Neil S. Lowenstein

Neil has been an attorney with Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black since 1989, during which he has focused his practice on construction law, government contract laws, suretyship and fidelity law, and alternative dispute resolution. Neil also has experience with various administrative and regulatory matters and is an experienced litigator.

In addition to Virginia, Neil is licensed to practice law in North Carolina and the District of Columbia. Neil is admitted to practice before all courts in those states, as well as the United States Courts of Appeals for the Federal and Fourth Circuits, the United States District Courts in Virginia, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Court of Federal Claims. Neil has also represented clients before various Boards of Contract Appeals, the General Accountability Office, and other administrative tribunals.

Neil is active in numerous construction trade associations, having served in various leadership positions in them. Among those are the Associated Builders and Contractors, Virginia Chapter, the Associated General Contractors of Virginia, the Design-Build Institute of America, Hampton Roads Chapter, the Virginia Association of Roofing Professionals, Virginia Builds, the Hampton Roads Utility and Heavy Contractors Association, and the National Utility Contractors Association.

His experiences with those associations in helping to shape industry standards, practices, training, and collegial relationships, his hands-on construction industry experiences, his regulatory experiences, and his prior military and leadership training all help Neil provide unique advice and insights helping clients recognize and resolve problems and, otherwise, meaningfully address their legal needs.

Neil regularly litigates matters in a variety of courts before judges and juries, while also having extensive arbitration and other alternative disputes resolution experience. Neil has arbitrated complex construction disputes before multi-arbitrator panels and single panelists and helped develop streamlined arbitration procedures to expedite and reduce the costs of hearings. Neil is also an experienced negotiator who has received mediation training, taught negotiation classes, and regularly uses his training and experience to facilitate win-win dispute solutions.

• Prepared, negotiated and prosecuted multiple project adjustment claims on behalf of contractors and subcontractors. Example includes +$20M delay and extra work claim for design deficiencies and change directives.
• Prepared, negotiated and prosecuted multiple contract adjustment claims on behalf of general contractors against other project owners, and have similarly defended multiple defective/deficient/delayed work claims by owners against general contractors. Example includes +$3M claim against developer for delays and extra work directives for subdivision sitework and utilities.
• Prepared, negotiated and prosecuted multiple subcontract adjustment claims on behalf of subcontractors against general contractors, and have similarly defended multiple defective/deficient/delayed work claims by contractors against subcontractors. Example includes defense of +$1M wrongful termination and associated prosecution of contractor’s excess completion costs against subcontractor.
• Prosecuted and defended claims against and by project suppliers regarding material furnished by them for various construction projects. Example includes defense of +$1M metal building defect claim.
• Prepared and pursued multiple federal, state and local bid protests for bidders and offerors. Example includes GAO protest of award to another contractor with respect to improper technical tradeoff decisions made by awarding agency.
• Evaluation and negotiation of completion, takeover, and other triparty agreements for multi-million, multiple-project defaults by contractor, including negotiations of subcontractor ratification agreements, and then address of financing and indemnity matters for bonding surety.

Recognition

Education

University of Richmond School of Law, J.D.

Virginia Military Institute, B.A.

Admissions

Virginia

District of Columbia

North Carolina

U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Federal Claims

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina

U.S. District Court, Southern District of North Carolina

U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia

• American Bar Association, Construction Industry Forum, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee
• Associated Builders and Contractors, Virginia Chapter
  • Board Member, Past
  • Hampton Roads Leadership Committee, Past
  • Hampton Roads Education Committee