David P. Gorman

David Gorman first became involved in construction matters when he worked as a law clerk in the United States Department of Agriculture Regional General Counsel's office in Missoula, Montana during law school. He had the opportunity to participate in the trial and briefing of a number of construction contract claims before the Agriculture Board of Contract Appeals. In the early part of his legal career, he had the opportunity to represent construction contractors as part of general practice. From that point, his career began to evolve toward specialization. For several years, he practiced as a sole practitioner with his practice focused exclusively on research and brief writing for large and small firms. During this time, he authored or contributed to more than 35 appellate briefs and numerous briefs in pre-trial and post-trial practice.

In 1988, Mr. Gorman was offered a position as principal appellate attorney in a firm, which was devoted exclusively to representing members of the construction industry. Since that time he has devoted the majority of his practice to construction-related matters. He has represented businesses in virtually every phase of the construction industry - public and private owners, sureties, insurers, developers, architects, engineers, construction managers, design-builders, general contractors, specialty contractors, subcontractors and material suppliers. Within this group, are clients which range from multinational E/P/C entities, through regional ENR 400 contractors, to local niche general contractors in both building and highway/heavy construction. The perspective that comes from representing the entire spectrum of construction entities enables Mr. Gorman to advise his clients on how to structure their relationships with the other members of the contracting team to enhance the probability of success in projects, and how to position themselves to reduce their exposure if a project encounters trouble. Mr. Gorman stays current with the standard contract documents of the AIA, AGC, EJCDC and DBIA. This enables him to advise clients on which documents are the best fit for the relationship they envision, and what modifications are desirable to achieve their contractual goals. In particular he works with his clients and the documents to make sure that risk allocation is handled reasonably and with a view toward promoting the health of the construction industry as a whole.

Mr. Gorman has an active practice in both state and federal courts, but his approach to disputes has become one of finding and reducing the areas of contention at the earliest possible stage, and then engaging in the alternative dispute resolution techniques that are most likely to lead to cost-effective resolution.

When alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are not successful, Mr. Gorman can draw on thirty years of experience in all phases of litigation in federal and state courts, before agency boards of contract appeals and before arbitration tribunals where he has litigated numerous matters. Sheehan & Sheehan has a skilled and professional staff to support its construction litigation. We have experience in the latest techniques for document and data management, and make a concerted effort to apply the proper case management techniques to each matter on an individualized basis with a focus on quickly developing the key facts that will lead to resolution of the disputes.