Michael W. O'Hara
Associate
Duane Morris LLP
Suite 200
1940 Route 70 East
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003
USA

Phone: +1 856 874 4216
Fax: +1 609 228 6076
Email: MWOhara@duanemorris.com

Michael W. O'Hara focuses his practice on construction and commercial litigation in federal and state courts and in mediation and arbitration. He handles disputes involving construction claims, real estate, commercial contracts, corporate governance, employment and insurance coverage. He has represented owners, contractors, subcontractors, sureties, material suppliers and design professionals in disputes arising from construction projects ranging from sophisticated industrial facilities to luxury homes.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, he is a member of the American, New Jersey State, Gloucester and Camden County bar associations, and the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry. Mr. O'Hara is a 1995 honors graduate of Rutgers University School of Law - Camden and a graduate of Rutgers University.

Representative Matters

• Counsel to surety in litigation arising from significant payment bond claim of excavation subcontractor on a major public transportation project. The firm obtained summary judgment in the U.S. District Court dismissing all claims.
• Counsel to owner in complex multi-party, multi-state litigation arising from construction of pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. The firm obtained favorable multimillion-dollar settlements.
• Counsel to a financial institution in litigation arising from massive internal fraud perpetrated by an executive of the financial institution and his various co-conspirators. In actions filed against co-conspirators, the firm obtained favorable settlements.
• Counsel to financial institution in litigation filed against a commercial borrower and its principals arising from the borrower's conversion of the lender's collateral. The firm obtained summary judgment in United States District Court in excess of $4.4 million.
• Counsel to a professional engineering firm in the defense of complex breach of public contract/construction defect claims arising from the construction of a landfill owned by governmental entity.
• Counsel to general contractor in multimillion-dollar construction defect claims arising from construction of prison facility.
• Counsel to a major real estate developer in its defense of multi-million dollar construction defect claims arising from the construction of condominium complex.
• Counsel to developer of condominium in claims asserted by and against terminated prime contractor.

Professional Activities

• American Bar Association
• U.S. Green Building Council - New Jersey Chapter
• New Jersey State Bar Association
  - Construction Law Section
• Gloucester County Bar Association
• Camden County Bar Association

Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Education

• Rutgers School of Law - Camden, J.D., with honors, 1995

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Associate, 1998-present
  
• Hoffman, DiMuzio & Hoffman, Woodbury, New Jersey
  - Associate, 1995-1998

Selected Publications

• Co-author, "When Is Defective Construction Work Sufficiently "Unsafe" for N.J. Statute of Repose's Protection of Defendants?," Duane Morris Alert, May 24, 2011
• Co-author, "Arbitration Is Exclusive Remedy for Displeased New-Home Warranty Claimants, per N.J. Appellate Division," Duane Morris Alert, May 24, 2011
• Co-author, "New Jersey Significantly Amends Construction Lien Law, Effective Immediately," Duane Morris Alert, January 31, 2011
• Co-author, "Government Contractors: New Government Spending to Speed Recovery Contains Traps for the Unprepared," Bloomberg Law Reports, May 6, 2010
• Co-author, "FAR Rules for Stimulus Funded Contracts: Alert 3 - Enhanced Contractors' Internet-Quarterly-Reporting Requirements," Duane Morris Alert, May 14, 2009
• "Recent Developments in New Jersey Construction Law," Duane Morris Alert, August 9, 2007
• "Developments in Individual Rights Jurisprudence," 25 Rutgers Law Journal 1022 (1994)

Selected Speaking Engagements

• "Managing Construction Projects," Lorman Education Services, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, February 2008
• "Managing Construction Projects in Pennsylvania," Lorman Education Services, Philadelphia, July 2007