THOMAS J. KELLEHER, JR. is a Senior Partner for Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP. He graduated cum laude from Harvard University and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law.He served in the U.S. Army from 1968 through 1973 including positions as the Assistant Chief and Instructor in the Procurement Law Division at the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s School, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Tom has extensive government and construction contract experience on the spectrum of issues involving bidding, changes, differing site conditions, delays, and terminations. He has represented clients on hospital projects, airport facilities, research laboratories, convention facilities, prisons, federal and state courthouse and office complexes, and resort hotels and has practiced before various federal government boards of contract appeals, as well as federal and state courts. In addition, he has represented clients in mediations, as well as arbitration proceedings.
Due to his extensive experience in federal government contracting, Tom served as Chair of the Federal Acquisition Regulation Committee for the Associated General Contractors of America, Inc. (“AGC”) from 1999-2003 and remains active in the leadership of AGC’s Federal & Heavy Construction Division. In addition, he is also a member of the AGC’s Corps of Engineers Committee, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Committee, Governmental Affairs Committee, and the AGC Contract Documents Forum.
He is a member of the Virginia Bar and Georgia Bar and is a member of the American Bar Association. He is also a fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers.
Tom has lectured in the field of construction and federal government contracts for various trade associations. Since its inception in 1987, he has been the principal editor of the firm’s construction law newsletter, Common Sense Contracting. He is the senior editor of Smith, Currie’s Federal Government Construction Contracts – A Practical Guide for the Industry Professional, Second Edition; Common Sense Construction Law – Fourth Edition, and also authored the AGC’s Federal Government Contractor Ethics and Compliance Programs – Toolkit and Guidance.
Previously, he had written for the U.S. Army Procurement Legal Service; had been a contributor to the American Bar Association’s annual publication entitled Developments in Government Contract Law; has written Briefing Papers entitled Inspection Under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts and Inspection Under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts/Edition II; Construction Briefings entitled Preparing & Settling Construction Claims, Construction Acceleration Claims, and Time Extension Provisions In Construction Contracts; has served as co-editor of the 1985 and 1986 editions of the Yearbook of Construction Articles for Federal Publications, Inc.; and has co-authored Wiley Construction Law Update, Wiley Law Publications (1992-1999) and Construction Litigation: Practice Guide with Forms, Aspen Law Publication. Tom has been a speaker for Federal Publications, Inc. for over 10 years on its Concentrated Course in Government Contracts program. Tom also received the 2010 “President’s Coin Award” from the Associated General Contractors of America for extraordinary service to the Association and the construction industry.
Other Experience
Heavy Construction : Cross Florida Bayou Canal; Trinidad Dam Colorado; Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway Project; Tri-Rail Project, Florida
Military Facilities & Complexes : Fort Drum New York, 10th Mountain Division Base Facilities; Projects at Fort McPherson, Fort Bragg, Fort Benning, Camp LeJune, Wright Patterson Air Force Base; Warner Robins Air Force Base; Radford Army Arsenal, Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant
Hospitals : Duke Hospital North, Duke University; multiple Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers
Research Facilities: Environmental Protection Agency Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, Ohio; National Institute of Environmental Health Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
Articles & Publications
•Federal Government Construction Contracts – A Practical Guide for the Industry Professional, Second Edition, senior editor, John Wiley & Sons, 2010.
•Federal Government Contractor Ethics and Compliance Programs – Toolkit and Guidance, The Associated General Contractors of America, 2009.
•Common Sense Construction Law – Fourth Edition, senior editor, John Wiley & Sons, 2009.
•Common Sense Contracting, principal editor, 1987-present.
•Writer and lecturer on construction law and federal government contract law for Federal Publications, Inc.
• Preparing and Resolving Construction Claims/Edition II, Construction Briefings, Second Series, No. 2000-2, co-author, West Group, February, 2000.
• Developments in Federal Construction Contracts, co-author, John Wiley & Sons Construction Law Update, 1992-1999.
• Inspection Under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts/Edition II, Briefing Papers, No. 96-7, co-author, Federal Publications, Inc., June, 1998.
• Time Extension Provisions in Construction Contracts, Construction Briefings, Second Series, No. 98-3, co-author, Federal Publications, Inc., February, 1998.
•Construction Litigation, Practice Guide with Forms, co-author, Aspen Law & Business, 1994.
• Preparing and Settling Construction Claims, Construction Briefings, No. 83-12, co-author, Federal Publications, Inc., December, 1983.
• Inspection Under Fixed Price Construction Contracts, Briefing Papers, No. 76-6, co-author, Federal Publications, Inc., December, 1976.
Appearances
•FCILB Course for Florida Contractors in Georgia – August 6-7, 2015 – Atlanta, GA
•SCH Annual Construction Law Update Seminar – February 26-27, 2015 – Atlanta, GA
•Contracts and Bond Forms Workshop – October 23-24, 2014 – Dallas, TX
•August 21-22, 2014 – FCILB Courses for Florida Contractors in Alabama – Birmingham, AL
•August 7-8, 2014 – FCILB Courses for Florida Contractors in Georgia – Atlanta, GA
•May 6, 2014 – Virtual Seminar re Federal Small Business Programs
•March 4-5, 2014 – Georgia Construction Law Seminar – Atlanta, GA
•February 20, 2014 – Federal Construction Contracting Regulatory Update – Washington, DC
•November 21, 2013 – Webinar Navigating the Federal Construction Mine Field: A Compliance Tutorial and Regulatory Update
•November 12, 2013 – Federal Contracting and the Environment for Small Business in 2013
•August 1-2, 2013 – FCILB Seminar – Common Sense Construction Law for Florida Contractors in Alabama
•June 26, 2013 – Webinar – Ethics and Compliance Programs on Federal Government Contracts
•May 2013 – The Small Business Federal Contracting Environment in 2013 – Birmingham, AL
•March 8, 2013 – SCH Presentation at AGC National Convention
•February 28, 2013 – 2nd Annual Construction Law Seminar
•February 21-22, 2013 – SCH Construction Law Update Conference 2013, Atlanta, GA
•January 23, 2013 – Bidding For and Performing Federal Contracts Seminar – Las Vegas, NV
•November 15, 2012 – 3rd Annual Federal Construction Law Update Seminar
•November 1, 2012 – Best Practices for Contracting with the Federal Government