Ronald R. Stuff

Ron was named the 2017 Arizona Corporate Counsel of the Year in the Large Private Company Category.

• Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary — Sundt Construction, Inc.  (2014-Present)
• Assistant General Counsel — Fluor Corporation (2001-2014)
• Partner — Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein (1995-2001)
• Associate — Latham & Watkins (1989-1995)
• Civil Engineer — Wiedeman & Singleton Engineers (1982-1986)

Ron Stuff is Senior Vice President of Sundt and its General Counsel, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary.  He also serves on Sundt’s executive team and The Sundt Companies’ board of directors.

Stuff earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology where he also served on the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering’s external advisory board.  Stuff is a graduate of Harvard Law School.   Stuff was named the 2017 Arizona Corporate Counsel of the Year in the Large Private Company Category.  In 2020 he was elected a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers.

Ron has actively engaged in efforts to improve and educate through professional activities since first passing the bar in 1989.  Such activities have included being a member of the the Construction Law Section in each state where he has practiced and with the American Bar Association.   Ron is a member of the Associated General Contractor’s of America In-House Counsel Forum. On behalf of AGC, Ron led a Task Force examining stranded risk in design liability.  He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Construction Industry Ethics & Compliance Initiative (CIECI), an entity of which Sundt is a founding member.  Ron is also a member of the Arizona Corporate Counsel Forum whose membership is limited to General Counsel from organizations located in Arizona.   Ron was a member of the International Center for Dispute Resolution International Rules Advisory Committee from 2012 – 2017, during which the Committee authored and revised a number or rules, particularly in regards to “baseball” arbitration.

Ron was a regular lecturer on construction law topics at Georgia Tech and now lectures at the School of Construction Management at the University of Arizona.

 Recent speaking engagements have included:

Smith Currie Construction Law Seminar – Ethics & Compliance in Construction (Sept 2015)

Associated General Contractors of America, Ethics and Compliance Program – The Legal Requirements and Practical Matters that are Most Challenging (Sept 2015)

Arizona CPA Meeting – Risk Management Through Disciplined Contract Administration (Oct 2015)

Arizona Bar, Construction Law Section – Technology in Construction (AZ Bar Convention, April 2016)

Presentation to US Dept. of Labor / In conjunction with AGC America – Issues Relating to Proposed New Blacklisting Rule (June 2016)

Arizona Bar, Construction Law Section – Risk Management and Risk Mitigation (Roll out of new State Bar Construction Law Manual, Oct 2016)

Associated General Contractors of America, Surety and Risk Convention, Naples, FL – Risk of Elevated Standard of Care (February 2017)

New Day Underwriting Managers, Webinar – Risk of Elevated Standard of Care (March 2017)

Arizona State Bar, Construction Section – P3s in Arizona: Lessons from the Present and Contemplating the Future (May 2017)

Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) – Prequalification: An Integrated Risk Management Strategy (Annual Meeting, June 2017)

Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) – Contract Negotiations with General Contractor, Sub-Contractor, Owner & Attorney  (Phoenix Region, August 2017)

Construction Industry Ethics & Compliance Initiative (CIECI) – 2017 Best Practices Forum: CEO Panel Discussion on Ethics (Moderator) (October 2017)

University of Arizona, CE381, Construction Management – Disputes, Claims and Dispute Resolution in Construction (April 2018)

Central Arizona College, Heavy Equipment Operator Apprenticeship Class – Disputes in Construction and Your Role in Dispute Avoidance and Resolution (May 2018)

Associated General Contractors of America, In-House Counsel Section –  Expanding Roles and Responsibilities of the Role of General Counsel in Today’s Evolving Corporate Environment” (August 2018)

Arizona Bar, Construction Law Section – The Role of General Counsel and How Outside Counsel can Best Support the Role and the Company: “What it takes to be a Great Outside Counsel” (October 2018)

Associated General Contractors of America, In-House Counsel Section – Moderator: “Artificial Intelligence and Where and How It Might Streamline the Document Review Process” (January 2019)

American College of Construction Lawyers, “Safety for Outside Counsel: Tips and Trends” (February 2019)

University of Arizona, CE381, Construction Management Lecturer – Construction Management, the Law and Your Role In Avoiding and Resolving Disputes (April 2019)

University of Arizona, College of Engineering, Guest Lecturer – Professionalism and Ethics in Construction (October 2019)

Construction Industry Ethics & Compliance Initiative (CIECI) – 2020 Best Practices Forum: Blocking and Tackling Panel Discussion – Building and Evolving Your Ethics and Compliance Program (October 2020)

Associated General Contractors of America: Five Part Webinar Series – Federal Construction 101: What New Federal Contractors Should Know (Sept-Oct 2020) (Series originator)

Associated General Contractors of America: Joint Contractor’s Conference – What Has Changed and What is to Come? An Owner-Contractor Panel Discussion.  (November 2020)

Recent articles include:

Contributing Author, AZ Construction Law Manual, Risk Management (2016)

Associated General Contractors of America, Task Force Leader, The Stranded Risk of Design Liability (2016-2017)

Law 360 / Construction Report: Interview – Sundt Construction GC Eyes Way To Spread Out Contract Risk (June 4, 2018)

Ron is admitted to practice law in four different states where he has previously lived; he as actively practiced law in each jurisdiction — California (1989),  North Carolina (1995), South Carolina (2000), and Arizona (2015).

Ron has also been admitted to practice in front of each of the following federal courts:

• Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal
• Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
• District Court for the Southern District of California
• District Court for the Central District of California
• District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

While not working on the company’s behalf, Ron believes it is important to contribute where one lives.  As such, in Arizona Ron has served on the Board of Directors for ChildsPlay, a national leader in theatre for young persons and of the YMCA.   Ron was the corporate representative with Teach for Amerca.  In North and South Carolina, Ron was a member or president of two different school boards.   He also regularly volunteers his time on construction projects to benefit local non-profit or charitable organizations.