Richard F. Greenleaf

Partner

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303.402.1600
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Practice Areas

Construction Litigation

Experience

Mr. Greenleaf, one of the four founding partners, is a construction lawyer, with extensive experience representing owners, general contractors, and other parties in the construction business. He works in the areas of building construction, design, petrochemical, power and other related industries. He litigates and arbitrates numerous matters and has been involved on the transactional side of the construction practice, negotiating contracts and helping to position his clients strategically to prevent and to resolve problems on construction projects. Areas with which he has considerable experience include contract drafting and negotiation, project delivery systems, bonds, insurance, and surety law and construction disputes involving breach of contract and subcontract, extra work, wrongful termination, schedule impacts (delay, disruption, acceleration), expansive soils, defective construction, and defective design. He speaks and authors on construction and arbitration issues.

Mr. Greenleaf has been appointed by the National Dispute Resolution Committee of the American Arbitration Association to serve as one of approximately 100 construction arbitrators in the United States on the Committee's "Master Roster" of distinguished construction arbitrators. He has been an American Arbitration Association Construction Panelist since 1989, and has served on more than 100 arbitration panels involving construction disputes throughout the United States. He also serves on the AAA National Panel of Mediators.

Education

  • J.D., South Texas College of Law, 1982
  • B.A., University of South Florida, 1976

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado, 1999
  • Texas, 1982

Professional Associations

  • American Arbitration Association, Construction Advisory Committee
  • American Bar Association, Forum on the Construction Industry: Contract Documents, Contract Negotiations, Performance and Administration, Dispute Avoidance and Resolution, Insurance Surety and Lien Committees; Section of Public Contract Law, Construction Division; Section of Tort Trial and Insurance; Fidelity and Surety Practice Section; and Advisory Panel
  • Associated General Contractors of Colorado
  • American Subcontractors Association of Colorado
  • Boulder County Bar Association
  • Colorado Bar Association, Construction Law Section
  • Houston Bar Association, Construction Law Section, Past Chair and Former Member
  • State Bar of Texas, Construction Law Section, Past Council Member; Construction Law Newsletter, Past Editor
  • National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals

Published Works

  • "Claims: Preserving Rights and Minimizing Risk, Parts I, II, III: Project Management and Prudent Lien Waivers," USGLASS Magazine, April, June and July 2006, co-author
  • "Preserving Construction Defect Claims," Boulder County Business Report, July 2005
  • "Legislative Changes Affecting Construction," Construction Law Newsletter, State Bar of Texas, Fall 1995

Speaking Engagements

  • "Claims Preservation and Mitigation," Glass Association of North American Annual Conference, February 2006
  • "Dealing with Delay Tactics," AAA, Denver, April 2005, August 2006 and February 2010
  • "AAA Annual Arbitrator Update," AAA, Denver, December 2002
  • "Ethics in ADR," AAA, Denver, September 2002
  • "Prehearing Techniques for Expediting Arbitration Hearings," Salzburg, Austria, June 2002
  • "Drafting Arbitration Clauses," AAA, Denver, may 2002
  • State Bar of Texas Arbitration Law Course, 1998
  • "What Do You Do When...?" Texas Construction Law Seminar, Houston, March 1996, and Colorado Construction Law, Denver, January 2001
  • "Litigation and Enforcement" and "Defenses to Liens and Bond Claims," Construction Liens and Bonds Claims in Texas Seminar, Houston, February 1996