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 Senior Counsel
Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC
8000 Towers Crescent Drive, Suite 900
Vienna, Virginia 22182
Telephone: (703) 847-6300
Direct Dial: (703) 847-6270
Fax: (703) 847-6312
rsmith@smithpachter.com
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*AV® Peer Rated
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Practice Focus
Mediator; Arbitrator; Project Neutral; DRB Member; Practicing Attorney; Serves as a neutral and represents clients involved in resolution of Construction, Government Contracts, Contract Formation, Performance Claims, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Issues.
Representative Experience
For over 35 years, Mr. Smith has been primarily engaged in matters relating to construction and contract disputes resolution. More than 90 percent of his practice involves dispute resolution as a mediator, arbitrator, project neutral and Disputes Review Board member in construction related issues. His ADR experience involves contractors, owners, subcontractors and design professionals, including public and private projects. He has helped resolve disputes dealing with delay claim evaluation, CPM scheduling, differing site conditions, contract terms and specification interpretation issues, defective specifications, change order pricing, extra work claims, inefficiency claims, and contract administration issues. He has analyzed, prepared, and presented affirmative claims and defenses to claims involving all aspects of construction and government contract issues in courts, administrative boards, arbitrations and other ADR venues.
Employment History
Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC; Partner 1986-1999, Senior Counsel 2000-present
Wickwire, Gavin; Partner, 1980-1986
Lewis, Mitchell & Moore; Partner, 1976-1979, Associate 1972-1976
Education and Educational Achievements
B.S. Wake Forest University, 1962-1966 (Cum Laude)
LL.B. University of Virginia, 1966-1969
LL.M. George Washington University Law School, 1971-1973 (Government Procurement Law with Highest Honors)
Alternative Dispute Resolution Experience
Mr. Smith is a member of the AAA Commercial Panel of Arbitrators and the AAA Mediator Panel. In numerous ADR proceedings, Mr. Smith has served as a mediator, arbitrator, project neutral and Dispute Review Board member. He has presented cases and been involved in presenting cases in arbitration, mediation, before dispute review boards, and in mini-trial alternate dispute resolution processes. He has represented clients in lengthy arbitration cases involving office building construction and heavy construction projects.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Training
Disputes Review Board Administration and Practice Workshop, 5/03; Chairing Workshop, 10/03
AAA Arbitrator II Workshop, Advanced Case Management Issues, 1/01
AAA Construction Arbitrator Training Workshop, Washington, D.C., 10/96
AAA 2-Day Mediation Training, Washington, D.C., 5/93
AAA Advanced Arbitration Training, Washington, D.C. 5/93
Mediation Role Play and Observation – Commercial, Northern Virginia Mediation Service, 8/99
Basic Mediation Skills and Process, Northern Virginia Mediation Service, 4/99
Professional Activities
Fellow, American College of Construction Lawyers, 1997-Present; Board of Directors(2003-2006).
American Bar Association, 1972-Present; Forum on the Construction Industry, Member, Governing Committee, 1998-2001; Chairman, Division 1, Dispute Avoidance & Resolution, 1996-1998.
Virginia State Bar, 1972-Present; Chairman, Construction Law and Public Contracts Section, 1985; Board of Governors, 1979-1985; 2000-Present; Secretary, 2006.
Member: D.C. Bar Association; Virginia Bar Association.
Lecturer in Government Procurement, William & Mary Law School, 1977-1998
Adjunct Professor, University of Richmond Law School, 1980-1991. Government Procurement Law.
Adjunct Faculty, Averett University MBA Program, 2002-2003.
Community Activities and Public Service Service:
Board of Directors, The Columbia Foundation, 1985-2006
Trustee, Averett University, 1996-2003
Trustee, The John Leland Center for Theological Studies, 1998-2001
Board of Directors, Crosslink International, Ltd., 1996-2002
Board of Directors, Vienna Light Opera Company, 1976-1990
Past President, Treasurer, Runnymede Property Owners Association
President, Baptist General Association of Virginia, 2004-2005
Military Service
United States Air Force; Captain, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, 1969-1972
Assistant to the Chairman of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, 1971-1972
Articles and Publications
“Innovations in Arbitration: Improving the Presentation of Evidence in Construction Arbitration," Dispute Resolution Journal, August-October 2003, p. 30.
Tips on Effectively Presenting Construction Cases in Arbitration – From An Arbitrator’s View Point, ABA Section on Dispute Resolution, Annual Meeting, March 2003
“Overhead Costs,” Federal Government Construction Contracts, American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry, 2003
“Practical Uses of CPM Scheduling,” Construction Briefings No. 2002-2, February 2002
“Scheduling for a Construction Project,” Fundamentals of Construction Law, American Bar Association, Forum on the Construction Industry, 2001
“Project Overhead: A Dilemma Faced by Federal Government Contractors,” The Construction Lawyer, Vol. 21, No. 4, 2001
Co-author: Obtaining Time Extensions by Richard F. Smith and John Marshall Cook, Chapter 23 in Construction Law Handbook, R. Cushman & J. Myers eds. (Aspen Law & Business, 1999)
Co-author: Government Contracts and Construction Disputes by Richard F. Smith and Jonathan Shaffer, Chapters 3 and 14 in Public Assembly Facility Law (Int'l Assoc. of Assembly Managers, 1998)
“Discovery in Arbitration Proceeding Under Virginia’s New Uniform Arbitration Act,” Virginia Bar News, February, 1997
“Dysfunctional ADR: Tips to Avoid the Pain,” The Construction Lawyer, Vol. 16, No. 4, 1996
“Dobson v. Rutgers: A Roll of the Dice for Multi-Prime Contractors,” The Construction Lawyer, 1984
“Scheduling and Proof of Claims,” Construction Briefings No. 82-6
“The Use of Critical Path Method Techniques in Contract Claims,” 7 Public Contract Law Journal 1, 1974
Speeches, Panel Discussions, and Seminars
Speaker at ABA Forum on the Construction Industry Annual Meeting, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2006
Speaker at ABA Section on Dispute Resolution Annual Meeting, 2003, 2004
Speaker at AAA Neutrals Conference, 2005
Speaker at Virginia State Bar Construction Law and Public Contracts Section Annual Seminar, 1982, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2006
Speaker at Virginia Bar Association 115th Annual Meeting, 2005
Professional Honors
Best Lawyers in America, 2007 Edition (Alternative Dispute Resolution and Construction)
Virginia Super Lawyers, 2006 (Alternative Dispute Resolution)
The Washington DC Area’s Best Lawyers, 2006 (Alternative Dispute Resolution)
Virginia Business, 2005 Legal Elite (Alternative Dispute Resolution)
* "CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies."
Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.
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