Gallo-Wine-Jean
Gallo-Wine-Jean

Jean Gallo Wine

Jean Gallo Wine is a capital partner and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Chambers-ranked Construction Law Group. Jean has also been individually named among the leading construction law attorneys in Illinois by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.  Jean’s practice includes both litigation and arbitration of a wide variety of construction disputes, as well as assisting clients in drafting and negotiating contracts and assessing the risk profiles of potential projects.

With respect to litigation and arbitration, Jean has experience in state and federal courts around the country, as well as in arbitration, handling disputes involving construction and design defects, construction delay and acceleration, breach of contract, mechanics liens, and construction site injury.  She has litigated claims on behalf of owners, general contractors, construction managers, subcontractors, architects, and engineers, which claims have involved a wide variety of projects, including hotels, high-rise condominium and apartment buildings, process facilities, railways, and roadways.  Jean also has substantial experience managing insurance coverage issues that arise out of her litigated matters and has had success obtaining coverage for her clients, often from third party carriers at no cost to the client.

Jean’s transactional practice includes drafting and negotiating a wide range of agreements, including construction contracts, general conditions, design-build agreements, contracts for modular construction, EPC agreements, professional services agreements, subcontracts, and joint venture agreements.  Jean assists her clients with risk management and frequently consults with them regarding the risk profiles associated with particular contracts, projects, and insurance arrangements.  Jean’s broad construction litigation and arbitration experience, coupled with her knowledge regarding applicability of insurance for construction-related claims, gives her a unique perspective when advising clients regarding their contracts and furthers her ability to draft and negotiate agreements that limit exposure in the event of a claim.

Representative Litigation and Arbitration Engagements

  • Represented glass curtain wall and window wall designer, supplier, and installer in arbitration against large general contractor with claims arising out of lack of payment, alleged delays, acceleration, and alleged construction and design defects.
  • Represented prominent national general contractor in arbitration arising out of alleged construction and design defects at a retirement community.
  • Represented EPC contractor in arbitration arising out of lack of payment, alleged delays, and construction and design defects at a sodium bicarbonate plant.
  • Represented large, national contractor in litigation involving alleged construction and design defects, as well as substantial project delay, arising out of the development of a state-of-the-art sales and training center for high-end medical equipment in Indianapolis.
  • Represented prominent Chicago developer and owner in litigation brought by owner of a neighboring parcel involving allegations of construction and design defects at a new office building.
  • Represented curtain wall and window wall supplier in action against client for significant unpaid sales tax in connection with glass provided to a large multi-family project in New York.
  • Represented engineer in federal court litigation arising out of catastrophic failure of monorail system.
  • Represented developer of high-rise condominium building in litigation involving claims due to alleged construction and design defects; obtained coverage from third-party carrier, allowing for settlement at no cost to client.
  • Represented prominent national general contractor and property owner in litigation involving design defects and delay claims arising out of luxury hotel and condominium development in Arizona.
  • Represented architect in construction and design defect litigation involving luxury condominium building in Chicago.
  • Represented construction manager of roadway project in wrongful death action; obtained coverage from third-party carrier, allowing for settlement at no cost to client.
  • Represented construction manager in arbitration involving construction defect claims arising out of design and construction of a movie production studio in Chicago.
  • Represented construction manager in construction site injury lawsuit involving extensive personal injuries arising out of a roof collapse and obtained favorable settlement at a fraction of both the plaintiff’s alleged damages and the contributions of other parties.

Representative Transactional Engagements

  • Lead construction counsel for the drafting and negotiation of all construction, design, and consulting contracts on a $1.6 billion redevelopment project in downtown Los Angeles, which when completed will include multiple buildings containing approximately 1500 residential units, 140 hotel rooms, 820,000 square feet of office space, 84,000 square feet of retail, and 50,000 square feet of public benefit space, plus parking for approximately 4,700 vehicles.
  • Drafted and negotiated full suite of design, consulting, and construction agreements (including agreements for construction manager at risk, architect, landscape architect, structural engineer, MEP engineer, geotechnical engineer, and a whole host of project consultants) on a ground-up, high-profile project in Los Angeles’s Arts District. The project, when completed, will feature office space, a private club, restaurants, retail, and a public art gallery.
  • Drafted and negotiated complete family of contracts, including pre-construction agreement, construction manager at risk agreement, general conditions, professional services agreement, and development management agreement for mixed use project exceeding $215 million and consisting of a 25-story office building and boutique hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • Prepared fully integrated family of form construction contracts, including construction agreements, general conditions, professional services agreement, and subcontract for prominent Midwest developer of multifamily properties.
  • Drafted fully customized contracts to support client’s modular construction business model.
  • Prepared construction contract, general conditions, professional services agreement, development management agreement, and FF&E agreement for hotel expansion project in Marco Island, Florida.
  • Drafted fully coordinated construction agreements for a large, multi-phase pipeline project in Illinois, which included four separate scopes of work intended to be integrated with one another but performed pursuant to different contracts.
  • Drafted and negotiated design-build agreement for manufacturing facility in Chicago, Illinois.
  • Drafted and negotiated design-build agreement and associated professional services agreements for complex, subterranean structural repair project at historic hotel in Boston, Massachusetts.
  • Drafted and negotiated joint venture agreement for prominent transportation engineering company on high-profile design-build project in California.

Jean has been recognized by the prestigious Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, one of the most highly regarded annual rankings of law firms and attorneys worldwide, as a leading attorney in Illinois.

Jean has been selected as a Fellow in the Construction Lawyers Society of America, an invitation-only, selective and limited membership national association of the country’s best construction lawyers.

Jean has also been selected for inclusion on the Illinois Super Lawyers list.  Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.  The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

  • “Pathways to Progress in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion,” Panelist, Chicago Building Congress, October 20, 2021
  • “Procurement and the City of Chicago,” Chicagoland Associated General Contractors, webinar presenter, June 25, 2020
  • The Illusions of Additional Insured Coverage,” The Construction Lawyer, Spring 2014
  • President of Professional Women in Construction, Chicago Chapter, 2021-2023
  • Board of Directors, Chicagoland Associated General Contractors, 2022
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