Richard H. Lowe concentrates his practice in construction and commercial litigation and construction law. He handles complex construction litigation, arbitration and mediation matters for owners, contractors, design-builders, design professionals, sureties, subcontractors and suppliers, and has drafted and negotiated construction contracts exceeding $100 million.

Mr. Lowe is extremely active in the Associated General Contractors of America ("AGC"). As chair of the AGC's BIM Forum's Legal Subforum, he has led a national effort to create a BIM Addendum, the first contract form in the world specifically applicable to projects using Building Information Modeling. Also, he serves as the vice-chair of the AGC's Contract Documents Committee, a leader in the promulgation of the ConsensusDOCS family of documents that now rivals the AIA form documents.

Long active in the American Bar Association, Mr. Lowe has served as co-chair of the ABA's Construction Litigation Committee, the second largest committee in the ABA Section of Litigation. He also has served as a member of the Steering Committee for Division 3 (Design) of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry. He is a co-chair of the ABA Construction Forum's Fall 2008 Program on the ConsensusDOCS, to be held in Chicago on September 11 and 12, 2008. Further, he was an editor of "The Construction Contracts Book: How to Find Common Ground in Negotiating Design and Construction Contract Clauses," 2004, an ABA book stemming from a paper he wrote. In addition, he is a member of the Society of Construction Law, the largest group of construction lawyers in the United Kingdom. He has lectured and written on a variety of construction law topics, both across the United States and in Great Britain. Mr. Lowe was listed in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers 2005, one of only five construction lawyers in Pennsylvania and one of 369 lawyers worldwide to be so honored, and three times has been named as a "Super Lawyer" in construction in Philadelphia. Mr. Lowe also serves as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.

Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New York, Mr. Lowe is a 1982 graduate of New York University School of Law, where he graduated with honors, and a graduate of Yale University. He has also served as the Borough Solicitor for the Borough of Swarthmore.

Areas Of Practice

Construction Law and Litigation
Commercial Litigation

Professional Activities

American Arbitration Association
- Arbitrator, 2002-2004
American Bar Association
- Section of Litigation
-- Construction Litigation Committee
--- Committee Co-chair, 2001-2003
--- Co-chair, Program Subcommittee, 1999-2001
--- Chair, State Law Survey Subcommittee, 1997-1999
- Forum on the Construction Industry
-- Steering Committee for Division 3 (Design), 1997-2004
Philadelphia Bar Association
- Real Property Section
-- Construction Contracts Committee
--- Chair, 1997-1999
- Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP)
-- Board President, 1994
-- Board Member, 1987-1995
- Young Lawyers Section
-- Executive Committee, 1987-1989
Society of Construction Law (United Kingdom)
- Member, 2000-present

Admissions

Pennsylvania
New York
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Education

New York University School of Law, J.D., with honors, 1982
Yale University, B.A., 1978

Experience

Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2003-present
Jacoby Donner, P.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Shareholder, 1988-2002
Law Offices of Carl Zucker, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Associate, 1987-1988
Wolf, Block, Schorr, and Solis-Cohen, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Associate, 1985-1987
Baer Marks & Upham, New York, New York
- Associate, 1982-1985

Board Memberships

Design-Build Institute of America
- Board Treasurer, Philadelphia Chapter, 2001-present
- Member, Process Industry Committee, National Chapter, 2001-present
Construction Company Strategist
- Advisory Board, Brownstone Publishing Company, 1999-2001
Construction Financial Management Association
- Board Member, Philadelphia Chapter, 1997-2001

Civic and Charitable Activities

Swarthmore Borough Solicitor, Swarthmore, 1998-2000
William Penn Charter School Alumni Association, Philadelphia
- Board President, 1990
- Board Member, 1987-1991

Honors and Awards

Listed in Who's Who of Business Lawyers 2005, one of only five construction lawyers in Pennsylvania

Selected Publications

"Battle of the Associations' Forms: AGC v. AIA," CONSTRUCT!, quarterly publication of the American Bar Association's Construction Litigation Committee, Spring Edition, 2003
Lead Co-author, "Design-Build for Public Education Projects," Design-Build for the Public Sector, Wiley publication, edited by Michael Loulakis, January 2003
"When Architects Withhold Certificates of Substantial Completion and Other Problems," Construction TODAY Philadelphia, General Builders Contractors Association, Fall 2000; The Construction Lawyer, Vol. 19 (American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry), October 1999
Lead Co-author, "Let's Make A Deal: Taking a Reasonable Approach in Drafting and Negotiating the Owner/Design Professional Agreement," American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry, Scottsdale, Arizona, October 13, 2000
"Construction Tips from Division 3: Checklist for the New A201 General Conditions," The Construction Lawyer, Vol. 18, (American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry), July 1998
"50-State Monograph on No Damages for Delay Clauses," American Bar Association, 1998
"Storing Materials at the Contractor's Yard,", The Construction Lawyer, Vol. 17, (American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry), October 1997
"How to Use Your Attorney Effectively: Strategic Strikes - Covert and Overt Operations," Building Profits, Construction Financial Management Association, March/April 1997
"American Bar Association Construction Litigation Committee Monograph on Economic Loss Doctrine in Construction Cases," prepared summary of law of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, 1995

Selected Speaking Engagements

"Allocation of Risk in Design-Build for Pharmaceutical Projects," Annual Meeting of the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers, sponsored by Design-Build Institute of America, Tampa, Florida, February 20, 2003
"Good Practices for Design-Build Contracts," Pennsylvania Chapter of the Design-Build Institute of America, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, February 3, 2003
Speaker, Construction Risk Workshop, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 11, 2002
Speaker, "Mediating Complex Construction Disputes," Philadelphia Bar Association ADR Committee, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 6, 2002
Speaker, "Traditional v. Design-Build: Comparing the Contract Issues," Society for Marketing Professional Services, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 9, 2002
Speaker, "Contracting for Design-Build Projects," Design-Build Institute of America (Pennsylvania Chapter), Exton, Pennsylvania, December 6, 2001
Speaker, "Risk Allocation in Design-Build," International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 7, 2001
Speaker, "Contract Issues in Construction," Lorman Education Services, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 14, 2001
Program Coordinator, "Cumulative Impact Claims: Fact or Fiction," American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 27, 2001
Speaker, "Comparison of Owner/Design Professional Form Agreements," Philadelphia Bar Association Construction Contracts Committee, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 15, 2001
Speaker, "How to be a Savvy Consumer of Design Services," AGC Construction Project Delivery Superconference, Dallas, Texas, February 8, 2001
Speaker, "Pennsylvania Construction Issues - Payment & Claims Process," Lorman Education Services, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 7, 2000
Speaker, "Introduction to Owner/Design Professional Form Agreements Used in the United States," Society of Construction Law (United Kingdom), London, England, November 28, 2000
Moderator and Program Coordinator, "Let's Make A Deal: Taking a Reasonable Approach in Drafting and Negotiating the Owner/Design Professional Agreement," American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry, Scottsdale, Arizona, October 13, 2000
Speaker, "Proving Damages in Delay and Disruption Claims," Construction Financial Management Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 13, 2000
Program Coordinator, "When Your Own Trial Witness Blows a Gaping Hole in Your Case, How Far Can You Go to Keep Your Case from Sinking Like the Titanic?" American Bar Association Annual Meeting, New York, New York, July 10, 2000
Speaker, "Change Orders 101," The Construction Specifications Institute's 44th Annual Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, June 23, 2000
Speaker, "Combating Dirty Tricks and Hardball Tactics - How to Lawyer Effectively on the Construction Site," American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 29, 1998
Speaker, "So You're Going to be Deposed," The Construction Specifications Institute Annual Convention, Baltimore, Maryland, June 12, 1998
Speaker, "Life After the New AIA Forms: Will Litigation Ever Be the Same?" American Bar Association, National Institute on Construction Litigation, Chicago, Illinois, September 18, 1998; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 2, 1998
Speaker, "Accounting, Bonding, Insurance, and legal Issues for Small Contractors," Construction Financial Management Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 21, 1998
Speaker, "Amendments to Architects' Licensure Law," Construction Financial Management Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 16, 1998
Speaker, "1997 Revisions to the AIA A201," Jacoby Donner, P.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 20, 1998
Program Coordinator, "Mediation Advocacy," American Bar Association's Section of Litigation Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., May 1997
Moderator, "Getting Paid," Construction Financial Management Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1996
Speaker, "Application of Economic Loss Rule to Construction Projects," American Bar Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, August 7, 1995
Speaker, "Pennsylvania Contractor and Subcontractor Prompt Payment Act," Philadelphia Bar Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 1994