Gregory R. Meeder is a partner in Holland & Knight's Chicago office. He is a member of the firm's National Construction Industry Practice Group and is the Regional Construction Practice Group Leader for the Midwest. He handles civil trial matters in state and federal trial courts on a local and national basis, proceedings before governmental and administrative agencies and arbitration proceedings. His legal career focuses on complex construction litigation and the representation of public owners, property developers, underground contractors, construction companies, commercial banks, corporations, partnerships, title insurance companies and individuals with regard to multi-million dollar litigation matters. Mr. Meeder is a member of the Panel of Neutrals for the American Arbitration Association Industry and ADR Systems of America, acting as an arbitrator and mediator in construction disputes. He is also an approved mediator for the Circuit Court of Cook County Major Case Court, Annexed Civil Mediation Program.
Mr. Meeder's practice includes: structuring project delivery methods and reviewing, structuring and negotiating construction, design and construction management contracts; advising clients on contract interpretation and contract and project administration for commercial, institutional, and public building projects and public works projects; claim avoidance counseling; public procurement laws and bid protests; construction industry labor and employment issues; OSHA matters; change order management; project close-out management; assessment, preparation and defense of claims; litigation and arbitration of construction related disputes; and providing general business advice to premier construction industry clients.
Mr. Meeder has handled projects including fast track office buildings, commercial and residential buildings, golf courses, highway construction, waste water treatment plants, airports, senior housing projects, tollway systems, underground utility, cable, electric, gas, fiber optic, telephone, water, stormwater and sewer projects, including tunneling, horizontal boring, directional drilling and other specialty work related to underground infrastructure projects.
Mr. Meeder has authored legislation on behalf of the Underground Contractors Association and the Illinois Construction Industry Committee requiring differing site condition clauses in public construction contracts in excess of $75,000. See 30 ILCS 557/1 et seq. Mr. Meeder recently co-authored the first ever strategic partnership agreement between OSHA and the Underground Contractors Association which employs a third party administrator to significantly reduce exposure of construction companies and their employees to safety risks.
Mr. Meeder is the immediate past president of the Chicago Building Congress. He served on the Municipal Board of the Village of Palos Park from 1995-2003 as the elected public works commissioner. As commissioner, Mr. Meeder was directly responsible for all executive, legislative and departmental policies relating specifically to utilities, cable, fiber optic, water, stormwater, sewer and the supervision of public construction contracts (multi-million dollar construction projects were in design or under construction during his eight-year term). Mr. Meeder served on the Board of Directors of the 192-member Underground Contractors Association from 1996-2000 and is counsel to the association. Mr. Meeder also served as a special assistant attorney general for representation of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority with regard to the installation of fiber optic lines along the right-of-ways adjacent to the Illinois Tollway system.
