Christopher C. Whitney 
Partner
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(401) 272-8080/Ext. 225
Areas of Practice
Business Dispute Resolution
Construction Law
Experience
Chris has been involved in most of the cutting-edge legal issues affecting the construction industry in the New England Region for the past 27 years. He provides business and legal advice and dispute resolution services nationwide to all facets of the industry, including owners, developers, architects, engineers, construction managers, surety companies, subcontractors and suppliers. Chris is a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers, one of the country's premier legal associations and which is comprised of the top 1% of the construction bar of the United States.
Chris has extensive experience drafting and negotiating construction contracts involving a wide variety of project delivery systems. His experience also includes employment law matters, shareholder litigation, insurance coverage disputes, trust and estate litigation, professional licensing law, products liability law, state court receivership litigation, and all manner of construction law proceedings. He has extensive trial experience, jury and non-jury, in the state and federal courts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Chris actively represents all segments of the construction industry in negotiating and implementing projects, and in resolving disputes when they arise. He has helped the Firm solidify its reputation as one of the pre-eminent construction law firms in the New England Region.
A frequent lecturer on construction law matters, Chris is a former member of the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association's Forum on the Construction Industry, comprised of approximately 5,000 of the nation's finest construction lawyers.
Education
B.A., cum laude, Dartmouth College, 1979
J.D., cum laude, Georgetown University Law Center, 1983 (American Criminal Law Review)
Bar Admissions
Rhode Island (1983)
Massachusetts (1985)
Federal Court (U.S. District Court, for the Districts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts)
Professional Memberships & Honors
Martindale Hubbell
Attorney Rating - AV® Preeminent™
Best Lawyers in America
Named Best Lawyers' 2013 Providence Litigation-Construction Lawyer of the Year
Selected for Litigation-Construction, 2012 & 2013
Selected for Construction Law, 2003 - 2011
Superlawyers
Honored, 2006 - 2012
American College of Construction Lawyers
Fellow, Elected 2008
American Bar Association
Member, Labor and Employment Law Section
Past Member, Governing Committee, Forum on the Construction Industry
American Arbitration Association
Member, Commercial and Construction Panels
Rhode Island State Chairman, Regions Division, Fidelity & Surety Law Committee of the Torts and Insurance Practice Section
Rhode Island Bar Association
Member, Labor Law Committee
Reported Cases
Nicholas T. Long, v. Dell, Inc., 984 A.2d 1074 (R.I. Dec. 14, 2009) (deceptive fair trade practices)
Mary E. DeFontes v. Dell, Inc., 984 A.2d 1061 (R.I. Dec. 14, 2009) (deceptive fair trade practices)
Alpha Omega Construction, Inc. v. The Proprietors of Swan Point Cemetery, 2008 WL 5264360 (R.I., December 19, 2008) (mechanics' lien)
National Refrigeration, Inc. v. Standen Contracting Company, Inc., 942 A.2d 968, (R.I., February 21, 2008) (federal procurement - prevailing wages)
John T. Callahan & Sons, Inc. v. Dykeman Electric Co., Inc., 266 F. Supp. 2d 208 (D.Mass. 2003) (construction)
Enterprise Equipment Co., Inc. v. City of Brockton, 2002 WL 31677194 (Mass.Super.), 2002 (project labor agreement)
Board of Governors for Higher Education v. Infinity Construction Services, Inc., 2002 WL 851085 (RI 2002) (arbitration)
Associated Builders & Contractors of Rhode Island, et. al. v. Dept. of Administration, et. al., 787 A.2d 1179 (RI 2002) (project labor agreement)
Bradford C. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 104 T.C. 677 (1995) (tax)
Providence Journal Co. v. Clerk of the Family Court, 643 A.2d 210 (R.I. 1994) (1st Amendment)
Bates ex rel. Murphy v. Shearson Lehman Bros., 42 F.3d 79 (1st Cir. 1994) (fraud)
Dunfey v. Roger Williams Univ., 824 F.Supp. 18 (D.Mass. 1993) (employment)
Fondedile, S.A. v. C.E. Maguire, Inc., 610 A.2d 87 (R.I. 1992) (construction)
Reliance Steel Products Co. v. National Fire Ins. Co., 880 F.2d 575 (1st Cir. 1989) (construction)
Cardi Corp. v. State, 524 A.2d 1092 (R.I. 1987) (construction)
Flatley v. Great American Nursing Centers, Inc., 803 F.2d 28 (1st Cir. 1986) (contract)
Authored Articles/Publications
Author, “‘Rediscovering’ the Rules of Discovery in Construction Litigation”, Journal of the American College of Construction Lawyers (Summer 2007)
Co-Editor, “Sticks & Bricks, A Practical Guide to Construction Systems and Technology”, American Bar Association (2001)
Regional Editor and Contributing Author, The Design-Build Deskbook (2d Ed.), American Bar Association (2000)
Contributing Author, “Rhode Island Public Construction Contracting”, Lorman Education Services (2000)
Contributing Author, “Construction Lien Law in Rhode Island”, Lorman Education Services (2000)
Contributing Author, State-by-State Guide to Architect, Engineer, and Contractor Licensing, Aspen (1998)
Contributing Author, “50 State Construction Lien and Bond Law”, Wiley Law (1997)
Co-Author, “Rhode Island Law for Design Professionals”, Lorman Education Services (1997)
Contributing Author, “Recurrent Ethical Issues for the Construction Lawyer”, Presented at the Forum on the Construction Industry’s Annual Meeting (1997)
Contributing Author, “50 State Public Construction Contracting”, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (1996)
Author, “An Evolving Perspective on Design/Build Construction: A View from the Courthouse”, The Construction Lawyer, Volume 15, Number 2, (April 1995)
Seminars
"Trying a Construction Case: Pretrial Considerations and E-Discovery Issues", Boston Bar Association CLE, (June 2012)
"The Radical Agenda of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) and the United States Department of Labor (“USDOL”) to Promote Union Organizing", RI Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors, (March 14, 2012)
"Practical and Procedural Considerations in Mediation, Arbitration, and Litigation (Including Getting the Right People to the Party)", MSU and Montana State Bar 7th Annual Construction Law Institute, (September 2011)
“AIA Contracts”, Lorman Education Services (December, 2007)
“Massachusetts Construction Law”, Construction Specifications Institute, Massachusetts Chapter, Cambridge, MA, (February, 2007)
“AIA Contracts”, Lorman Education Services (December, 2006)
“Rhode Island Construction Law”, Lorman Education Services (March, 2006)
“Getting Paid on Massachusetts Public and Private Projects”, Yankee Chapter of the American Fire Sprinkler Association, (July 20, 2005)
“The Law of Public Construction in Rhode Island”, Rhode Island Bar Association Annual Meeting, Providence, Rhode Island, (June 10, 2005)
“Construction Mold Litigation”, CFMA, Rhode Island Chapter, (November, 2003)
“Project Labor Agreements”, ABA Forum on the Construction Industry’s 2003 Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts
“Pitfalls of Construction Contracts”, Associated General Contractors, Rhode Island Chapter, (January, 2003)
“Presentation on Project Labor Agreements”, Rhode Island Bar Association, (January, 2003)
“Fighting Union-Only Project Labor Agreements”, Associated Builders and Contractors Annual Attorneys’ Conference, Washington, D.C., (November, 2002)
“Challenging Project Labor Agreements in Massachusetts”, Merit Construction Alliance, (May, 2002)
“Subcontracting with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation”, presented to Rhode Island Women and Minority Contractors Association, sponsored by Rhode Island Dept. of Transportation, (April, 2002)
Governing Committee Liaison, ABA Forum on the Construction Industry’s Fall Program in Denver, entitled “Getting it Right: How to Structure Complex Projects to Allocate Risks and Minimize Disputes” (2001)
“Rhode Island Public Construction Contracting,” Lorman Education Services (1999 and 2000)
“Construction Lien Law in Rhode Island,” Lorman Education Services (1999 and 2000)
Co-Chair, ABA Forum on the Construction Industry’s Fall Program in Chicago, entitled “Advanced Project Delivery Systems” (1998)
“Understanding the 1997 Amendments to AIA Documents A201 and B141,” Associated General Contractors of America, Rhode Island chapter (1998)
“Rhode Island Law for the Design Professional”, Lorman Education Services Presentation (December, 1997)
“Recent Developments to the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Mechanic’s Lien Laws,” Associated General Contractors of America, Rhode Island chapter (1997)
“The Unique Challenges Faced by the Surety that Bonds Design-Build Projects,” Surety Association of Massachusetts (1997)
“Advocating to the Limits within the Limits of Advocacy,” Annual Meeting of the Forum on the Construction Industry (1996)