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Michael L. Sterling
Michael L. Sterling
Mike is a partner with Vandeventer Black, located in the Firm’s Norfolk office, and serves on the Firm’s Executive Board. He has also Chaired or Vice-Chaired the law firm's Construction and Public Contracts Department with national practice for over a decade; practice concentrated on complex projects and disputes with particular focus on accounting, scheduling, contract terms, insurance, safety, ethics, environmental and other regulatory issues; experienced in a wide range of project delivery methods including design-build and public-private-partnerships; projects included co-generation and processing plants, wind tunnels, cable stay bridges, highways, stadiums, hotels, courthouses, hospitals, water and wastewater treatment plants, parking garages, high-rise condominiums, environmental site restoration, demolition and large scale residential developments as well as ship construction and repair; represented both national and international general contractors, subcontractors, vendors, manufacturers and design professionals, as well as private and public owners; experienced with the Federal Acquisition Regulations, related agency regulations and statutes applicable to federal government funded contracts and grants; appeared before federal and state courts, boards of contract appeals, agency administrative judges and arbitration panels; assignments have been in various locations throughout the U.S. and its Territories.
Also managed law firm Dispute Resolution Services practice for over a decade; served as arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the Virginia Conflict Resolution Center, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (formerly NASD), the Better Business Bureau, the National Arbitration Forum, the Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, the Circuit Courts for the Cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach and by private appointment; certified by the Supreme Court of Virginia as a Mediator since 1999 and Mentor since 2001; construction matters have ranged from claims of defective workmanship to incomplete work to other performance and payment related problems; non-construction matters have ranged from securities fraud to creditor-debtor disputes to employer-employee disputes; mediated attorney-client fee disputes for the Virginia State Bar; intermediated disputes between clients pursuant to the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct; also served as a Hearing Officer for the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1991 – 2001 presiding over various state and local employee grievances and professional licensing disputes; represented construction clients in numerous alternative dispute resolution proceedings including AAA arbitration, mediation, early neutral evaluation and partnering sessions; founded the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association ADR Committee that prepared a standing order for court sponsored ADR; conducted various presentations on ADR including as a guest lecturer at William & Mary School of Law; co-authored Alternative Dispute Resolution in Virginia Now, VBA News Journal, Vol. XXVI, No. 4, June 2000; voted to the Mediation and Arbitration category of Virginia Business Magazine’s Legal Elite and recipient of the Virginia Conflict Resolution Center Peace Maker Award.
