Rees Broome, PC Law Firm | Professionals

Bruce’s practice has specialized for more than thirty years in the representation of contractors, engineers, architects and their insurers. He combines the skills and experience of a litigator with those of a mediator affiliated with the highly-respected McCammon Group, Ltd. He has won numerous peer awards over the years, from multiple inclusions in “Best Lawyers in America” to being named as one of the “Virginia Super Lawyers.” His long-standing interest and experience in mediation and arbitration has been tapped by committees of the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Virginia State Bar. In addition to other publications, the Virginia Bar invited him to author several respected attorney handbooks in the areas of construction law and alternative dispute resolution.

A typical client will be involved in the construction industry, whether as a solo practitioner architect or a large regional contractor. Bruce has been involved in every phase from creation of the initial company to developing contracts for services to dealing with major construction defect lawsuits. In one case, his client, a structural engineer, was sued after a high school gymnasium collapsed while under construction, killing one worker and injuring several others. Bruce was on-site within hours with an expert and a photographer, collecting evidence just ahead of the cranes sent in to remove the debris. He was able to prove that the tragedy was due to sheared bolts, not to engineering specifications.

While he is adept at litigation, Bruce maintains that his key skill is his focus on teaching his clients to avoid being sued. He works with them on managing risk, from learning how to write their own contracts defining how the risk on a project will be shared, to maintaining successful contractual relationships over the life of the project. His consistent emphasis with clients is on how to avoid claims; when they do occur, his concern shifts to minimizing the impact of a claim, often by negotiating a resolution through mediation which eliminates the expense, time and anxiety of trial.

• Graduate of William and Mary
• Graduate of William and Mary Law School, with honors; served as Executive Editor of the William and Mary Law Review
• Barred in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia
• Deputy Director, U.S. Department of Justice, Torts Branch, Civil Division
• Past member, Supreme Court of Virginia Dispute Resolution Advisory Council
• Member, Virginia State Bar Joint Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Fifth District Disciplinary Committee and past Chair, Construction and Public Contract Law Section
• Past president, Fairfax County (VA) Bar Association and past Chair of the FCBA’s Judicial Screening Committee
• Vice-chair, Fairfax County Engineering Standards Review Committee
• Elected to “Best Lawyers in America” in the area of Professional Malpractice Law, most recently for 2009, 2010 and 2011 (Woodward/White, Inc. publishers)
• Named as one of “Virginia’s Legal Elite,” Virginia Business Magazine, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007
• Named as one of “Virginia Super Lawyers” (2006 – 2009) and “Washington DC Super Lawyers (2007 – 2010),” Richmond Magazine and The New York Times (Washington metro area edition)
• Peer-rated 'preeminent' by Martindale-Hubbell, 2011.

• Speaker, Structural Engineering Institute, 2011 Structures Congress, "Lessons Learned from Arbitration, Mediation and Litigation"
• Co-author, Virginia Construction Law Deskbook (Virginia CLE Publications, November, 2008)
• Co-author, Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Guide for Virginia Lawyers (Virginia CLE Publications, June, 2000)
• Co-author, “Partnering: An Emerging Concept in Construction Management” (The Virginia Lawyer, October, 1995)
• Co-author, “Certificates of Merit: A First Step in the Rational and Economical Approach to the Resolution of Design Claims” (The Virginia Lawyer, September, 1993)
• “Tort Reform Legal Fee Shifting: An Alternative to the English Rule”(Communiqué, Spring, 1993)
• “A Few Legal Points: Trends in Professional Liability Insurance” (The Construction Specifier, October, 1990)
• Co-author, “The Design Professional: Current Issues in Liability and Loss Prevention” (The Construction Specifier, October, 1988)

DISCLAIMER: THE RESULTS OF ANY LEGAL ACTION DEPEND UPON FACTS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. NEITHER REESBROOME, PC, NOR ITS ATTORNEYS GUARANTEE OR PREDICT SIMILAR RESULTS IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY REESBROOME, PC OR ANY OF ITS ATTORNEYS.