Executive of the Month - Charney, chairman of Peckar & Abramson: Achieves results in substantial litigation/arbitration; Continuing a legacy of success for one of the nation's finest construction law firms
February 13, 2012 - Brokerage
Steven Charney is the chairman of Peckar & Abramson, P.C. (P & A). Charney's practice includes the ongoing representation of contractors that are among the top ten, as reported by Engineering News Record. Charney's background couples extensive academic and hands-on experience in the construction industry with nearly a quarter of a century litigating for and providing legal counsel to contractors and developers.
Charney has earned a reputation for counseling his clients through creative solutions to the most complex issues facing contractors. In addition, he has achieved remarkable results in substantial litigation and arbitration. Service to the industry has always been an important part of Charney's professional life, such as his role as lead draftsman of the Green Building addendum for ConsensusDOCS, his legal counsel to the Building Trades Employers' Association of New York related to the historic issues confronting labor and management, his counsel to the industry on the creation of emerging insurance products such as subcontractor default insurance, and his role as Vice Chairman of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) Committee that developed the industry's position on mold issues.
In making the announcement naming Charney as chairman, Robert Peckar, founding partner of P & A, said, "The appointment of Steve as chairman was an easy choice for the firm. In addition to the respect he has earned from his colleagues at P & A as a great lawyer and a consummate leader, it is appropriate that he should lead the nation's largest construction law firm given the high regard in which Steve is held in the industry."
Peckar said, "Steve has been the driving force behind our ongoing commitment to excellence, our continuous effort to respond to the changing needs of our clients and our stable growth since he joined our firm two decades ago. His efforts on behalf of our clients and his contributions to our firm, as co-managing partner, managing partner of our New York office, and on our executive committee, have been nothing short of extraordinary."
Among Charney's numerous accolades, he has been repeatedly recognized by Chambers USA as a leading attorney in the field of Construction Law in New York. He has also been repeatedly named to Who's Who of International Construction Lawyers, selected for inclusion in the publication Best Lawyers in America, and listed in New York Magazine, as a top construction attorney in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area. Charney is also a fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers.
Charney said, "I am so pleased with the confidence my partners and our clients have placed in me over the years. I look forward to serving as the leader of the firm while continuing to actively provide legal service to our clients. Bob Peckar and Rich Abramson had the vision to take P&A from a three-person firm in 1978 to the nation's leading and largest construction law firm. I have had the privilege of working with them in making that vision a reality. Through organic growth and strategic mergers with some of the finest construction law firms in the country, our firm has extended beyond that initial vision and is now a true international construction law firm. I look forward to continuing this legacy of success."
Charney is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey. He is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and served on the Construction Law Subcommittee of that association. He is also a member of the American Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. A graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law after attending as an evening student, Charney also holds a Master of Science degree in construction management from the School of Civil Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Charney also holds a Bachelor's degree in accounting from Syracuse University, with a minor in construction technologies.
Peckar & Abramson, P.C. maintains offices in New York City, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles and has affiliations with global firms in Latin America (through its founding membership in CONSTRULEGAL), London and China. In addition to its core construction practice, the firm has affiliated practice groups who counsel contractors on labor and employment matters, corporate and regulatory compliance issues including D/M/WBE compliance and general corporate and real estate matters.
The firm's website can be found at http://www.pecklaw.com/.