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About Ernest Brown

“A Trial is a Failed Negotiation”

Ernest C. Brown is a construction lawyer and Project Neutral® with a rare combination of engineering, executive, and courtroom experience. Over a multi-decade career, he has served as a field engineer in geotechnical and civil engineering, U.S. President of a major tunneling contractor, Senior Vice President of an international construction management company, and lead trial counsel in complex construction disputes. For more than fifteen years, he has focused his practice on ethical, rigorous mediation and arbitration of high-stakes construction matters.

Mr. Brown has been recognized as Construction Lawyer of the Year (San Francisco Bay Area) and served as President of the Construction Lawyers Society of America (over 1,200 members). Chambers & Partners describes him as a “very, very experienced construction attorney” known for a “very smart and practical” approach.

An MIT graduate in Civil and Environmental Engineering, he earned his J.D. and a master’s degree in Construction Management/Project Management from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dispute Resolution for Complex Projects

For more than 35 years, Mr. Brown has built a nationally recognized practice resolving disputes across:

  • Construction, government contracts, and public infrastructure

  • Aviation, insurance coverage, engineering/manufacturing, and real estate

  • Related matters including personal injury, wrongful death, energy/environmental, and international issues (as they arise in major projects)

He serves as Mediator, Arbitrator, and Special Master for private and public clients across the United States and internationally, including matters involving Mexico, Canada, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

He earned an AV® rating early in his career based on peer review reflecting legal ability and integrity, and has been selected as a Super Lawyer since 2014.

Project Counsel and Trial Experience

Mr. Brown has helped manage more than $10 billion in U.S. and international construction projects and has served as chief trial counsel in major disputes, including:

  • Central Arizona Project pipeline failure — $146 million (defense verdict)

  • June 9, 1985 Southern California Edison power plant disaster — $250 million in property damage; six deaths (minimal settlement for his client)

He has represented major clients in disputes involving airports, casinos, sports arenas, power plants, pipelines, transit systems, refineries, roadways and bridges, schools and universities, high technology, industrial facilities, and treatment plants.

He has also contributed to legal resources for construction and environmental law committees of the California State Bar and county bar associations, as well as organizations including the American Arbitration Association, Associated General Contractors, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the National Society of Professional Engineers.

International Project Advisory

While at Fluor Corporation, Mr. Brown advised large, complex international projects, including:

  • Saudi Petrochemical Project ($3.4B)

  • PERTAMINA Oil Refinery, Cilacap, Indonesia

  • Kemya Project, Saudi Arabia

  • Additional projects in Alaska, Chile, Canada, the UAE, and Indonesia

Education

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — B.S., Civil & Environmental Engineering, 1975

  • University of California, Berkeley — J.D., 1978; M.S. (Construction Management/Project Management), 1978

  • Harvard Law School — Graduate study in International Law

ADR Training (Selected)

  • Faculty, AAA Construction Conference – Keeping Arbitration Lean (2015)

  • AAA Advanced Mediator Training (2009)

  • AAA Chairing an Arbitration Panel: Managing Procedures, Process & Dynamics (2007)

  • AAA Dealing With Delay Tactics in Arbitration (2005)

  • Faculty, San Francisco Bar Association, Construction Mediation (2005)

  • AAA Arbitration Awards: Safeguarding, Deciding & Writing Awards (2004)

  • Faculty, State Bar of California, Construction Mediation (2004)

  • AAA Construction Arbitrator II Training: Advanced Case Management Issues (2002)

  • AAA Arbitrator Update (2001)

  • AAA Construction Industry Arbitrator Training (1999)

  • AAA Mediation Training (1996)

Professional Licenses

  • Admitted to the California Bar (1978)

  • Registered Civil Engineer, California (1980)

Awards and Honors (Selected)

  • Founded and led Orange County Bar Association Pro Bono Committee for Desert Storm

  • Pro Bono Law Clinic (1990–91): assisted 187 service members and families

  • USMC – USMAS El Toro Community Service Award

  • American Jurisprudence Award, Boalt Hall (1978)

  • Harmon Writing Prize, Boalt Hall (1978)

  • Karl Taylor Compton Prize, MIT Community Service Award (1975)

Publications (Selected)

  • California Infrastructure Projects: Successful Contracting and Dispute Resolution (Recorder Books, 2015)

  • CEB’s California Public Contract Law handbook

  • Editor, Construction Contracts and Disputes (CEB)

  • Co-author, Federal Publications and Cambridge Institute course manuals on architect-engineer malpractice

  • A Practical Guide to Public-Private Partnerships (Design Group, Inc., 2015)

  • California Public Works: Contracts & Litigation (1999)

  • Architect/Engineer Malpractice (Federal Publications, 1980)

  • “What Lawyers Must Know About Asbestos,” ABA Journal (Nov. 1987)

  • “Architect/Engineer Liability Under California Law,” Cambridge Institute (1992)

Work History

  • Arbitrator and Mediator (Present)

  • Special Counsel, Smith Currie & Hancock (Jan–Mar 2016)

  • Managing Principal, Smith Currie & Hancock, LLP (2011–2015)

  • Ernest Brown & Company (1989–2011)

  • Senior Vice President & Executive Consultant, Hill International (NYSE: HINT) (2000–2002)

  • Partner, Stradling, Yocca Carlson & Rauth (1986–1989)

  • Partner, Natkin Weisbach & Brown (1984–1986)

  • Corporate Counsel, Fluor Daniel (1981–1984)

  • Litigation Attorney, Bronson, Bronson & McKinnon (1978–1981)

  • Civil Engineer, Dames & Moore (1975–1978)

Professional Associations

  • Co-Chair, California State Bar Association, Construction Law Section

  • Member, ABA Forum on the Construction Industry

  • Member, Bar Association of San Francisco

  • Mediator/Arbitrator, Northern California Commercial Association of Realtors

  • Associated General Contractors

  • California League of Cities

  • County Counsel Association & American Institute of Architects

  • International Mediation Institute (IMI) Certified Mediator

  • Former member: National Society of Civil Engineers; American Society of Professional Engineers