lorman Business Center, Inc. (1997-1999)
Speaker, Georgia Construction Law, Federal Publications, Inc. (1996- )
Speaker, Fundamentals of Construction Law—Learn The Basics From The Pros, ABA Forum of the Construction Industry, Atlanta (2002)
Speaker, Construction, Mechanics and Materialmen’s Liens, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia (2003, 2005)
Visiting Lecturer, Southern Polytechnic Institute, Graduate Construction Law courses (2002-2003)
Author and Lecturer in numerous seminars and workshops on various aspects of construction law, alternative dispute resolution, and claims avoidance with industry groups over the past 25 years.

Publications

Practical Recommendations For Documenting And Demonstrating Extra Work Claims, CFMA Building Profits (January/February 1997 and January/February 2004)
Subcontract Termination: Ten Rules For Managing The Risks, Construction Accounting and Taxation, published by the Construction Financial Management Association (July 2003)
National Editor, LienLaw Online, a comprehensive on-line resource covering lien laws in 50 states, published by LienLaw Online, Inc. (2002)
Financial Management and Accounting For The Construction Industry (Release #10), Chapter 11—Practical Recommendations for Documenting and Demonstrating Extra Work Costs, CFMA, (July 1998)
Georgia Construction Law: A Legal Perspective, co-author, Lorman Publication (1998-1999)
Owner Damages, ABA Forum On The Construction Industry, (1985)
Project Checklists: A Practical Approach to Avoiding Pitfalls, co-author with Thomas J. Kelleher, Jr., (1992)
Avoiding Environmental Risks, Dixie Contractor, (April 1996)
Default Termination Checklist, State Bar of Texas Construction Law Newsletter (Spring 2001)
Managing Payment Risks: Navigating the Lien Law Maze, CFMA Building Profits (January/February 2002)
How To Make The Best Use Of Your Construction Lawyer, CFMA Building Profits (March/April 2005)

Ratings

Frank Riggs has achieved Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards.

Representative Engagements

Lead counsel to Florida city government in the successful defense against a multi-million dollar extra work and delay claim by the general contractor on a large wastewater treatment plant addition and renovation project.
Litigation counsel to a large Midwestern electric utility in connection with performance issue disputes, delay claims and defective design claims arising out of construction projects at this Midwestern state’s largest coal-fired generating units.
Litigation counsel in multiple representations for three of the top ten U.S. specialty contractors as ranked by the Engineering News-Record.
Lead counsel to several resort developers in contract negotiations, construction contract monitoring, and ADR proceedings for large development projects in the Caribbean.
Lead counsel to several general contractors in contract negotiations and dispute resolution proceedings involving major construction projects at Florida’s Disney World and Epcot facilities.
Litigation counsel to the owner of a children’s hospital in the mid-Atlantic states in the prosecution of more than $30 million in delay and defective work claims against multiprime contractors.
Lead counsel in multiple representations of owners and general contractors in federal government contract matters, including construction contract and service contract matters, and including trials before various federal agency boards of contract appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Litigation counsel to a large general contractor in prosecuting and defending claims arising out of the construction of a storage and treatment facility for nuclear waste at the DOE’s Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center.
Arbitration counsel to Atlanta developer in the successful effort to recover from an insurance company more than $3 million in costs incurred in rebuilding a fire-damaged historic cotton mill property.
Litigation counsel to Atlanta-based global hotel company in defending against contractor claims on hotel projects in Atlanta and Philadelphia.
Counsel to Middle Eastern royal family member in connection with a real estate development and construction project in the southeastern United States.
Litigation counsel to a coalition of general contractors and subcontractors in the successful pursuit of a multi-million dollar extra work and delay claim against an airport authority.

Bar And Court Admissions

Georgia, 1974
Colorado, 1997
United States Court of Federal Claims
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
United States District Courts in Georgia

Civic Involvement

Tophat Soccer Club, Board of Directors (1990- )
University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association, Board of Directors, Past Member