Gregory R. Shaughnessy

Gregory R. Shaughnessy has been in private practice since 1987, following graduation from Boalt Hall School of Law at U.C. Berkeley, where he also earned his undergraduate degree. Mr. Shaughnessy’s legal career has enabled him to obtain a unique perspective on the construction and real estate industries, as well as expertise in insurance coverage and general commercial litigation. Mr. Shaughnessy’s practice in California has focused on cases litigated in State and Federal Courts, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He has resolved hundreds of cases through mediation, arbitration and trial.

Thelen, Marrin, Johnson & Bridges. Mr. Shaughnessy learned the fundamentals of practicing law with the then national law firm of Thelen, Marrin, Johnson and Bridges, where he was trained as an associate in the construction practice group with, at the time, the pre-eminent construction law practice in the United States.

Although he was assigned to the construction practice group at Thelen, Mr. Shaughnessy was involved with complex commercial litigation in a variety of areas, including toxic torts, landlord and tenant disputes and real property disputes. Mr. Shaughnessy served as an associate at Thelen from 1987 – 1993.

Sumitomo Construction America. In 1993 Mr. Shaughnessy took a leave of absence from Thelen to work as the in-house General Counsel for Sumitomo Construction America, Inc. (“SCA”), at that time a major general contractor in California with offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles with annual revenues of approximately $100,000,000. During his three years as general counsel, Mr. Shaughnessy managed and actively participated as counsel of record in numerous lawsuits in northern and southern California arising out of substantial and complex construction projects. He also managed a major corporate restructuring and the acquisition and sale of real estate with a total value of in excess of $85,000,000.

Mr. Shaughnessy’s duties at SCA also included contract administration, creation and administration of risk management procedures, including procedures relating to insurance, and involvement in the actual management of construction projects. Mr. Shaughnessy was ultimately responsible for the winding up of the Sumitomo construction business in California.

As a consumer of legal services who reviewed and approved the bills from the outside law firms while at SCA, Mr. Shaughnessy gained a unique perspective as a lawyer that would serve his clients well when he returned to private practice.

Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Company, Ltd. Following the successful reduction of the Sumitomo construction business in California, in 1996 Mr. Shaughnessy began serving as full-time general counsel for the international division of Sumitomo Construction Company, Ltd., at that time the 18th largest construction company in Japan, with annual revenues of approximately $3,000,000,000. Sumitomo Construction subsequently merged with Mitsui Construction Company, Ltd. to form Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Company, Ltd. (“SMCC”), currently the 5th largest construction company in Japan with annual revenues of in excess of $5,000,000,000.

During his three years a general counsel with SMCC, Mr. Shaughnessy engaged in the practice of international construction law, commuting to Asia every month. His international activities extended to projects in China, Guam, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand, and included drafting and negotiation of prime contracts, joint venture agreements and subcontracts, preparation and prosecution of claims and responsibility for all litigation, insurance and related risk management issues.

Thelen, Reid & Priest. In 1998 Mr. Shaughnessy rejoined Thelen, which had become Thelen, Reid & Priest (“TRP”) as a result of a merger during his leave of absence, as Of Counsel. He continued to serve his role as General Counsel of the international division of SMCC, but proceeded to build up a private practice in California. Mr. Shaughnessy’s clients now include owners, developers, general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, and even insurance companies (although normally his representation is to represent parties against insurance companies).

The subject matter of Mr. Shaughnessy’s cases while serving as Of Counsel at TRP included:

• Construction defect actions (representing plaintiffs and defendants)
• Contract disputes
• Commercial landlord/tenant disputes
• California’s Contractor’s License law
• Construction claims, including delay, disruption and lost productivity claims
• Drafting complex contracts, including contracts on construction projects, including owner/architect, owner/contractor and contractor/subcontractor agreements, commercial leases and real estate purchase and sale agreements and related documents
• Government Code claims against numerous California public entities
• Insurance coverage and bad faith (first party and third party)
• Insurance subrogation and contribution among carriers
• Mechanic’s liens, stop notices and payment bonds (representing plaintiffs and defendants)
• Payment issues under commercial contracts and construction contracts
• Real estate disputes (commercial and residential)
• Real estate: drafting of purchase and sale documents and related documents
• Insurance bad faith

Law Offices of Gregory R. Shaughnessy. In May 2006 Mr. Shaughnessy formed the Law Offices of Gregory R. Shaughnessy, located in Tiburon, California. Mr. Shaughnessy combined his national law firm training and experience with the lower overhead of an office in Marin County to provide his clients with efficient and cost-effective representation.

General. In addition to his extensive experience in arbitrations and trials, Mr. Shaughnessy frequently serves as a private mediator and is also a panelist with the Civil Panel of Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association. He enjoys writing and speaking, has authored numerous articles that have been published in trade publications, and is a frequent lecturer on issues relating to construction, real estate and insurance.