Neil is a member of the firm’s Construction & Government Contracts practice group. He has been an attorney with Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black (WRVB) 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.
Representative Matters
- 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.
Attorney Perspectives
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ICE Issues New Form I-9 for Mandatory Use Starting November 1, 2023
August 31, 2023 -
Emergency Action Plans
May 6, 2022 -
Heat Protection Awareness: It’s starting to get hot again in many places and in other places heat is a constant issue
May 5, 2022 -
Construction Industry Safety Awareness
May 4, 2022 -
COVID-19: Fatigue Remains, But Ignore the Global Situation at Your Peril
January 19, 2022 -
Contractor Takeover Leads to Tortious Interference With Contract and Conspiracy Claims
September 17, 2021 -
Heat-Related Illness Prevention: Introduction to Federal and State Standards
June 14, 2021 -
Heat-Related Illness Prevention: Training and Supervision
June 14, 2021 -
Virginia’s New COVID-19 Reporting Change and Online Reporting Portal
December 10, 2020 -
Virginia’s Proposed Permanent Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention Regulations: A reminder that the opportunity for public comment closes September 25, 2020
September 24, 2020
Recognition
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Best Lawyers in America Recognizes 70 WRVB Attorneys
August 17, 2023 -
Thirty-Seven WRVB Attorneys Named to 2023 Virginia Super Lawyers and Rising Stars List
May 1, 2023 -
26 WRVB Attorneys Named “Top Lawyers” for Norfolk, Coastal Virginia Magazine
January 24, 2023 -
70 WRVB Attorneys Named to 2022 “Legal Elite”
November 29, 2022 -
WRVB Attorneys Make Major Showing in Best Lawyers in America
August 16, 2022 -
Attorneys Selected for the 2022 Virginia Super Lawyers List
May 5, 2022 -
Vandeventer Black Attorneys Recognized as 2022 Top Lawyers of Coastal Virginia
January 1, 2022 -
28 Vandeventer Black LLP lawyers named to 2022 Best Lawyers® list
August 19, 2021 -
14 Attorneys Selected for the 2021 Virginia Super Lawyers List
May 6, 2021 -
Attorneys Recognized as 2021 Top Lawyers of Coastal Virginia
January 1, 2021 -
Vandeventer Black Attorneys Selected as 2020 Legal Elite
November 30, 2020 -
28 Attorneys Named to 2021 Best Lawyers® list
August 20, 2020 -
Vandeventer Black Attorneys Selected for the 2020 Virginia Super Lawyers List
May 7, 2020 -
Twenty-two Vandeventer Black Attorneys Selected as 2019 Legal Elite
November 25, 2019 -
Vandeventer Black Attorneys Recognized as 2020 Top Lawyers of Coastal Virginia
November 25, 2019 -
Vandeventer Black Attorneys Recognized as Top Lawyers of Coastal Virginia
December 13, 2018 -
Vandeventer Black Attorneys Listed as ‘The Best Lawyers in America’ of 2019
August 24, 2018 -
Twenty-two Vandeventer Black Attorneys Recognized as Top Lawyers
December 14, 2017 -
27 Vandeventer Black Attorneys Named ‘The Best Lawyers in America’ of 2018
August 22, 2017 -
Vandeventer Black’s Partner Neil Lowenstein to Serve on DBIA’s Executive Council
May 11, 2017 -
Twenty-two Vandeventer Black Attorneys 2016 Legal Elite Finalists
January 9, 2017