Legal Elite 2023: Construction Law Q&A

Title: All of our attorneys at Flora Pettit have the same title: Attorney at law.

Other legal specialties: Commercial litigation of all sorts, first and foremost. I handle employment law for construction clients and others, as well. Additionally, past tenures with institutional employers like the U.S. House of Representatives and the University of Virginia have allowed me to maintain cottage practices in higher education law, white collar/compliance, and internal investigations/crisis response.

Education: Bachelor’s degree, U.Va.; law degree, University of Pittsburgh

Family: My wife of seven years, Anna. We have three children: Violet, 5; Emerson, 3; and Felicity, 1.

Career mentors: Barry Hartman (K&L Gates) and Brian Stolarz (now at Norton Rose Fulbright) raised me as a baby lawyer and taught me how to handle high-pressure litigation. Deborah Sue Mayer (now at the International Criminal Court in The Hague) is the most dedicated public servant on the planet, and has been an invaluable resource since our first day together on Capitol Hill. Betsy Manuel at Smith Bain Manuel got me interested in construction law and patiently taught me how to do it well.

What’s the most rewarding construction law case you’ve worked on? It’s more of a public contracts case, but a couple of years ago, the City of Charlottesville donated a bronze statue of Robert E. Lee (yes, that one) to our client, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, which sought to turn the statue into a new public work of art. A lawsuit was filed against the city and the Jefferson School, alleging, among other things, that the donation violated the Public Procurement Act. The court ultimately dismissed that count on a plea in bar related to standing.

Check out the rest of the 2023 Legal Elite.