Theodore M. Baum, Managing Partner, concentrates his practice in construction and surety law and has done so since entering the practice of law. A trial and appellate practice attorney, he is peer rated AV, the highest possible rating from Martindale-Hubbell.  Mr. Baum has earned the Super Lawyer designation for Upstate New York and is also listed in Sutton’s Who’s Who in American Law. Mr. Baum regularly represents contractors, sureties, subcontractors, suppliers and municipal owners in connection with litigation, arbitration and mediation arising from construction projects of virtually every size and type. Admitted to practice in New York, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, Mr. Baum represents clients in surety and construction matters all over New York.  In addition, Mr. Baum has represented and advised clients on matters in Pennsylvania.
 
Mr. Baum principally litigates construction contract disputes and payment and performance bond claims.  He counsels surety clients with respect to contractor defaults and bond liability, among other matters.  He advises E&D’s construction clients concerning contract documents, contract negotiations and disputes, construction-related property damage and injury claims, labor issues, claims and litigation. Mr. Baum has experience with construction projects of every size, from simple residential construction to complex multi-million dollar projects in the public and private sector.  His litigation experience arises from heavy-highway construction (including roads, bridges and landfills), vertical construction (including schools, office buildings and hospitals), power construction (including transmission lines, power plants and geothermal heating & cooling projects), and many other private and municipal improvements.  Mr. Baum also litigates commercial contract disputes unrelated to construction, and represents sureties in connection with non-contract surety bonds, including probate and guardianship bonds.
 
Mr. Baum is a member of the American Arbitration Association’s panel of arbitrators for construction industry disputes.  He is also a former Vice-Chair of the Fidelity and Surety Law Committee of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association, and serves on that committee’s Law Division. In addition, he is a member of the ABA’s Forum on the Construction Industry and the National Bond Claims Association.
 
Mr. Baum serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Rochester (NY) Chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association, and Board of Directors of the T. Franklin Williams, M.D. Foundation, a charitable foundation which serves the needs of the residents and staff of the Monroe Community Hospital, a County-owned long term care facility.

Mr. Baum has made presentations to the Joint Meeting of the Fidelity and Surety Law Committee and the Forum on the Construction Industry, the National Association of Independent Sureties, the National Bond Claims Association, the Construction Financial Management Association and the Construction Specifications Institute.

Practice Areas:

• Construction and Surety Law
• Construction Claims, Contracts & Defects
• Arbitration, Mediation and Other Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Mechanic’s Liens
• Contract Bonds (Performance, Payment, Bid, Lien Discharge, Labor Benefits, etc.)
• Public Contract Labor Issues
• Guardianship, Probate and other Miscellaneous Bonds
• Reinsurance & Subrogation
• Commercial Contract Litigation

Court Admissions:

• New York
• Massachusetts
• Pennsylvania
• Washington, D.C.
• U.S. District Court, Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit

Reported Cases:

Swiss Reinsurance America Corp. v. Airport Industrial Park, Inc., 2009 U.S. App. Lexis 9701, 325 Fed.Appx. 59 (3d Cir. 2009); RLI Insurance Co. v. New York State Department of Labor, 97 NY 2d 256, 740 NYS 2d 272, 766 NE 2d 934, 164 NE 2d 934, 164 Ed. Law Rep. 362 (2002); New York National Bank v. Primalto Development and Construction Co., 270 A.D.2d 22, 703 N.Y.S.2d 480 (1st Dep't 2000); Construction Pace Setters, Inc. v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 225 A.D.2d 1090, 639 N.Y.S.2d 191 (4th Dep't 1996); Green Island Construction Co., Inc. v. County of Chenango, 212 A.D.2d 853, 622 N.Y.S.2d 132 (3rd Dep't 1995); Kemper Insurance Co. v. State of New York, 892 N.Y.S.2d 596 (3rd Dep’t 2009).

Publications:

Editor, 2006, ABA Performance Bond Manual. Author: “Condition Precedent Notice under the A311 and A312 Performance Bonds: A Look at Recent Case Law, 2004, ABA Fidelity & Surety Law Committee Newsletter, “The New ConsensusDocs Performance Bond Forms: How Will They Fare in Practice?”, 2008, ABA Fidelity & Surety Law Committee Newsletter, "A New Uninsured Risk for Contractors," Constructor, 1991. Co-Author: "Pivotal Legal Precedent Affecting Underwriting and Claim Handling By a Surety," Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, American Bar Association, 1995. Author: "To Indemnity and Beyond: Salvage Recovery from Accountants, Engineers, Architects, Agents and Joint Venture Partners," NBCA Meeting, 1998. Lecturer: "Dealing with Construction Bonds," 1996; "Payment Bond Claims Handling," 1996; "Construction Contracting for Public Entities," 1998-1999; "New York Construction Lien Law," 1998-2000.

Professional Associations:

• American Bar Association (Member:  The Forum on the Construction Industry, Public Contract Law Section; Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section)
• National Bond Claims Association
• International Association of Defense Counsel
• American Arbitration Association Construction Industry Panel (Arbitrator)