WILLIAM BIEGENWALD, ESQ
B.S. STRUCTURAL/ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING
J.D. BUSINESS LAW,
+974-3363-6450 (Doha)
+1-210-374-7839 (USA)
Legal Advisement ~ Contracts/Claims Management
USA licensed Attorney with a demonstrated track record of involvement in large-scale domestic and international construction projects utilizing, among others, FIDIC based contracts. An experienced professional who consults directly with client senior management regarding legal and contract matters, litigation, compliance and governance issues.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
SPIE OIL & GAS SERVICES, Doha, Qatar 2018-Present
Legal Advisor – Contracts Specialist
• Assigned to the Hamad Port Projects program in Qatar as a contracts specialist and legal advisor.
• Responsible for contract administration of all aspects of various design/build, construction, design consultant and project management consultant contracts on behalf of the Hamad Port Projects including tender scope development and review, risk management, pre-award, day to day contract administration, assessment of payment requests, change management, claims review and resolution, and contract closeout. Reviewing and drafting responses to incoming correspondence as well as contractual review of outgoing correspondence for other Hamad Port Projects personnel. Contracts administered included, among others, port administration facilities, port infrastructure works, ITT agreements, general office buildings, bulk foodstuffs processing, roadworks, sewage treatment, temporary facilities, electrical distribution and security systems/facilities.
• Providing contract and legal advice to senior Hamad Port Projects management personnel including functional managers regarding all aspects of the development of an iconic mega port facility. Interfaced with Stakeholder and End-user legal staff and provided support in litigation matters.
EGIS RAIL, Doha, Qatar 2016-2018
Claims Manager
• PMT member on the Qatar Metro Rail, Red Line South responsible for receiving, organizing, analyzing, responding to and resolving ongoing EPC contractor claims submissions within a FIDIC contractual environment including interfacing with Client. Also, managing development of employer claims against the contractor.
• Advising Senior and Executive management on the viability of claims as well as strategies for resolution.
• Reviewing and drafting responses to claims related correspondence from the contractor and drafting team correspondence to the contractor to insure contractual compliance and furtherance of the Employer’s claims resolution strategies.
ALLEN & SHARIFF, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 2015-2016
Legal/Claims Management Consultant/Contracts Manager
• Providing legal and claims management services to Musanada, the client on the AED 3 Billion New Al Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi.
• Providing services encompassed in a project management contract including day to day general contract/claims administration and resolution of legally based issues.
• Providing management/professional development of a staff of multinational quantity surveyors
• Conducting research and investigations regarding complex legal and contract matters and providing contract strategy advice to the client.
• Providing reviews to the client of the Engineer’s work product regarding complex legal issues and claims management/resolution.
• Writing and reviewing drafts of responses to major contractor claims for implementation by the Engineer.
• Providing structured and unstructured educational courses regarding legal/contracts matters to local candidates within the client’s organization who are slotted for advancement to senior management.
• Developed standardized procedures for implementation of efficient claims management by the Engineer to reduce a severe backlog of Contractor claims which resulted in a reduction in the number of outstanding major contractor claims from over 80 to less than 10 and reduction of over 500 outstanding minor claims to 123 during a six month period.
• Serving as the provisional PMT project manager/project coordinator during the extended vacancy of these positions at the project site.
Cplus International co., Ltd., Seoul, South Korea 2009-2014
Chief Consultant
· Served for over two years as a Legal and Contracts Consultant to Daewoo Engineering and Construction Company, Ltd. the contractor on a US$900 Million ship dry dock facility project for Qatar Petroleum in Ras Laffan, Qatar.
· Served for over three years as a Legal and Contracts/Claims Management Consultant to Daewoo Engineering and Construction Company, Ltd on a US$12 Billion EPC refinery project for Takreer in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
· Provided risk management consultation for all contractual and legal issues with the objective of avoiding or reducing client risks, preventing or reducing litigation and negotiation/resolution of subcontractor issues/claims.
· Provided advice to client senior management regarding compliance with local government laws and regulations.
· Drafted comprehensive legal memoranda and reports for client senior/executive management regarding general legal issues, the primary client contract and project subcontracts.
· Interviewed selected and managed outside litigation counsel when necessary.
·Drafted complex contract amendments and client claims under the primary contract.
·Reviewed incoming correspondence for potential contractual issues and reviewed all outgoing draft correspondence to ensure legal, contractual, and grammatical accuracy.
·Also provided end of project claims consultation for Daewoo Engineering and Construction Company, Ltd. a joint venture partner on a US$1.5 Billion ADWEA power plant project in Shuweihat, Abu Dhabi.
Pac Rim Hawaii, LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA 2004-2008
Managing Partner and Legal Counsel
· Provided leadership and legal guidance to the company which specialized in demolition and finish out of commercial and restaurant tenant lease spaces on multiple islands within the State of Hawaii.
·Developed a quick turnaround 30-day demolition and construction system for tenant improvement projects up to US$900K requiring collaboration with cross-disciplinary teams of architectural and engineering consultants, construction teams and owner representatives.
·Managed a nine-month fast track conversion of a 12,000 sq. ft. existing retail store into the flagship Farrell’s Restaurant involving extensive demolition, remediation and new fit out.
Law Office of Shigemura & Harakal and OFFICEs OF William Biegenwald,
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA 1993-2004
Attorney at Law
·Practice focused primarily on Construction, Real Property and Estate Planning matters.
·Served as Lead Attorney in attaining a substantially reduced settlement on behalf of client defendant Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo, a globally recognized architectural firm, in a US$80Million design defect lawsuit on a Ritz Carleton Resort Hotel.
·Recognized by the Hawaii State Supreme Court for volunteer arbitrator service to the First Circuit Court Annexed Arbitration Program.
La Quinta Inns, San Antonio, Texas, USA 1984-1990
Project Development Manager
·Managed the design and construction of up to eight concurrent US$50 Million hotel development projects at any point in time that spanned various geographic regions. Projects included both new construction and renovations and required coordination of local teams of construction professionals comprised of engineers, architects, designers and contractors in each location.
·Served as the La Quinta Inns point person for corporate interactions with local governmental authorities during all stages of hotel development projects.
·Received recognition by the Board of Directors of La Quinta Inns for bringing in hotel development projects on time and under budget.
Arabian American Oil Company, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 1978-1983
Project Engineer
·During each year of service managed over US$100M of infrastructure and industrial projects in the Eastern Provence of Saudi Arabia.
ACADEMIA
Adjunct Professor, Business Law
Hawaii Pacific University, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
2002-2003
EDUCATION
California Western School of Law, San Diego, California, USA
Juris Doctorate
. Graduated one year ahead of a standard three-year degree plan and earned an overall GPA of 3.4/4.0.
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
Bachelor of Science in Structural /Architectural Engineering
·Maintained a GPA of 3.50/4.0 at one of the United States’ top engineering universities.
The United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
Coursework is focused on Civil Engineering / Mathematics / Chemistry
· Recognized by the Dean of Academics for attaining a GPA of 3.7/4.0 in a highly competitive and physically rigorous environment.
LICENSURE & CERTIFICATIONS
State BAR of Hawaii, Admitted Attorney, Bar Number 5934
UNITED STATES District Court of hawaii, Admitted Attorney
The state of Hawaii, Licensed General Contractor, License Number 29646
American Arbitration Association, Certified Mediator
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Inter-Pacific Bar Association, Member
Panel of Arbitrators, Court Annexed Arbitration Program, Hawaii, Selected by the Hawaii Supreme Court
Society of construction law, London, UK, Member
American Institute of Architects, USA, Associate Member
LANGUAGES
FLUENT ENGLISH (Native language)
RUDIMENTARY SPANISH and FRENCH
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