Charles B. Lewis concentrates his practice in the area of construction law and litigation and is a member of Duane Morris' national Construction Practice Group. Mr. Lewis represents general contractors, construction managers, owners, architects and engineers, design builders, subcontractors, and material suppliers in matters involving contract drafting, contract negotiation, breach of contract claims, claims for extras, delay, disruption, loss of productivity, excessive change orders, out-of-scope work, and claims involving mechanic's liens.

Mr. Lewis is an arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association, having acted as a mediator in over 300 construction disputes, is an arbitrator for the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, and is a mediator for the Circuit Court of Cook County, Court Annexed Major Case Civil Mediation Program, run by the Circuit Court of Cook County. Mr. Lewis is an active member of the Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys, a fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, and a member of the Design/Build Task Force of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association. He has written articles for Construction Executive, President & CEO Magazine, Chicago Building Congress, Edifice, Chicago Bar Journal, Construction Law News and Illinois Law Journal. Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business cites Mr. Lewis as a leader in the area of construction law.

Mr. Lewis is a 1976 graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law and a graduate of the University of Michigan.

Areas Of Practice

Construction Law and Litigation
Alternate Dispute Resolution
Commercial Litigation

Representative Matters

Representing an "at risk" construction manager on two separate projects - the first with a contract value of $8 billion, and the second with a contract value of $2 billion.
Representing the general contractor on a $15 million claim against the owner as a result of the renovation of a landmark hotel in the city of Chicago.
Representing several continuing care retirement communities in construction contract drafting, construction contract negotiation and the construction of new facilities across the United States.
Representing the Government of Greece in responding to and defending against $200,000,000 in claims submitted by a consortium of 23 European contractors during construction of Lines 2 and 3 of the Athens Metro Rail System.
Representing the contractor in its claim against the owner arising out of the construction of a prominent restaurant and retail development in Moscow.
Representing a Taiwanese owner of a luxury hotel in Guam in two separate arbitrations against the designer and contractor arising out of the need to retrofit the building because of structural deficiencies discovered shortly before the hotel was opened.
Representing several large international engineering and construction firms in matters before the International Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland.
Representing the net lessee/landlord in the demolition, remediation, and reconstruction of the interior of a landmark building located next to Ground Zero in New York City.
Representing the surety in the default of a large general contractor with projects in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Virginia, and the bidding and reletting of those contracts as well as the prosecution of the many claims, both affirmative and defensive, which arose as a result thereof.
Acting as construction counsel to a Chicago hospital during the design and the construction of a $600,000,000 new facility, including the representation of its interests in an arbitration brought by a prime contractor. Subsequent representation of the same hospital during the current design and construction of a new $400,000,000 women's facility.
Representing the electrical contractor in a dispute with the design builder with respect to the replacement and modernization of approximately 74,000 streetlights for the City of Kansas City.
Representing the electrical and mechanical contractors in a dispute with the EPC contractor arising out of the construction of a 265 megawatt gas turbine combined cycle power production facility in Tiverton, Rhode Island.
Representing the contractor in a dispute involving the design and construction of a luxury hotel on South Beach in Miami.
Representing a large national contractor with respect to a major telecom construction project.

Professional Activities

American Bar Association
Illinois Bar Association
Chicago Bar Association
DuPage County Bar Association
American Arbitration Association
Forum on the Construction Industry
International Centre for Dispute Resolution
College of Commercial Arbitrators
Circuit Court of Cook County, Court Annexed Major Case Civil Mediation Program
Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, Design/Build Task Force
Chicago Building Congress
Associated General Contractors of America
Trial Lawyers Club of Chicago
- Former President
Chicago Construction and Real Estate Council
- Former Director

Admissions

Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, including Trial Bar
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

Education

University of San Francisco Law School, J.D., 1976
University of Michigan, B.A., 1972

Experience

Baker & McKenzie
- Partner, 1983-2001
- Associate - 1976-1983
Jenkens & Gilchrist
- Partner, 2001-2006
Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2006-present

Board Memberships

Board of Directors, Hinsdale Golf Club
- Vice President, 2008
- Secretary, 2005-2007

Honors and Awards

Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business; in Tier 1, one of six construction lawyers in the state of Illinois to be so honored
Listed in Best Lawyers in America
Named as a "Super Lawyer" by Chicago Magazine and Law & Politics
Named one of the leading attorneys in the area of construction law by the American Research Corporation
Named leading lawyer in construction law by the Chicago Law Bulletin Publishing Company and Leading Lawyer Network
Named leading lawyer in the areas of construction law and ADR law by the Chicago Construction Advisory Council
Former President of Trial's Lawyer Club of Chicago

Selected Publications

"The Art of Picking an Arbitrator," CBA Record, a publication of the Chicago Bar Association, April 2008
"The Art of Picking an Arbitrator," In The Alternative, a publication of the Illinois Bar Association, February 2008
Co-author, "Subcontractors Dealt a Winning Hand by Nevada Legislature - Nevada's Prompt Payment Act," Construction Lawyer, Legislative Update, Spring 2007
"Doing Business in Mexico," Construction Executive, February 2005
"Ten Tips for Making Your Mediation Successful - A View from the Mediator's Chair," President & CEO Magazine, September 2004
"What's Wrong with Chicago's New General Contractor's Licensing Ordinance?" Chicago Building Congress, The Edifice, Chicago, February 2005
"Discretion the Better Part of Valor: Arbitration in Lieu of Litigation," President & CEO Magazine, August 2003
"In Defense of Abstinence - The World Trade Center Attack Aftermath," Construction Law News, January 2002
"The Manifest Disregard of the Law Standard of Review for Domestic Arbitration Awards," Chicago Bar Journal, May 1998
"Restrictions on Attorney Contracts with Adversary's Former Employees," Illinois Law Journal, May 1995

Selected Speaking Engagements

Speaker, "Recovery of Attorney's Fees and Application of the Prevailing Party Standard," Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys, May 19, 2008
Speaker, "What To Do When Construction Projects Go Bad," Lorman Education Services seminar, Schaumburg, Illinois, March 11, 2008
Speaker, "Dispute Resolution Methods Used In Construction Cases," Chicago Bar Association, February 15, 2008
Speaker, "Construction Mediation - A View from the Mediator's Chair," Circuit Court of Cook County Court Annexed Mediation Program, Chicago, April 2006
Speaker, "Dispute Resolution Methods Used in Construction Cases," National Society of Professional Engineers, 2005 Annual Convention, Chicago, July 2005
Speaker, "To Engineer Is Human - But Who Pays for Engineering Design Problems on Transportation Construction Projects?" Illinois Road & Transportation Builders Association, Chicago, February 2005
Speaker, "Dispute Resolution Methods Used In Construction Cases," Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, January 2005
Speaker, "To Engineer Is Human - But Who Pays for Engineering Design Problems on Transportation Construction Projects?" The "A/E Issues" Construction Superconference, San Francisco, December 2004
Speaker, "New Highways from Virginia to Utah and Beyond/The Road to Design-Build Success," Owner's Construction Superconference, San Francisco, December 2003
Speaker, "Rescuing the Stalled Public Infrastructure Project - Lessons Learned from the Athens Metro - Drama, Pathos, Humor, Happy Ending," Forbes Magazine, Construction Superconference, London, May 2003
Speaker, "Arbitration: A Primer for Complex Contractual Disputes," ABA Annual Meeting, Section of Litigation, Houston, April 2003
Speaker, "Arming Your Advocates," Contractor's Construction Superconference, San Francisco, December 2002
Speaker, "Partnership and Leadership: The Secrets of Successfully Managing and Overseeing the Privatized Project to Deal with the High Risk of Construction Failure and Capital Loss," Forbes Magazine, "Worldwide Infrastructure Partnerships Conference," New York, June 1998