Michael W. "Mike" Lord

Mike Lord is a partner with the firm and is Chair of the Construction and Design Law practice group. He has over 30 years' experience in construction, professional liability, commercial and real estate litigation. Mr. Lord’s construction law practice includes representation of architects, engineers, surveyors and other design professionals, general and sub-contractors, owners and developers in all manner of construction disputes. He has significant experience both in the contracting and drafting stage to help clients mitigate the risk of litigation and in representing clients in post-project mediation, arbitration, and lawsuits when litigation becomes unavoidable. His experience further includes professional negligence, breach of contract, extra work, non-payment, defective work, mechanic’s liens, and delay claims. Mr. Lord’s practice also centers on defense of construction and real estate professionals in malpractice claims. He has defended Architects, Engineers, Surveyors, Appraisers, and Real Estate Agents in virtually every type of suit for professional negligence. For Architects, he has defended matters involving schematic phase, design development, construction documents, project supervision and completion claims. For Engineers, he has defended malpractice claims for design negligence, including claims regarding conceptual, preliminary and detailed engineering design functions. Mr. Lord also represents insurance companies and insureds in of construction defect suits, including death, severe personal injury and catastrophic property damage claims. He also has represented an array of businesses in complex commercial litigation claims in jury and bench trials in federal and state court, as well as arbitration cases before the American Arbitration Association. In addition to his practice, Mr. Lord is a civil litigation instructor for paralegals at Kennesaw State University. Mr. Lord’s practice has also included representing management in multiple labor and employment cases involving Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FLSA, and matters. Mr. Lord is a 1980 Morehead Scholar graduate of the University of North Carolina (B.A., with honors) and a 1983 cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia Law School (J.D.). He is a member of the Georgia and Louisiana Bar Associations.