A Deep Dive into Five Landmark Construction Law Cases . . . and Arizona’s Takes on These Precedents?

Michael J Holden Related Seminars and Products

Holden Willits PLC

MICHAEL J. HOLDEN is the founding member of the Phoenix law firm of Holden Willits PLC. A 1980 graduate of Duke Law School, he has concentrated his practice for over 43 years in the areas of construction law, representing primarily owners, contractors, subcontractors, materials suppliers and sureties. Mr. Holden is a frequent author and speaker on a wide range of construction issues. He helped draft the 1992 and 1998 amendments to the Arizona mechanics’ and materialman’s lien laws. He was also one of the primary authors of Arizona’s revolutionary private sector prompt payment law enacted in 2000 and the 2010 prompt pay amendments. He was the founder and first chair of the Arizona State Bar Construction Law Section, and he previously served as legal counsel for the Arizona Builders Alliance from 2008 to 2023. He is also an adjunct professor at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and has taught a course on construction law for the past 21 years. In 2010, 2013, 2019 and 2024, he was selected by Best Lawyers in America® as the Lawyer of the Year for Construction Law in Phoenix. Southwest Super Lawyers has named him one of the top 50 lawyers in Arizona twelve of the last fourteen years. He was elected as a Fellow to the American College of Construction Lawyers in 2011.

Barry A Willits Related Seminars and Products

Holden Willits PLC

BARRY A. WILLITS is a partner with Holden Willits PLC. His practice focuses on
commercial litigation and construction law. He has represented owners, general contractors, subcontractors, materials suppliers, sureties and design professionals. He is a frequent author and speaker on a wide range of construction issues including the Arizona chapter of the 2000, 2003 and 2010 editions of the ABA Design/Build Handbook; Arizona chapter of the 2015 and 2024 50-State Survey of Firm Licensure Requirements for Architectural and Engineering Firms published by the ABA; “Economic Damage Claims Against Design Professionals,” Arizona Attorney (February 2003): "Court of
Appeals Says Licensing Statute Still Has Teeth," 13 Arizona Builders Alliance Legal Notes (July/August 2002); “Arizona's Statute of Repose: Does it Really Bar all After Eight Years?” 15 Arizona Builders Alliance (June 2004). From 1994 through 1996, Mr. Willits clerked for the Hon. Sarah Evans Barker, Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Indiana. He is a member of the State Bar of Arizona and the American Bar Association (Construction Forum) and is admitted to practice in the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Courts for Arizona and Southern Indiana. He graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Virginia Law School and earned a B.A. with highest distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, from Indiana University in
1989. Mr. Willits is listed in Best Lawyers in America and Southwest Super Lawyers, the former of which named him Lawyer of the Year for Construction Law in Phoenix in 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025.

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