2023 Ones to Watch Industry Leaders: Bret McCabe, Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP

Number of years in CURRENT position: Started at FDT in March, 2023, Practicing Attorney within the Construction space for 10 years.

3 skills that you use every day in your position: Decision-making and problem solving; Communication with clients and firm personnel; Critical thinking and analysis

Best book, podcast, or app for aspiring leaders: Napoleon Hill – The Law of Success.

Best advice for new leaders in 10 words or less: Never quit. The world is run by those who show up.

What was one of your biggest challenges as a leader and how did you overcome it? Often, within the world of litigation, an attorney and client need to reach tough decisions and formulate a cohesive strategy as a means to achieve the best overall outcome. As such, there are occasions where an attorney needs to be able to “speak truth to power” as it were, where a client may need to be informed that a certain aspect of the facts and/or law may be unfavorable for our position. One such instance involved a multi-million-dollar dispute where my client was involved in litigation involving a city agency, as well as a major utility company. In that instance, I was able to convince the client to implement an unconventional approach and we successfully reached our desired result based on the novel strategy. For the client to trust our recommended course of action, despite their initial reluctance, was a testament to the confidence we had in its potential for success, and ultimately proved to be the best decision and strategy we could have utilized.

What makes this nominee an Industry Leader? “Bret McCabe comes to FDT with real hands-on Construction experience which gives him a thorough understanding of the issues that contractors face on a daily basis. Additionally, as former General Counsel for a number of Contractor and Real Estate Developer entities, his knowledge of the operational aspects of our clients’ businesses allows him to provide valuable counsel on a wide variety of topics both in a transactional sense, as well as from a litigant’s perspective.” - Joseph Asselta, Partner & Chair of FDT’s Construction practice group at Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP.