James P. Chivilo is a Senior Associate who concentrates his practice in construction law, insurance law, mechanic lien law and general commercial litigation. He is part of Holland & Knight's Litigation Section and Construction Industry Practice Group. He practices in state and federal trial courts and before arbitration and mediation tribunals. His legal career focuses on the representation of private and public owners, property developers, municipalities, governmental entities, construction companies, material suppliers, corporations, title insurance companies, partnerships and individuals in complex litigation and dispute resolution.
Mr. Chivilo has represented clients in construction projects that involve commercial and residential buildings, commercial developments, residential subdivisions, private homes, airports, senior housing buildings, tollway systems, underground utilities, underground tunneling, horizontal boring and directional drilling, and other projects related to both public and private construction work.
His experience in the area of construction law involves a range of issues that includes prosecuting and defending construction defect claims, construction design claims, construction delay claims, premise liability claims, insurance claims, bond claims and other construction claims.
He recently successfully litigated and completed a construction case that involved prosecuting mechanic lien claims in multiple jurisdictions resulting in the complete recovery of the full value of the claims. This amounted to a multi-million dollar recovery for his client which included an award of pre-judgment interest, post judgment interest and attorneys fees.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Chivilo worked for a Chicago law firm where he represented several national insurance companies in matters relating to insurance coverage issues, construction law, and general tort law and commercial law. He is experienced in disputes that involve insurance coverage audits, insurance coverage and the practice of insurance law.
In addition, from 1998-99, Mr. Chivilo held a clerkship for the chief judge of DuPage County. In that capacity, he clerked and worked closely with the DuPage County Chief Judge and several DuPage County judges. He assisted in drafting of civil rulings, orders and memorandums for trials and various motions presented in the DuPage County Court. He also took part in drafting a courthouse and county wide policy regarding privacy issues relating to email use and distribution in the government sector.