Farella Braun + Martel's Deborah Ballati Elected President of the American College of Construction Lawyers

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, February 24, 2011 (Press-News.org) Deborah S. Ballati, a partner in Farella Braun + Martel's Construction and Insurance Coverage Practice Groups, has been elected President of the American College of Construction Lawyers (ACCL). She has been a Fellow with the ACCL since 1997. Ballati will serve for the next year as the first female ACCL President.

Ballati's top leadership role affords her the opportunity to have a significant impact on the organization and on construction law as a practice. During her tenure as President-Elect and President, she is leading the ACCL's efforts to plan and implement the third symposium to be put on in conjunction with a leading university in the fall of 2012; the symposium will focus on significant issues which will shape the global construction industry over the next ten years. The goal of the ACCL's tri-annual symposiums is to provide a forum for senior construction industry leaders to spend two days focusing of issues of global importance to the construction industry.

Founded in 1990, the ACCL is one of the premier legal associations in America, and it is comprised of the top one percent of the U.S. construction bar, including lawyers and judges from Canada, Britain and France. Fellowship is extended by invitation to lawyers and judges who have mastered the practice or the teaching of construction law and dispute resolution pertaining to the built environment and those whose professional careers exhibit the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality.

In her litigation practice, Ballati represents companies in the construction industry, including owners, contractors and design professionals. She has substantial experience with delay and defect claims arising out of commercial, residential and heavy civil construction projects, as well as contract drafting and negotiations and related insurance matters. Ballati also represents policyholders in pursuing coverage under all types of insurance policies, including primary and excess general liability, environmental, property, professional liability and employment practice liability policies.

Ballati is a frequent lecturer on insurance and construction law in venues throughout the United States. She served as Chair of the American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry from 2002-2003. Currently an arbitrator for the San Francisco Superior Court and the American Arbitration Association, Ballati has also served as a Judge Pro Tem in the San Francisco Superior Court. She has earned recognition as one of the leading construction attorneys in California in Chambers USA and Legal 500. She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Construction) and regularly named to the list of the Top 50 Female Northern California Super Lawyers and the Top 100 Northern California Super Lawyers.

Ballati received her J.D., Order of the Coif, from the University of California, Hastings College of Law (1975) and her B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from Stanford University (1972).

Farella Braun + Martel represents clients throughout the United States and abroad in sophisticated business transactions and high-stakes commercial, civil and criminal litigation. Founded in 1962, the firm is headquartered in San Francisco and maintains an office in the Napa Valley focused on the wine industry. Farella Braun + Martel lawyers are known for their imaginative legal solutions, dynamism and intellectual creativity. With an unwavering service ethic and interdisciplinary team approach, the firm is committed to advancing clients' objectives in the most effective, coordinated and efficient manner. Farella Braun + Martel is a green business. http://www.fbm.com

Contacts:
Melinda Hepp / Traci Stuart Cheryl Loof
Blattel Communications Farella Braun + Martel
415.397.4811 415.954.4433
melinda@blattel.com / traci@blattel.com cloof@fbm.com