SHIELDS LAW PARTNERS - Key Persons
Allison Colón is senior counsel at Shields Law Partners. She has a diverse legal practice, encompassing both complex commercial litigation and transactional matters related to construction. Allison has represented owners, commercial contractors, subcontractors, equipment manufacturers, and design professionals in connection with construction disputes, defect claims, contract negotiation and drafting, private and public procurement transactions, and post-completion claims. She has appeared in state, federal, and arbitral forums throughout the country.
Allison also has extensive commercial bankruptcy experience, having begun her legal career as a bankruptcy attorney. Allison often utilizes her bankruptcy knowledge to promote her clients' interests in general business matters and commercial disputes by providing strategic advice on the legal risks associated with contract counterparty insolvency and minimizing economic risks in the event of a contract counterparty's subsequent financial distress.
Angelica P. Dubinsky is of counsel at Shields Law Partners. She has a diverse legal practice involving complex commercial litigation and construction-related transactional matters. Angelica represents architects, commercial contractors, subcontractors, and design professionals in connection with construction disputes, defect claims, contract negotiation and drafting, public procurement transactions, and post-completion claims. Her litigation experience includes personal and professional liability, commercial and contractual disputes, coverage and insurance-related claims, general casualty, and large-scale toxic tort litigation in Louisiana and Florida.
Prior to joining Shields Law Partners, Angelica founded an innovative business law firm to help entrepreneurs and small business owners grow profitable companies, was corporate counsel for a national renewable energy company, and spent more than a decade working with various Forture-500 companies, negotiating, drafting, and enforcing complex contractual agreements in the U.S. and abroad. She relies on her extensive corporate experience and business acumen to promote her clients' interests in general business matters and commercial disputes, offering strategic advice to assist with mitigating, mediating, arbitrating, or litigating a broad range of issues.
Betsy Gordon, a partner in Shields Law Partners, concentrates her practice in the areas of construction/surety law and commercial litigation. She has experience representing owners, contractors, subcontractors, and design professionals in all aspects of construction from contract negotiation and drafting, claim drafting and counseling during construction, and claims resolution in state and federal courts and before arbitration panels. Betsy has handled these issues involving private owners and state and federal agencies. She has handled state and public lien law claims and federal Miller Act claims. Other practice areas include commercial litigation, products liability, and mass tort litigation.
Betsy regularly lectures on construction law topics, including Louisiana lien law, general Louisiana and Federal construction law, construction defect insurance law and surety law. Betsy is a member of the Board of the Surety Claims Institute.
Jeff Prattini, a partner in Shields Law Partners, represents owners, contractors and subcontractors on a variety of matters related to the construction industry. He represents clients prior to and in litigation, arbitration proceedings, mediations, at trial, and on appeal.
Jeff's practice areas include public bid law, construction litigation, including defective construction and design matters and inefficiency and delay claims, and surety litigation on state and federal projects. He also provides general legal advice to clients, which includes drafting and negotiating contracts, risk analysis, and identifying and implementing practical and cost-efficient methods to resolve disputes and address legal issues before litigation begins.
Jeff's practice also includes product liability, condominium association matters, general corporate advice and litigation, and other business-related issues.
Jeff has practiced before Louisiana and Federal district courts, Louisiana appellate courts, and the Louisiana Supreme Court, participated in arbitration proceedings, mediations, bench trials, and jury trials. He is also a frequent speaker on Louisiana public bid law and other construction industry topics.
Sonny Shields has over 43 years of experience in construction industry litigation and contracts; construction law; surety law (primarily construction contract bonds); insurance defense (including CGL, first party property and architects' and engineers' errors and omissions coverage); products liability; zoning and planning law practice, including administrative hearings; patent, trademark and copyright prosecution and litigation; and general litigation, including appeals.
For over 30 years he has been an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School on the subject of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure and nearly 30 years at Tulane Law School on the subject of Historic Preservation Law. Sonny has delivered more than 200 papers and presents on numerous aspects of construction and surety law and subjects ranging from negotiation and mediation skills and practices.
Scott is the Firm Administrator. He has over 24 years' experience in the legal industry. He works closely with the managing partner and the partnership team to execute all facets of Operations and to develop and implement short-term goals and long-term strategic plans. Scott has extensive experience in operations, human resources and financial management, law firm accounting and billing, and strategic planning. He plays a leading role in directing and driving the execution of the Firm's operational objectives and business functions.
During Scott's over 26 years' of service in the U.S. Marine Corps, he fulfilled various administrative and legal roles from general support, section lead and court reporter to senior management. Notably, his last two assignments included the Director of Legal Education & Training for Marines at Naval Justice School, Newport, Rhode Island and the Senior Enlisted Advisor and Program Manager to the Staff Judge Advocate and Legal Advisor to the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. During this time, Scott developed and implemented strategic initiatives to improve the delivery of legal services by paralegals and court reporters to attorneys and judges throughout the U.S. and the globe.
Education
Business Management/Accounting (B.S. Summa Cum Laude), Park University (2013)
Stenotype Reporter, Reporting Academy of Virginia, Springfield (1997)
Fred Lyon's practice specializes in construction law, energy law, power plant construction, EPC contracts, mediation and arbitration. He has practiced construction law on a national and international basis with a focus on complex projects, especially in the energy and power industries. He has negotiated, mediated, and litigated a wide variety of construction related issues, including delay and changed condition claims, defective workmanship, warranty issues, suretyship issues, and product liability.
Fred has evaluated and negotiated claims whose total values exceed $750 million. He has practiced as an advocate in a significant number of construction mediations and arbitration and has provided ADR services as a neutral, both as a mediator and arbitrator. He writes and speaks frequently on these issues to members of the bar and to trade associations and construction industry groups interested in reducing the costs of dispute resolution.