Matthew T. Hawk

Matthew Hawk is a partner in the Construction and Green Technology & Climate Change practice groups at Gordon & Rees.
 
Mr. Hawk's practice focuses on the representation of various construction-related entities including owners, developers, general contractors, design professionals, and subcontractors in all aspects of business including risk management consulting, contract formation, claims management, and litigation.
 
Mr. Hawk is one of the few attorneys in California to be accredited by the United States Green Building Council as a LEED Green Associate.  In that capacity, Mr. Hawk has experience advising construction-related entities as to the potential risks involved with green building in general, and more specifically in pursuing LEED certification, and how best to proactively manage that risk through procurement of appropriate insurance and revisions to standard contract agreements.
 
As for litigation, Mr. Hawk has extensive experience both defending and prosecuting claims for defective construction, professional negligence, delay and disruption, contract disputes, insurance coverage, and construction site accident/personal injury claims.  His experience includes both single and multi-family residential projects, commercial projects, infrastructure, public works, schools (K-12 and universities), and hospitals.
 
In 2012, Mr. Hawk was named by Super Lawyers magazine as one of Northern California's "Rising Stars®" in the field of construction litigation.

Admissions

California
United States District Court, Northern District of California

Memberships

State Bar of California
American Bar Association
San Francisco Bar Association

Community Involvement

Lowell High School Mock Trial Team, Head Coach, 2006-2009

Representative Experience

• Limited design professional's liability in $30 million construction defect claim to a five figure settlement.

• Successfully argued that an intervening insurance carrier may pursue contractual additional insured obligations as a third party beneficiary despite its insured’s status as a suspended corporation.

• Negotiated a pre-litigation settlement on behalf of design professional in a multi-campus construction delay claim made by the general contractor.

Publications

• The Best Offense is a Good Defense: New California Legislation AB 2738 Aims to Reduce Defense Costs for Trade Contractors in Construction Defect Cases, Sets Guidelines for the Use of Wrap-Up Insurance Policies (October 2008)

• LEEDing the Way Into the Future: The Construction Industry's Response to Climate Change Through The Evolution of Green Building Practices, Inside The Minds: The Legal Impact of Climate Change, Thomson Reuters/Aspatore (2012)

Practices

Construction
Green Technology & Climate Change

Office

San Francisco

Education

J.D., University of San Francisco School of Law, 2003

B.A., cum laude, Criminology, Law & Society, University of California, Irvine, 2000

Honors

LEED® certified by the U.S. Green Building Council

Rising Stars® distinction in the fields of Contsruction Litigation and Civil Litigation Defense (2012, Law & Politics)