Thomas F. Giordano

Tom Giordano is a Partner in the firm’s Westchester office and a member of the Construction practice group. The main focus of his practice is to provide legal advice and assistance to owners, developers, contractors, and sureties in connection with a broad range of construction-related transactions, claims, and disputes.

Tom is a skilled contract drafter and negotiator, as well as a seasoned litigator with 28 years of experience in the construction field. His legal skills are uniquely bolstered by his architectural training, and his experience in historic preservation and construction project management. Prior to becoming an attorney, he earned a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Historic Preservation, and then served for several years as the Director of Historic Preservation for Central Park in New York, where he was in charge of numerous construction and restoration projects involving the Park’s historic structures and monuments. 

Tom's practice includes negotiation, litigation, arbitration, and mediation in New York, Connecticut, and various other jurisdictions, and he regularly represents clients in connection with the prosecution and defense of mechanic’s liens and a wide variety of construction and insurance claims. He has extensive experience in the discovery, analysis, and management of electronic and paper-based information in large-scale, document-intensive construction and commercial cases.

Admissions

• New York
• Connecticut 
• U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
• U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
   

Representative Experience

• Defense of construction surety against $12 million claims by unpaid electrical subcontractor; obtained seminal decision regarding permissible scope of claims under labor and materials payment bonds.
• Prosecution of a lawsuit to recover $25 million against engineering firm for errors and omissions in connection with construction projects at U.S. Army bases in Puerto Rico and New Jersey.
• Prosecution of major retailer’s $5 million construction defect claim in connection with concrete and steel parking deck in Yonkers, New York.
• Defense of owner and developer against contract balance and extra work claims asserted by the general contractor in connection with the construction of apartment complex in Harlem, New York.
• Development, analysis, and prosecution of numerous extra work and delay claims on behalf of specialty foundation and site work contractor in connection with a $45 million waterfront rehabilitation project for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
• Defense of electrical contractor against subcontractor’s extra work and delay claims in connection with the construction of a new science building for Columbia University in Manhattan.
• Representation of architectural restoration subcontractor in connection with claims for contract balance and extra work arising out of the restoration of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division courthouse in Manhattan.
• Representation of structural steel fabricator and erector in federal court action against steel detailer for errors and omissions in fabrication drawings for six public high school buildings in the Bronx, New York.
• Representation of national supplier of electrical components in a lawsuit to recover unpaid contract balance in connection with the reconstruction of municipal water treatment facility in Brooklyn, New York.
• Representation of performance bond surety in connection with negligence claims asserted against HVAC contractor in a case arising out of the construction of a new law library for the University of Connecticut.
• Defense of furniture delivery company against claims by Connecticut Department of Labor for unfair wage practices.
• Defense of American Museum of Natural History in a lawsuit and related arbitration arising out of educational tourism program.
• Defense of national yellow pages publisher against breach of contract claims by a supplier of high-speed fiber-optic data transmission services.
   

Education

J.D., Fordham University School of Law, cum laude, 1995

• Fordham Environmental Law Journal, member (1993-1995); Senior Symposium Editor (1994-1995)
• Fordham Law School Order of the Coif

M.S., Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, 1989

B.A., Columbia College of Columbia University, 1986

Honors

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Construction Law and Litigation-Construction (2017-2023)

Recognized by Chambers USA for Construction Law (2019-2022)

Super Lawyers® distinction in Construction Litigation and General Litigation (2020-2023)