Smith, Currie & Hancock
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Contact Information Name: Philip E. Beck Address: Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP 233 Peachtree Street, N.E., Suite 2600 Harris Tower
Atlanta, GA 30303
Year Established: 1965
Total Personnel: Approximately 110
Staff SCH's Atlanta Partners: Thomas E. Abernathy, IV William L. Baggett, Jr. Philip E. Beck Hubert J. Bell, Jr. Paul R. Beshears James K. Bidgood, Jr. James F. Butler, III Robert C. Chambers Aubrey L. Coleman, Jr. James W. Copeland Karl F. Dix, Jr. John T. Flynn Philip L. Fortune Eugene J. Heady Catherine M. Hobart S. Gregory Joy Thomas J. Kelleher, Jr., Managing Partner John E. Menechino, Jr. Stephen W. Mooney Suzanne J. Mulliken Eric L. Nelson Frank E. Riggs, Jr. Ronald G. Robey Daniel M. Shea Kent P. Smith Joseph C. Staak Charles W. Surasky George D. Wenick
Practice Areas
Bidding/Procurement Issues & Disputes Contract Drafting, Evaluation & Negotiation Contract & Legal Compliance/Performance Advice Project Documentation & Claim Preparation Dispute Avoidance & Resolution Litigation & Board/Administrative Proceedings Arbitration, Mediation & Other Forms of ADR Government Contracts Liens & Bonds Environmental Law Labor & Employment Law Insurance Issues & OSHA
Examples of Projects
Office Buildings Hotels & Condominiums Schools & Universities Churches Casinos & Resorts Industrial Facilities Water & Wastewater Plants & Facilities Power Plants Hospitals & Research Laboratories Multi-Family Residential Retail & Commercial Facilities Stadiums & Arenas Correctional Facilities Manufacturing Facilities Petrochemical Plants Pharmaceutical Plants Utility Projects Bridges, Road & Tunnels Dams Hazardous Waste Remediation Marine & Seaports Airports Space & Technology Military & Governmental Construction Mining Offshore Oil & Gas Interior Tenant Improvements Country Clubs & Golf Courses
About the Firm Established Tradition of Legal Service to the Construction Industry for Four Decades Offices: Atlanta, Charlotte, Tallahassee & Ft. Lauderdale
Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP (“SCH”) has a rich heritage as a preeminent law firm serving the construction industry, not only in Georgia and the Southeast, but throughout the remainder of the United States and internationally as well. We have built our reputation by providing exceptional legal representation, tailored to fit our clients’ needs. SCH has the resources, experience, integrity, and dedication necessary to support our commitment to serving the construction industry with the highest degree of excellence.
Practice Areas Construction Law, Labor and Employment Law, Government Contract Law, Environmental Law and Surety Law |
Firm Overview and Philosophy SCH has a nationally-recognized law practice concentrated in two primary areas: (1) construction law and (2) labor and employment law, plus the related fields of government contracts, surety law, and environmental law. The firm has represented clients in all fifty states and on five continents. In this age of specialization, SCH does not try to be all things to all people. Rather - except for our labor and employment law practice, which serves multiple industries (including the construction industry) - we concentrate our practice primarily on the construction industry and the unique issues and challenges which cause the construction process to require special experience and expertise. We believe this focus enhances our ability to effectively, efficiently, and economically deliver top-quality legal services to our clients. SCH combines the individual skills, talents, personalities, backgrounds, and expertise of more than sixty attorneys, plus an experienced team of paralegals and professional support staff. Many of our firm’s construction attorneys hold engineering (including electrical engineering), architectural, or construction management degrees, and/or masters degrees in business administration, in addition to their legal education; and a number of our attorneys worked in the construction industry before beginning their legal careers. Collectively, our lawyers have over 500 years of construction law experience.
Our firm’s construction clients range from small family-owned businesses to companies ranking in the top ten of Engineering News Record’s lists of the largest contractors, construction managers, and design/builders in the country. Our clients include many electrical contractors based throughout the State of Georgia and the United States. The depth and breadth of the firm’s experience allows SCH to handle anything from the smallest to the largest and most complex construction matters more efficiently and cost effectively than other firms. Moreover, despite our national reputation and expertise, SCH’s billing rates and practices compare favorably to other law firms. We know that in order for our firm to continue to succeed and to thrive, our clients must succeed and thrive as well. Our commitment to providing quality legal services at a reasonable cost extends to every client regardless of size, as reflected in Our Ten Points to Remember: · A client is the most important person in any business – in person, by mail, fax, e-mail, or by telephone. · Clients are not dependent on us; we are dependent on them. · Clients are not an interruption of our work; they are the purpose for it. · Clients do us a favor when they call; we are not doing them a favor by serving them or returning their calls promptly. · Clients are a part of our business, not outsiders. · Clients are not cold statistics; they are flesh-and-blood human beings with feelings and emotions like our own. · Clients are not people with whom to argue or match wits. · Clients are people who bring us their needs; it is our job to address those needs. · Clients are deserving of the most courteous and attentive treatment we can give them. · Clients are the life blood of SCH.
Firm History SCH was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1965 by G. Maynard Smith, Overton A. Currie, and E. Reginald Hancock. Although these esteemed attorneys have all now retired, succeeding generations of SCH attorneys still enjoy and continue to build upon the strong foundation and firm culture these gentlemen established, as the firm continues to grow and to prosper. Today’s SCH continues the fine tradition of client service that was the initial hallmark of the firm, but combines that tradition with 21st century technology and the insight and proficiency gained through four generations of service to our clients. In order to better serve our clients, SCH opened a branch office in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1999. In 2001, we opened additional branch offices in Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
SCH is believed to have been the first law firm in the country to concentrate on construction law as a specialized area of practice, and it is said that we are still the largest group of lawyers in the country concentrating on construction law. Overton Currie has been described as this country’s “Founder and Dean of the Construction Bar”, and was a charter member of the American College of Construction Lawyers, which he served as the organization’s first President in 1989. Several of our partners have also served as National Chairmen of various construction law and public contract law sections and committees of the American Bar Association.
Relationship With AECA SCH is proud to be an active Associate Member of AECA. Our attorneys actively participate in and support the organization’s programs, activities, and functions, and have conducted numerous seminars for AECA and its members. SCH also has had the unique honor of assisting AECA in various legal matters over the years. SCH highly values its strong and long-standing relationship with AECA, and views our active support of AECA as a means of giving something back to the construction industry, to which we owe our success.
Publications & Seminars Each year SCH’s attorneys conduct a heavy schedule of lectures and seminars, sponsored by various trade and professional associations, colleges and universities, bar associations, and private educational organizations. We post and periodically update a list of upcoming seminars on our firm’s web site. Our attorneys have also written hundreds of articles, papers, and books on construction law topics. One such publication is the book Smith, Currie & Hancock’s Common Sense Construction Law, 2nd ed., published by John Wiley & Sons, which is used throughout the country as a college textbook in construction and engineering programs.
Newsletters As a service to our clients and the industry, SCH publishes two newsletters: Common Sense Contracting, which provides a practical perspective on construction legal issues and is published quarterly, and the SCH Labor and Employment Law Newsletter. If you wish to receive either of these newsletters free of charge, please visit our web site: www.smithcurrie.com.
Firm Contact: Philip E. Beck
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