Cozen O’Connor today welcomed one of New England’s best-known construction industry attorneys, Leslie Poirier King, to its nationally recognized Construction Law Group. With more than 20 years of experience as a litigator, King’s background includes advising and representing contractors, owners and design professionals — including architects, engineers, landscape architects, and interior designers — in a range of corporate level construction disputes. She joins Cozen O’Connor as a member and will work out of its Boston office.
King comes to the firm from Carlton Fields, P.A., and brings a construction industry pedigree that includes representing parties in high profile, construction-related trials and appeals. In 2020, for example, she was named the Connecticut Law Tribune’s “Attorney of the Year” in recognition of the jury verdict she obtained for the City of Hartford, Conn., following a contentious and highly complex $90 million trial involving the city’s minor league baseball park.
Combining industry experience, legal knowledge, and litigation skills, King also negotiates and drafts contracts on behalf of owners and design professionals and regularly handles mediations, arbitrations, and litigation matters in state, federal, appellate, and tribal court.
“Leslie brings a solid, hands-on industry background that today’s construction clients not only need, but demand,” said Bruce W. Ficken, co-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Construction Law Group “She provides project counseling, handles transactions-related work, and brings a proven record of handling all forms of dispute resolution involving a broad array of projects and industries. She’s a terrific addition to our practice, and I’m thrilled to welcome her aboard.”
King’s experience includes assisting clients in all aspects and stages of a construction project, from initial conception through final completion, including the negotiation of change orders. She regularly drafts and negotiates contracts, including design-bid-build, design-build, and integrated project delivery agreements on behalf of multiple construction industry clients in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and more recently in Arizona.
“Leslie knows the construction business, the various players, the economics, the culture, and the stumbling blocks,” said Wendy K. Venoit, a member of the Construction Law Group and managing partner of the Boston office. “That’s key because New England is such a diverse market, with major construction projects impacting a range of sectors, including life sciences, tech, education, and infrastructure. With two decades of experience, she’s a great addition to our team and I’m looking forward to working with her.”
A member of the ABA’s Forum on Construction Law and Professional Women in Construction, King presents regularly on construction law issues at American Institute of Architects (AIA) branches and the Yale School of Architecture. She also serves on the Grace Farms Design for Freedom Construction and Architecture Working Group, which is dedicated to raising awareness of modern slavery in construction supply chains.
“Having spent much of my career in New England, Cozen O’Connor represents a terrific opportunity to play a role in the region’s ongoing growth,” King said. “As a firm, Cozen O’Connor has made a solid, nationwide commitment to the construction industry, which is reflected in its reputation as an industry leader. I’m very happy to be here and I’m looking forward to working with Bruce and Wendy to further expand our footprint in Boston.”
King earned her J.D. with a merit scholarship at the University of Arizona College of Law, a B.A. in French from Wellesley College, cum laude with honors in the major.