Arthur C. Silverman
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
1540 Broadway
New York, NY 10036-4086
USA
Phone: +1 212 692 1096
Fax: +1 212 401 4729
Email: asilverman@duanemorris.com

Arthur C. Silverman, an MIT graduate engineer, is a construction lawyer. Described by Chambers USA 2013 as "one of the deans of the New York construction Bar," Mr. Silverman has represented institutional owners, private owners, developers, private equity investors, fund managers, lenders, program and construction managers, general contractors, architects, engineers and trade contractors. His experience includes contract negotiation and drafting for complex projects; construction management, general contractor and design-build agreements; general conditions, including Division 1 specifications; trade contracts; design team agreements; development agreements; DBOT agreements; and design/construct provisions in leases of build-to-suit structures and premises.

Recent examples of projects in which Mr. Silverman has represented owners and developers include the September 11 World Trade Center Memorial and Museum; the JetBlue Terminal at JFK Airport; high-tech uplink facilities for Home Box Office; the new Harlem campus for the Hunter College School of Social Work of the City University of New York; Eataly, the largest artisanal Italian food and wine marketplace in the world and located in a landmarked building; and City Point, a complex urban redevelopment, condominium, multi-use project in New York City.

Mr. Silverman is also experienced in distressed property workouts involving partially completed projects, and has written and lectured on creditors' rights and competing security and lien interests involving these projects.

Complementing the transactional side of Mr. Silverman's practice are many years of experience in construction dispute resolution (litigation and arbitration) involving claims for extra work, defective work, inefficiencies and delays.

Mr. Silverman has had considerable non-lawyer, leadership experience on behalf of non-profit institutions and other owners in leading and successfully completing several construction projects with an aggregate construction cost of over $115 million. He served for over 20 years as general outside counsel for one of America's largest construction companies. These real-world efforts inform Mr. Silverman's practical legal advice to clients concerning preconstruction services, project development, risk allocation, scope, incentives, liquidated damages, contingencies, principal guaranties, requirements of private and governmental financing, surety bonding, trade contractor default insurance, timely performance, budget development, budget compliance, cost control, and compliance with governmental requirements.

Mr. Silverman served as a member of a special mayoral commission appointed in 2007 to study and report on ways to reduce costs of construction of New York City public projects. As an active member of the Construction Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, he is presently engaged in studies relating to possible revisions of state and local law pertaining to budgeting and procurement of design and construction services for public facilities and infrastructure projects. He is also on a subcommittee to draft model jury instructions in construction law suits.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Silverman served a clerkship with the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit who was the sponsor of Mr. Silverman for admission to the Bar. He is involved in several community and charitable endeavors.

Areas of Practice

• Construction Law – All Aspects
• Project Transactional Documentation and Negotiation
• Dispute Resolution

Professional Activities

• The National Society of Professional Engineers
  - Associate Member
• New York Society of Professional Engineers
• Construction Specifications Institute
  - Professional Member
• New York Building Congress
  - Planning, Growth and Sustainability Committee
  - Higher Education Committee
  - Healthcare Committee
• American Bar Association
  - Forum on the Construction Industry
  - Section of Litigation
  -- Committee on Construction Litigation
  - Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, Commercial Real Estate Transactions Group
  -- Committee on Design and Construction
  - Section on Business Law
• Federal Bar Council
• Association of the Bar of the City of New York
  - Member, Construction Law Committee
• New York State Bar Association
  - Real Estate Section
  - Dispute Resolution Section
  - Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section

Admissions

• New York
• Supreme Court of the United States
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York

Education

• Columbia University School of Law, J.D.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, S.B.

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2008-present
• Thelen LLP
  - Partner, 1989-2008

Honors and Awards

• Listed in Corporate Counsel's Best Lawyers, 2011, 2012 and 2013
• Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013
  - Leading Construction Lawyer in New York
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2007-2012
  - Construction Law
• Listed in Avenue magazine's Legal Elite, 2010, 2011 and 2012
• Listed in Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition, 2008-2012
• Listed in Top Rated Lawyers in Construction, 2013
• Listed in Who's Who in American Law
• Listed in Who's Who in America
• Listed in New York Super Lawyers, 2006-2012
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Selected Publications

• "Getting the Most for Owners in Construction Contracting," The Voice (the official publication of The Construction Users Roundtable), Fall 2009