Jen Lowndes
Partner
Overview
Jen Lowndes is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Construction Industry Practice Group, based out of the firm's Orlando and Atlanta offices. Ms. Lowndes' practice is exclusively focused on helping clients navigate complex and innovative construction projects from inception through completion. She routinely counsels owners, developers, large construction managers/general contractors, design/build firms, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors and large-scale subcontractors, as well as international equipment manufacturers in the public and private sectors, assisting her clients on projects throughout the United States and internationally.
Through her practice, Ms. Lowndes handles matters that cover a wide range of industries, including projects related to vertical construction, sports stadiums, heavy civil construction, highways and related infrastructure, telecommunications projects, power plants, wind farms, manufacturing and processing plants, pharmaceutical research and development facilities, shipbuilding and data centers. Based on the high-profile nature of the projects in which Ms. Lowndes is involved, she has significant experience managing sensitive disputes with public relations concerns and political considerations.
In addition to providing traditional litigation and arbitration trial services, Ms. Lowndes routinely provides insights and advice during the negotiation and review of contracts, identifying potential risk exposure and liabilities. Ms. Lowndes is also engaged by clients to serve as project advisory counsel during the development of large projects through the course of construction to help avoid costly disputes and obtain commercial resolutions to issues as they arise. This often involves the evaluation of and/or preparation of claims during the course of the project, as well as handling the client's representation in mediation, structured settlement meetings or dispute resolution board hearings.
Representative Experience
- Negotiating master service agreements (MSAs) for a wind turbine contractor for sites all over the United States
- Developing curated Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC) form agreements to assist an international pharmaceutical company with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of United States manufacturing plants
- Ongoing contract review and negotiation services for several large universities in Florida
- Spearheaded a multiyear effort of developing necessary contracts for a nonprofit organization for the development of a first-of-its kind scientific laboratory and university facility in Malawi, East Africa
- Reviewing and negotiating American Institute of Architects (AIA) contract documents for a national hotel chain for new construction projects on the East Coast
- Drafting and negotiating bespoke agreements for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) processing and manufacturing plants in Texas and Louisiana, including owner's engineer, front-end engineering design (FEED) and EPC agreements
- Serving as lead project counsel for the development of a large-scale chemical processing plant, which will convert feedstock to ethanol gas
- Project counsel for an international mining company in the development and construction of its first U.S. manufacturing plant
- Serving as lead project counsel for the development and construction of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center's $100 million project to create a new state of the art Holocaust Museum for Hope and Humanity in Orlando, Florida
- Provided project support and claims preparation services for one of the world's largest design/build firms during a heavy civil highway project with a Texas state agency, ultimately achieving commercial resolution of nearly $250 million in claims (through a Dispute Resolution Board and mediation) related to delay, loss of productivity, unforeseen conditions, extra work and disruption
- Successfully represented a large general contractor on disputes with a local government entity arising out of the construction of a minor league baseball stadium in North Carolina
- Serving as counsel for an international equipment manufacturer on performance related claims for a pulp/paper mill in South Carolina
- Lead counsel of an international clean energy and infrastructure contractor in a federal court dispute involving the repowering of a windfarm; claims were successfully settled prior to trial
- Represented one of the world's leading construction management companies in a dispute with a government agency involving more than $200 million in claims stemming from the abatement and deconstruction of a building located at ground zero in lower Manhattan, New York
- Achieved a successful settlement for a large electrical subcontractor on acceleration claims related to the construction of Truist Park and The Battery in Atlanta, Georgia
- Received a complete victory, including fees, as first chair in an arbitration in Texas for a national design/build firm on issues of severe overbilling by a civil subcontractor on a highway project
- Represented one of the top national construction management companies in a dispute with a city over the demolition and reconstruction of a sports stadium in Central Florida
- Served as lead counsel in a bench trial in Durham County, North Carolina, for an international construction management firm in successfully defending millions of dollars in subcontractor claims related to the construction of a pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) facility
- Represented a global manufacturing company in an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration setting against the owner involving disputes arising out of the build in South America of one of the largest paper/pulp mills in the world
- Obtained a successful reversal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit for a general contractor seeking defense and indemnity as an additional insured on a commercial general liability insurance policy for work performed in North Dakota
- Achieved a successful settlement through mediation on behalf of an international design/build heavy civil contractor related to hundreds of design error and omission claims on three separate highway projects in Florida
- Defended an international equipment manufacturer in a 10-party arbitration on claims stemming from performance issues on a federal government data center in Utah
Credentials
- Mercer University School of Law, J.D., Certificate in Advanced Legal Writing, Research and Drafting, magna cum laude
- University of Central Florida, M.A., with highest honors
- Emory University, B.A., with highest honors
- Florida
- Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- Supreme Court of Georgia
- Court of Appeals of Georgia
- Leadership Orlando Class 103
- Construction Editorial Advisory Board, Law360, 2022
- Atlanta Bar Association, Construction Law Section
- American Bar Association, Forum on Construction Law
- Mercer Law Review, Managing Editor
- Under Construction, ABA Forum on Construction Law publication, Editorial Team
- United Arts of Central Florida, Board Development Chair, Executive Committee Member
- Holland & Knight Rising Star, Class of 2023
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Litigation - Construction, 2022; Construction Law, 2024
- Rising Star, Georgia Super Lawyers magazine, 2018-2020
- The Legal 500 USA, Construction, 2020, 2022
- The Legal 500 USA, Next Generation Lawyer, Real Estate – Construction, 2018
- Benchmark Litigation, 40 & Under Hot List, 2018