Clark Thiel

Clark Thiel’s practice is concentrated on international and domestic construction project counseling and dispute resolution, including mediation, arbitration and litigation. Clark leads Pillsbury’s Construction Counseling & Dispute Resolution practice.

He advises facility owners and developers, contractors and design professionals on managing the risks inherent in the construction process from the planning, design and entitlement stages through project closeout and dispute resolution.

Also a licensed contractor and registered architect, he not only litigates complex construction disputes regarding delay and cost overruns, breach of contract, professional liability and other issues; he also assists clients in negotiating and drafting design, construction and EPC contracts.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE :

• Represented Jacobs Engineering Group in the arbitration of over $100 million in disputes arising out of the design and construction of copper and molybdenum mining facilities in Arizona, settling matter for favorable terms.
• Represented MGM Resorts International in a $950 million dispute with Tutor-Perini regarding the construction of the CityCenter resort complex in Las Vegas. Settled out over 250 subcontractor claims before trial.
• Provide advice and counsel to Sand Hill Development Company regarding its development of a $3 billion mixed-use facility in Cupertino, Calif., including the negotiating and drafting of design and construction agreements.
• Obtained a $1.2 million federal jury verdict in favor of a landlord against a tenant’s insurer for property damage and other losses resulting from a partial collapse of the tenant’s nightclub within the client’s resort and casino complex. (Ramparts Inc. v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., U.S. District Court for the District Of Nevada).
• Secured the dismissal with prejudice of a Professional Liability Carrier’s $25 million subrogation claim against a contractor purportedly relating to the contractor’s involvement in the design and construction of hospital facilities in Northern California. (Moon Mayoras Architects, Inc. v. Hunt Construction Group, Inc., San Mateo Superior Court).
• Represented the owner and developer of a new 710 MW combined-cycle cogeneration plant in litigation involving its host facility’s bankruptcy and avoidance of the contractual requirements to take and pay for the plant’s output
• Provided advice and counsel to the owner and developer of a power plant regarding the logistical and regulatory issues regarding alternatives for the distribution and use of the steam and electricity generated by those facilities.
• Provided counseling to a wind turbine manufacturer with regard to deficiencies in the design, fabrication and delivery of steel turbine towers.
• Provided advice and counsel to the design-builder of a solar energy farm with regard to the developer’s insolvency and the transition of the project to new investors.
• Represented a Pakistani contractor in ICC International Court of Arbitration proceedings regarding the reconstruction of a major airport in Afghanistan.
• Represented a design-build contractor in international arbitration proceedings regarding substantial delays and cost overruns claims arising out of the design and construction of a $100 million foreign government military radar installation on a remote mountaintop in Asia.
• Represented a major electronics manufacturing company in the drafting and negotiation of EPC contracts for its 150,000-square-foot disc drive component manufacturing facility in northern Thailand.
• Represented an international grocer in preparing its suite of standardized contract documents for the design and development of its nationwide network of retail distribution outlets.
• Prepared a suite of design and construction contracts and negotiated individual agreements for a developer of high-quality apartment communities currently comprising more than 12,300 apartment homes across 42 markets throughout the United States.

Associations :

• Trial Law Institute
• Diversity Law Institute
• American Bar Association
• American Institute of Architects
• The Jefferson Society

EDUCATION :

• J.D., University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law, 1997
• M.Arch., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1988
• B.S., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1984

ADMISSIONS : California, Nevada

COURTS :

• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Courts for the Central, Eastern and Northern Districts of California
• U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada