Advising business owners and lawyers in the complex world of construction law
Jeff started thinking about becoming a lawyer when he was still in high school. An uncle had just started in the profession and it seemed a good respectful calling. When entering university, he first studied history and political science, but hoped he was headed to law school.

As the son of an electrical contractor in the northern part of the Province, Jeff had also always had an interest in the field of construction. This interest led him to taking the construction law class in law school and to continuing his learning in the field as he began his practice. He became involved with the construction industry early on in his career, becoming a member and participating in the activities of both the Moncton Northeast Construction Association and the Construction Association of New Brunswick. Jeff devotes most of his practice to this very technical and challenging field and has given many presentations and seminars on the subject, both to business owners involved in the industry and to lawyers as well. He soon realized that many lawyers preferred to simply refer their clients with issues of this nature to someone such as himself who had construction law experience.

As a part of his practice, Jeff also does general commercial litigation and still enjoys doing some property law, particularly construction related, and wills and estates. As he puts it, it is a welcome change to once in a while spend some time working to create something, as opposed to salvaging something from conflict. Jeff came to Bingham Law over ten years ago to join some senior lawyers whom he knew well. He had done some referral work with Bingham in the field of construction law and wanting to grow his business. He felt partnering with Bingham was a natural fit.

Jeff tends to be practical and listens carefully to what the client wants to accomplish. He will usually promote a mediation approach to the resolution of issues but has the capacity to litigate when the situation calls for it. He would prefer to help others avoid unnecessary chances and believes that his greatest contribution to his clients is “an ounce of prevention”.

Jeff describes himself as striving always to be congenial, honest and trustworthy, but notes his wife and kids would probably add “grumpy”. His friends would say, amongst other things, that he is meticulous – sometimes to the extreme. The proof: he folds the towels he puts back in his hockey bag after a game. Jeff enjoys coaching or assisting with whatever sport his son happens to playing, playing hockey himself a few times a week, doing home improvements and, with luck, a little time to go salmon fishing.