HARVEY POLLACK

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Mr. Pollack’s primary knowledge and expertise is related to the construction industry, in the areas of litigation, claim preparation, disputes avoidance, contract negotiation and preparation. His experience extends to both the public and private sectors. Mr. Pollack has worked as both an attorney and consultant to the construction industry, representing every party in the construction arena. He presently serves as a neutral in the alternative disputes resolution process involving construction, commercial and labor/employment matters.

As a private practitioner, Mr. Pollack has participated in the resolution of cases involving construction and design defects in high-rise, residential, process piping, utility, highway, light rail, educational and medical facility projects. He had primary responsibility for claims preparation and defense for a prominent mid-western architect/engineer firm, where he successfully led the architect’s claims avoidance team during construction of the largest federal office building in Washington, D.C.; and played a key role in the favorable outcome of a $62M defective design claim (52 story office structure) against the project architect (settled for $4M). Other notable achievements involved a $5M contractor’s arbitration award against the owner of a coal gasification plant; the $4M settlement of a delay/defective design claim brought by four prime contractors in connection with the construction of two high school facilities; and the achievement of a $4M settlement on behalf of the owner of a process- piping facility, in the face of a $15M claim by the general contractor.

Mr. Pollack has prepared and presented training programs related to public and private construction contracts, disputes avoidance and resolution, risk allocation and architect/engineer liability. He was selected to provide counsel and disputes avoidance training to minority subcontractors working on the construction of a $300M indoor NFL stadium. In the realm of public contracts, while a deputy district counsel for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he was the lead defense counsel in multi-million dollar cases involving civil and military construction and supply contracts. His projects included the construction of airfields, missile test facilities, housing, dams, shoreline protection and large scale excavation. While with the Corps and in private practice, Mr. Pollack was heavily involved in cases that had as their subject; bid protests, contract terminations, regulatory compliance and surety issues.


CREDENTIALS

Member State Bar of Missouri; Member State Bar of Pennsylvania; Mediator Certification from Center for Dispute Resolution, Missouri State/ Washington University, St. Louis; Certificate of Arbitrator Training from American Arbitration Association; Certificate of Arbitrator/Dispute Review Board Training from Construction Disputes Resolution Institute, Santa Fe, NM; Comprehensive Mediation Training from Professional Mediation Associates, Larkspur, CA; Certificate of Arbitration Training from Better Business Bureau.

EDUCATION

University of Louisville School of Law
Juris Doctor

Kent State University
Bachelor of Arts

ASSOCIATIONS

Member of the following: Missouri Bar Association; American Bar Association (ADR Section); American Arbitration Association (Construction and Commercial Arbitration Panels); Construction Dispute Resolution Services LLC, Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Review Board Panels; Pinnacle Mediation and Arbitration Panel; Association for Conflict Resolution; Association of Missouri Mediators; Heartland Mediators Association; Pro Bono Mediator for U.S. EEOC; Pro Bono Mediator and Arbitrator for Better Business Bureau.