Allen L. Overcash

Over 50 years of experience as an attorney advocate in construction law, primarily representing general, subcontractors and specialty contractors and some owners, sureties, and design professionals.  Experienced in public and private projects including industrial plants, power plants, petroleum refineries, pipelines, airports, environmental remediation, bridges, dams, highways, water treatment plants, transportation, electrical transmission, high rise buildings, hotels, office buildings, schools, hospitals, shopping centers, sports facilities, and convention facilities.  Practice focused on large, complex construction cases with claims valued to $60 million.

Construction Arbitration and Mediation Experience

Representative construction arbitration cases in which he served as a neutral include:  cases involving claims of less than $10,000 to over $10,000,000; cases heard as a sole arbitrator, as a member of a three arbitrator panel and as chairman of a three member panel; cases involving large engineering projects, power plants, high rise buildings, pipelines, institutional projects, residences, schools, industrial plants, highways, office buildings; new construction and renovations, restaurants, mining facilities; and other construction projects; cases administered by the AAA, by the ICDR, by the International Court of Arbitration, as well as privately administered cases; and cases involving projects located both in and outside the continental U.S.

In addition to serving as an arbitrator, has served as a mediator in construction cases for over 15 years.  Representative cases include commercial and institutional buildings, power projects, electrical and mechanical work, hospitals, manufacturing plant, highway and rail projects, and environmental work.

Currently, the focus of his practice is on researching, writing, and teaching construction law as an Adjunct Professor of Construction Law and Construction Practice at the University of Nebraska College of Law and acting as a neutral arbitrator and facilitator on the analysis and settlement of construction issues rather than acting as an advocate in private disputes.

• Fellow and past member of Board of Governors, American College of Construction Lawyers
• Fellow, College of Commercial Arbitrators
• Member and past member of Governing Committee, American Bar Association Forum on Construction Industry; past Chair of Division 1 Dispute Avoidance and Resolution
• Past Member, American Arbitration Association National Construction Dispute Resolution Committee (NCDRC)
• Original Member, Steering Committee of Construction Industry Dispute Avoidance & Resolution Task Force (DART)
• Adjunct Professor of Construction Law and Construction Practice at University of Nebraska Law College since 1999
• LEED Green Associate

ABA Committee on Dispute Resolution, ABA Forum Committee on the Construction Industry, American Arbitration Association Mediation Panel, American Arbitration Association’s Construction Arbitrator Master Panel, American Arbitration Association’s Large Complex Case Panel, College of Commercial Arbitrators, ICDR Panel of Arbitrators

• Associate Editor and author of chapter entitled, “Subcontractors and Suppliers” of Construction Law Textbook, ABA, 2019 – Second Edition
• Chapter Author: ADR Construction; ABA 2013
• “What Is Wrong with Construction Arbitration – We Do Not Know the Issues!” Journal of the American College of Construction Lawyers, vol. 6, no. 1, Winter 2012
• “Fast Tracking Construction Arbitrations,” The Colorado Lawyer, vol. 40, no. 8, August 2011
• Co-author, “Five Steps to Fast-Track the Large, Complex Construction Case,” Dispute Resolution Journal, AAA, May-July 2009
• “The Case for Construction Law Education,” Construction Lawyer, Summer 2009
• “Will the New Contract Forms for Integrated Project Delivery Make Conflict Obsolete? (Or Are We Still Lost in Our Contract Obsession?),”Journal of the American College of Construction Lawyers, vol. 3, no. 1, Winter 2009
• Co-editor and chapter author, Construction Law Textbook, ABA, 2009
• “Project Delivery Methods: Modern Construction Problems,” ABA, October 2005
• Co-Author, “Measuring the Contractor’s Damages by ‘Actual Costs’ – Can It Be Done?” The Construction Lawyer, Winter, 2005
• Co-Author, “Subcontractor Pass Through Claims And Sponsorship Litigation,” Construction Briefings, Sept. 2003
• “Negotiating the Construction Contract: When the Project Design Is Incomplete and Evolving,” The Construction Lawyer, Summer 2002
• “A Proposal to Increase Efficiency of Arbitration in Large, Complex Cases Using an Early Disclosure Case-Management Order,” Punch List, Feb/Apr 2002
• Co-Author, “Termination For Convenience And Constructive Termination For Convenience In Private Contracts,” Construction Contracts Law Report, Vol. 25, No. 21, Oct., 2001
• “The Truth About Partnering,” Punch List, Vol. 21, No. 2, August 1998, AAA
• “Now is the Time to Control the Big Case,” Punch List, Vol. 19, No. 3, Fall 1996, AAA
• “Toward the New Construction Philosophy,” Construction Lawyer, ABA (1991)
• “Efficient Document Handling: The Key to Effective Case Preparation,” ABA, (1989)
• “Proving Construction Damages � An Overview � Proving Damages Through Alternative Dispute Resolution,” ABA, (1987)
• “Damages in Government Contracts,” Nebraska Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (1983)

Speeches, Panel Discussions, and Seminars:

Lectures and speaking engagements before professional, industry, and educational organizations on construction contracting, construction industry arbitration, use of arbitration and other non-judicial means in resolving construction contract disputes, construction contracting for public entities, strategies of effectively managing changes and disputes on construction projects, contract documents and contract claims, claims prevention, and design-build.  Co-conducted AAA webinar on “Fast Tracking a Complex Case,” February, 2010.

• U.S. District Court for District of Nebraska
• U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Federal Circuit and Eighth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Claims
• Nebraska State Bar
• Colorado State Bar

• Board of Directors and Past President, Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest
• Past Member, Citizens Committee for Study of Higher Education
• Past Member, Board of Directors of the National Society to Prevent Blindness – Nebraska Affiliate
• Past Member, Executive Committee of Lincoln Foundation