Meet Attorney Kenneth W. Lee

Kenneth W. Lee practices in the areas of commercial contracts and the litigation thereof, construction litigation, construction-related insurance matters, municipal and government contracts, and surety law.

Mr. Lee represents owners, contractors (including general contractors, subcontractors, and specialty contractors) and surety providers in all fields of the construction industry. He has handled mechanics’ lien and litigation matters in numerous states, has written and lectured on most areas in which he practices, and has acted as an expert witness. Mr. Lee drafted the Contracts Section of the Pennsylvania Standard Jury Instructions (2nd, 3rd, 4th Eds.) published by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.

Mr. Lee has handled litigation in the state, commonwealth and federal courts of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, California and West Virginia, and those states’ specialized courts such as the Pennsylvania Board of Claims and the West Virginia Court of Claims. In addition, he has tried cases before the American Arbitration Association, Federal Mediation Service and “private” dispute panels.

He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Allegheny County Bar Association, the Cumberland County Bar Association, and the Dauphin County Bar Association, formerly the Better Business Bureau where he served as an arbitrator/mediator, the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors (APC), the Constructors Association of Western Pennsylvania, and the Master Builders of Western Pennsylvania. He previously had been appointed to the following national committees for the Associated General Contractors of America: Construction Education Committee, Surety Bonding Committee, and Contract Documents Committee. Ken also sits on the Board of Directors of The National Civil War Museum, and previously served on the Allocation Committee of the Capital Region United Way, the Scholarship Committee of Executive Women International, and the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee.

Mr. Lee has been continuously selected by his peers within his practice areas for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® ("Lawyer of the Year" in 2019), Lawyers of Distinction©, as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer®, and is a Charter Fellow in the Construction Lawyers Society of America.

Mr. Lee is a 1987 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he received the Faculty Award for Legal Scholarship and was Director of the Legal Assistance Program. He is a graduate of The Mercersburg Academy, earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Gettysburg College, obtained a Master of Arts Degree from Villanova University and is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Publications:

• It Ain’t Your Father’s Arbitration Act Anymore … or Perhaps It Is, "The Legal Intelligencer's Construction Law Supplement" (August 2019)
• Pennsylvania Standard Jury Instructions, “Contracts” (Pennsylvania Bar Institute 2nd, 3rd, 4th Eds.)
• Inside The Minds: Construction Law Legal Series, Construction Law Settlement & Negotiations, “Preparing Yourself (And the Client) Up Front,” Aspatore Books (2007)
• Instant Awareness, An Immediate Look at the Legal and Government Ramifications of the Bridge Collapse in Minnesota, “The Political Ramifications of the Bridge Collapse,” Aspatore Books (2007)

Seminars:

• “Construction Law for Pennsylvania Projects”, Half-Moon Education, Inc. (2021)
• “Annual PBI Contracts Workshop”, Pennsylvania Bar Institute (2019)
• “Utilizing Limitation of Liability/Damages Clauses In Business Contracts,” Strafford Publications (2018)
• “Mechanic's Liens and the Homeowner,” Cumberland County Inn of Courts (2018)
• “Construction Surety Law: A Federal and 50 State Review,” National Business Institute (NBI) (2018)
• “Construction Law for Pennsylvania Public Projects” Half-Moon Education, Inc. (2013)
• “Pennsylvania Purchasing Law and Procurement Guidelines,” Lorman Education Services (2011)
• “The Fundamentals of Construction Contracts: Understanding the Issues,” Lorman Education Services (2010) (with K. Bradley Mellor)
• “The Fundamentals of Construction Contracts: Understanding the Issues,” Lorman Education Services (2009) (with D. Matthew Jameson, III)
• “Construction Law From Contract To Closeout,” Lorman Education Services (2008) (with various authors)
• “Resolving Problems And Disputes On Construction Projects,” National Business Institute (2006) (with various authors)
• “Public Contracts And Procurement Regulations In Pennsylvania,” Lorman Education Services (2006) (with various authors)
• “AIA Contracts,” Lorman Education Services (2006) (with various authors)
• “Building A Foundation For Managing Complex Construction Law Issues In Pennsylvania,” National Business Institute (2006) (with various authors)
• “Public Works Construction In Pennsylvania,” Lorman Education Services (2005) (with various authors)
• “Pennsylvania Construction Law: What Do You Do When… ?,” National Business Institute (2004) (with various authors)
• “Fundamentals Of Construction Law,” Sterling Education Services (2003) (with various authors)
• “Advanced Construction Law In Pennsylvania,” National Business Institute (2002) (with various authors)
• “Construction Contracting For Public Entities In Pennsylvania,” Lorman Education Services (2002) (with Jack W. Plowman)

Representative Cases:

• Contracts and Commercial Litigation
• Represented contractor in defending $30 million claim on a natural gas fueled electrical plant
• Represented the mayor and a Central Pennsylvania city in a $400 million bankruptcy litigation and receivership proceeding
• $2.4 million extra work claim on Pymantuning Dam Rehabilitation Project
• Represented designer on claims over $1.2 million involving a Department of Agriculture animal tissue digester project
• Represented company in $1.8 million non-compete and trade secrets violation case with former business partner
• Drafted Prime Contracts for $25 million water system project in Western Pennsylvania
• Represented steel erector on $900,00 extra work claim for U.S. Corps of Army Engineer warehouse project
• Represented nation’s largest processor of debit and credit card transactions with respect to three breach of contract actions in excess of $40 million
• Represented dairy herd owner with respect to a $5 million breach of contract/product liability claim over sale of a dairy herd
• Assisted client in drafting of leases for Port of Philadelphia terminals
• Expert witness on several legal malpractice cases involving natural gas rights

• Bridge and Heavy Highway Construction Litigation
• Represented large steel erector in FHWA suspension and debarment proceedings
• $3.3 million extra work litigation with respect to a rock excavation claim on a PennDOT project in Berks County, PA
• $3 million extra work litigation with respect to the Pittsburgh, PA, West End Bridge
• $1.3 million steel escalation litigation
• $500,000 extra work litigation with respect to Belle Vernon, PA, Bridge on Interstate 70
• $400,000 delay claim litigation with respect to the PA Route 65 Eckert Street Bridge
• $600,000 extra work litigation with respect to the Tygart Valley Bridge in West Virginia
• $600,000 extra work litigation with respect to the Mon City Bridge; $200,000 extra work litigation with respect to the Pittsburgh, PA, 40th Street Bridge
• $1.2 million termination claim with respect to the Pittsburgh, PA, Wabash Bridge and Tunnel Stabilization Contract
• $600,000 extra work litigation with respect to the Six Mile Creek Bridge on Interstate 90
• $750,000 wrongful termination litigation with respect to the Venango, PA, Bridge Contract

• Mechanics’ Liens and Payment Bonds
• Defended owner and contractor against a $13.4 Million Mechanics’ Lien on a natural gas fueled electrical plant
• Prosecuted $1.2 Million Mechanics’ Lien and Payment Bond Claim on a 110-mile long natural gas pipeline
• $25 million Mechanics’ Lien and federal court action with respect to the Homer City, Pa. Power Plant
• $1.2 million Mechanics’ Lien with respect to the Tioga Natural Gas Facility
• $40 million mortgage/mechanics’ lien priority litigation in Washington County, PA.
• Prosecuted in excess of $10 million in payment bond and mechanics’ lien claims for world’s largest crane rental company
• Prosecuted in excess of $4 million in mechanics’ lien claims for various construction trade unions’ health and welfare funds