Randy Hafer

Order of the Coif

Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society

Editorial Board Tennessee Law Review

Services

Construction & Infrastructure; Arbitration, Mediation, Alternative Disputes Resolution; Dispute Resolution Advice and Counseling;  Construction Contracts Drafting and Negotiation,

Industries

Construction & Infrastructure; Government & Municipalities; Transportation; Tunnels & Underground;

Power & Energy; Water & Wastewater; Industrial/Chemical

Randy Hafer is a senior partner and Chair of the Construction & Infrastructure Projects Team.  The team was named national Construction            Team of the Year by Chambers USA in 2015 and again in 2016, the 2012 Team of the Year by U.S. News – Best Lawyers, and is consistently ranked Tier 1 nationally by Chambers, Best Lawyers and Legal 500 as well.  Throughout his entire 33-year career Mr. Hafer has focused his practice exclusively on issues related to the construction industry. He has been involved in matters all over the United States and internationally on a wide variety of construction projects, including tunnels, mass transit systems, bridges and highways, wastewater treatment plants, airports, power plants, mining facilities, hospitals, office buildings, sports arenas, resort condominiums, universities and schools, manufacturing and processing facilities, industrial and chemical, ports, and military facilities.  As a result of this experience, Mr. Hafer has a complete and thorough understanding of construction contracting practices, changes and claims provisions, the issues that can cause claims and disputes, and the issues that most concern the parties to a construction contract.

Chambers USA – America’s Leading Lawyers for Business reports, “He impresses clients with his ability to get to the heart of the matter in seconds.”  Chambers also notes Mr. Hafer’s “excellent presentation skills as especially effective in contentious situations.”

Mr. Hafer has extensive experience representing parties in AAA, ICDR, CPR and ICC arbitrations, as well as mediations, and dispute review boards (DRB’s) on a variety of construction related disputes. Examples include:

AAA arbitration involving EPC contract for a cutting-edge plastic to diesel fuel plant in Cleveland Ohio. Issues include allegations of defective design and construction and interpretation of contract limitations on damages.

AAA arbitration involving EPC contract for succinic acid plant in Louisiana. Issues include allegations of defective design and construction and delay.

Two separate ICC arbitrations for a worldwide supplier of plants, equipment and services for hydropower stations and for the pulp and paper industry on disputes arising from a $2 billion pulp mill project in South America, involving scope of work, changes, extra work, delays and contract interpretation;

ICC arbitration for an international EPC consortium on a hydroelectric power plant in Panama, involving collapse of the headrace tunnel. Claims in excess of $400 million including repair costs, lost revenue, replacement power and other consequential damages.  Complex geotechnical design and construction issues as well as interpretation of contractual risk allocation provisions.

AAA arbitration lasting 41 days for U.S. and Israeli owner/developers involving construction of high-end condominium project in Las Vegas on a cost/plus, guaranteed maximum price contract. Claims for changes and delays and issues regarding in-scope/out-of-scope work. Complex proceeding where multiple subcontractors were joined in the case by a Rule 7 arbitrator.

AAA arbitration in Chicago lasting five weeks for one of the world’s largest rail transportation OEM’s involving 10-year contract for the maintenance of over 400 locomotives for a major U.S. railroad. Disputes centered around early termination of the contract without cause and interpretation and application of related contract provisions.

ICDR arbitration over a several month period in Puerto Rico for a leading international transportation/technology company on the $2 billion Tren Urbano metro system for San Juan. Claims by major civil subcontractor against design/build/operate/maintain contractor. Claims involved scope of work, delay, changes, extra work and inefficiency.

CPR arbitration in Atlanta involving termination of a contract between a major telecom company and a large international engineering/construction firm for the outsourcing of engineering work.

Multiple ad hoc arbitrations and DRB’s over an 8-year period on Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel Project, aka, the “Big Dig” the largest construction project in North America on claims involving differing site conditions, delays, inefficiencies, scope of work, changes and extra work. Actual hearing days over that period number in the hundreds.

Over the years, much of Mr. Hafer’s practice has focused on the representation of public owners on major infrastructure projects, including the following:

• The Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project (the “Big Dig”);
• The Hartford Connecticut Clean Water Project;
• The Boston Harbor Project for Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (“MWRA”);
• The MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel for MWRA;
• The Deep Tunnel and Pollution Abatement Program for Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (“MMSD”);
• The Logan Airport Modernization Project for Massachusetts Port Authority;
• The CSO Tunnel Project for the Narragansett Bay Commission in Rhode Island;
• Water/wastewater projects for the City of Atlanta, Georgia;
• The Cobb County, Georgia Water Authority Chattahoochee and South Cobb Tunnel Projects; and
• The DeKalb County, Georgia Scott Candler Water Treatment Plant.

Other examples of Mr. Hafer’s experience include:

Represented one of the world’s largest rail transportation system OEM’s on the Mecca Saudi Arabia metro project in resolving claims for changes and extra work;

Represented the public owner on the $3.5 billion Boston Harbor Project which involved over 100 separate design and construction contracts, and included a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant, two major tunnels, a pelletizer plant, digesters and on-site thermal power plant;

Represented one of the world’s largest energy sector companies as Project Counsel on an off-shore oil and gas production platform in Brazil; and

Disputes Review Board member Low Lake Level Pumping Station Project and the Low Lake Level Pumping Station Discharge Aqueducts Project on Lake Mead in Nevada.

Mr. Hafer focuses much of his practice on the prevention of construction related disputes through effective risk allocation and management and contract drafting. Mr. Hafer often works as a member of the owner’s project management team at the “front end” of projects to achieve these goals. He also leads teams providing clients with the Construction Group’s Project Counsel service.

Mr. Hafer works directly with construction project participants to avoid disputes and effectively and efficiently resolve, on a “real- time” basis, those disputes that cannot be avoided. He is well-versed and experienced in negotiation, mediation, arbitration, dispute review boards and other forms of construction ADR.  He is a panel member on the AAA’s roster of arbitrators and mediators, he is a previous co-chair of the American College of Construction Lawyers (ACCL) Alternative Disputes Resolution Committee, a member of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) Construction Advisory Committee, and the primary author of “Dispute Review Boards and Other Standing Neutrals, Achieving “Real-Time” Resolution and Prevention of Disputes” for CPR. Mr. Hafer has also helped create and has successfully implemented customized dispute resolution processes to fit the particular needs of a project when other more traditional ADR procedures are not working.

Mr. Hafer was listed in the 2016 and the seven years immediately preceding editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for Construction Law and he was listed as #1 in the 2016 and the five years immediately preceding editions. Mr. Hafer was recommended by Legal 500 US in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016 for Real Estate and Construction Law and he was also recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in 2014, 2015 and 2016 by Legal 500 US. He was recognized in 2017 and the 14 years immediately preceding by other practicing attorneys as one of the Best Lawyers in America® in the field of Construction Law. Mr. Hafer was listed in The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers for 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2014 in the area of Construction and The International Who’s Who of Construction Lawyers in 2010 and 2014. He is a Fellow of The American College of Construction Lawyers. Mr. Hafer was named a Georgia “Super Lawyer” in the area of Alternative Dispute Resolution in 2009 and in the area of Construction Litigation in 2016 and the seven years immediately preceding and a Top 100 Georgia “Super Lawyer” in 2011 by Super Lawyers magazine. Mr. Hafer is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell.*

*CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale- Hubbell certification procedure’s standards and policies.

Randy Hafer was born in Camden, New Jersey, and raised in Georgia, Florida and Texas.  He attended the United States Naval Academy for two years, and spent his active duty tour on a destroyer in the Mediterranean.  He resumed his education at Georgia State University receiving a BS with honors from the School of Urban Studies.  Between college and law school Randy was a Fairfax County Virginia police officer.  After graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1983, he went to work for Smith Currie & Hancock in Atlanta.  In 1998, he moved a small group of partners and associates to Kilpatrick Stockton (now Kilpatrick Townsend) where he started the firm’s Construction & Infrastructure Projects Team and served as its leader for many years.  He retired from Kilpatrick at the end of 2022.  Randy and his wife Cindy will be settling in the North Georgia Mountains.  They have five children and seven grandchildren.

American College of Construction Lawyers (ACCL), Fellow and Co-Chair of Alternative Disputes Resolution Committee

International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) Construction Advisory Committee, Member

International Bar Association, Member

Disputes Review Board Foundation, Member

American Underground Construction Association, Member

American Arbitration Association’s Roster of Arbitrators and Mediators, Panel Member

Atlanta International Arbitration Society, Board of Directors and Executive Committee Member

United States Council for International Business (USCIB) Arbitration Committee, Southeast Chair

Alternative Dispute Resolution Training: AAA Arbitration Fundamentals and Best Practices for New AAA Arbitrators (2014) Dispute Resolution Board Foundation – DRB Advanced/Chairing Workshop and DRB Administration and Practice Workshop (2013) Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, STAR – A Systematic Approach to Mediation Strategies (2011)

Public Private Partnerships – Best Practices/Lessons Learned

27th Annual Conference

American College of Construction Lawyers

February 18-21, 2016

AtlAS Conference “Setting Sail with International Arbitration,” “The hearing, the IBA rules on taking of evidence, award, enforcement, finding and recovering assets and annulment.”

Atlanta, GA, September 30, 2015

“Chapter 15: United States”

The Public-Private Partnership Law Review, Law Business Research

April 2015

“Dispute Prevention, Management and Resolution of Infrastructure and Construction Projects”

AtlAS Conference on Africa Related International Arbitration

Atlanta, GA, November 03, 2014

“Transnational Enforcement of International Arbitral Awards and Foreign Judgments”

Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting

New Orleans, LA. October 31, 2014

DRB’s – Lessons Learned

25th Annual Conference

American College of Construction Lawyers

February 20-23, 2014

2013 Construction Law Seminar – Ask the Experts

April 02, 2013

Design-Build: How Does It Work In the Risky Business of Underground Construction?

Construction Super Conference, December 09, 2012

Differing Site Conditions: Who Pays for the Unexpected?

Kilpatrick Townsend Construction Law Seminar, April 12, 2012

Southeastern Region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

Construction Law Update 2011, May 17, 2011

Top Ten Issues In Contract Review and Negotiations

Kilpatrick Townsend Construction Law Seminar, May 04, 2011

Dispute Boards: Using Them to Make Projects Successful

FIDIC Abu Dhabi Seminar, February 23, 2011

Project Counsel Initiative — Mega Project Margin Erosion Protection

Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting, October 24, 2010

Thinking the Unthinkable: A Practical Guide to Handling Termination for Default

Kilpatrick Stockton Construction Law Seminar, May 05, 2010

Southeast Region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

Construction Law Update 2010, January 01, 2010

CPR Dispute Prevention Briefing: Construction Dispute Review Boards and Other Standing Neutrals, Achieving “Real- Time” Resolution and Prevention of Disputes

International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), January 01, 2010

Effectively Managing and Resolving Disputes in a Down Market

Kilpatrick Stockton Construction Law Seminar, April 30, 2009

Saving Money and Reducing Risk In Design and Construction

National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) Annual Meeting, February 03, 2009

Southeast Region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

Construction Law Update 2009, January 01, 2009

Will the Construction Boom Continue in the Arabian Gulf Region?

Construction Super Conference, December 12, 2008

Alternative Disputes Resolution — What’s the Best Method For Your Project

Kilpatrick Stockton Construction Seminar: Confronting Change, May 08, 2008

AIA vs. ConcensusDocs

Kilpatrick Stockton Construction Law Seminar: Confronting Change, May 08, 2008

Principal Causes of Construction Disputes

Inside the Minds: Negotiating Construction Law Disputes, Leading Lawyers On Evaluating Disputes, Assessing Risks, and Deciding the Best Course of Action

Aspatore Books, March 31, 2008

Effective Use of Experts: Avoiding Disqualification

American College of Construction Lawyers Annual Meeting, February 21, 2008

Southeast Region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

Construction Law Update 2008, January 01, 2008

Design and Construction Risk Allocation and Management on Major PPP Transportation Projects: The Public Owner’s Perspective

Construction Super Conference, December 12, 2007

Winning in Mediation

Kilpatrick Stockton Construction and Public Contracts Seminar, May 21, 2007

The Letter of the Law: Experts Discuss Legal Issues in Tunneling

Tunnel Business Magazine, August 01, 2006

Risk Management in Underground Construction

Design Build Institute of America Water/Wastewater Conference, January 25, 2006

Public Private Partnerships

International Municipal Lawyers Association, September 09, 2005

Design Build Risk: The Basics for First-Time Owners

Tunnel Business Magazine, December 27, 2004

Design-build in Underground Construction and Geotechnical Baselines

North American Tunneling, April 17, 2004

Dealing With Differing Site Conditions: Who Really Owns the Ground?

Construction Super Conference, December 11, 2003

Speaker, Georgia Construction Law Conference

Professional Education Systems Institute, November 20, 2003

Southeast Region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

2003 Construction Law Update, July 01, 2003

Dispute Review Boards and the Avoidance of Litigation: Is There Room for Improvement?

Tunnel Business Magazine, April 01, 2003

Trouble in Paradise: Analyzing the Effectiveness of ADR

Construction Super Conference, December 07, 2000

Improving DRB’s

North American Tunneling, June 06, 2000

Risk Management and Dispute Avoidance in Underground Construction – Are Owners Satisfied? A View from the Trenches

North American Tunneling, May 15, 2000

Contractual Claims Management Procedures on the Mega-Project: The Boston Harbor Model

Construction Super Conference, December 09, 1999

Believe It or Not, Delays Can Be Reduced on Jobs

The Charlotte Business Journal, April 02, 1999

Build a Stronger Contract to Avoid Legal Tangles

Triangle Business Journal, March 19, 1999

Common Sense Construction Law, A Practical Guide for the Industry Professional

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., January 01, 1997

Construction Law Update

Aspen/Wiley, January 01, 1992

Selecting a Third-Party Neutral Alternative Disputes Resolution in the Construction Industry

Wiley Law Publications, January 01, 1991

Construction Subcontracting: A Legal Guide for Industry Professionals

Wiley Law Publications, January 01, 1991

Alternative Clauses to Standard Construction Contracts

Wiley Law Publications, January 01, 1990

Construction Contracts

John Wiley & Sons, January 01, 1988

Georgia

Angel Flight Pilot

University of Tennessee College of Law Dean’s Circle

United States Navy 1968 – 1973