Jim Archibald

Jim Archibald has been a construction lawyer with the firm for almost 22 years, serving as the Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Construction and Procurement Practice Group from 2009 to 2014, when he was elected to serve on the Firm’s Managing Board.

Jim has advised clients on public and private projects, including projects administered by the U.S. State Department, the U.S. General Services Administration, and the Army Corps of Engineers. He has extensive experience prosecuting and defending differing site conditions, extra work, delay, acceleration, impact, and inefficiency claims on private and public jobs. Many of these claims have exceeded $10 million, and have included claims by the general contractor and pass-through claims by numerous subcontractors.

Jim also advises owners and design builders on heavy industrial projects, and has handled multi-million-dollar performance disputes and defaults arising out of these projects. For example, he represented the EPC Contractor for the Blue Water Fiber Waste Water Treatment Plant in Port Huron, Michigan against claims by the owner and the bondholders who financed the project that the Plant failed to meet performance guarantees.

Aspects of this dispute were litigated in Federal Court in Detroit, Michigan, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit, Michigan. He also represented the owner/developer of the AES Red Oak 800 MW Power Plant in Red Oak, New Jersey, asserting claims against its EPC Contractor for failing to meet performance tests and guarantees for the Plant in a major lawsuit in New York.

Finally, he represented the contractor in performance disputes arising out of a Natural Gas Expander Plant in Philadelphia, defending against claims that the Plant failed to meet certain performance guarantees.

Education:

• University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1993, Order of the Coif; Law Review
• Emory University, B.A., 1990, summa cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa, 1989

Professional & Community Activities:

• American Bar Association
• Birmingham Bar Association
• ABA Forum on the Construction Industry
• ABA Section of Public Contract Law