Polsinelli

  • When was your firm founded?

Polsinelli was founded in 1972.

  • Who founded your firm?

Jim Polsinelli.

  • Where is your firm based?
    Polsinelli is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Our firm has 21 offices spanning from Los Angeles to New York.
  • How big is your firm?
    900 attorneys 
  • Is the company a family-owned business?

No.

  • What type of subcontractor are you?
    Not applicable
  • What have been some of the firm’s major accomplishments; major projects?

Polsinelli has particular experience in representing parties involved in the development and construction of healthcare facilities throughout the Country which coincides with our overall expansive healthcare practice.  In addition, we’ve most recently been involved with the design and development of several major industrial distribution centers throughout the United States.  Finally, we’ve been on the forefront of the COVID-19 related legislative efforts through our Washington DC office, that has resulted in critical and time sensitive advice that we’ve offered to our clients nationwide.

  • Where does your firm operate-just NY or other areas?
    The firm has 21 offices which are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chattanooga, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Phoenix, Raleigh, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley, St. Joseph, St. Louis, Washington D.C. and Wilmington.
  • What have been some of the unique traits of the firm?

Unique in its culture and business model, Polsinelli is a large, national, first generation law firm with the entrepreneurial DNA of its earliest days. Built over 40 years ago on a strong foundation, we now are an Am Law 100 firm with 900 attorneys in 21 offices.

Our business model allows us to offer our clients an outstanding level of service with a highly competitive rate structure. This also enables us to work with each client to select a value-based pricing approach that best aligns to the client’s business priorities.

Polsinelli recognizes and appreciates the importance of providing predictable legal services spend and routinely offers several fee options designed with our clients in mind.

  • How has your firm been involved in the construction industry?

Polsinelli’s nationally ranked Construction lawyers collaborate with the firm’s nationally ranked Real Estate practice to deliver contracting and litigation assistance to the real estate development community. Our Construction lawyers have extensive experience assisting developers and contractors on residential, mixed-use, retail, office and industrial developments throughout the United States. This work includes assistance with drafting and negotiation of design and engineering contracts, construction contracts as well as addressing delay and payment disputes and handling construction defect litigation.  

  • What are some challenges the firm has overcome?

Polsinelli has nearly doubled in size in the past eight years. We have largely and somewhat uniquely achieved this organic growth by appealing to individual attorneys, many joining from various Am Law 50 firms, who value the firm’s culture and value proposition.

This fast pace of growth has been achieved not through merger and acquisition but mainly through individual and small attorney groups joining, it has been necessary to create a highly flexible and agile environment. It has been crucial to build effective new attorney onboarding and integration processes that enable these attorneys to hit the ground running and adding value to the firm’s clients from day one. The greatest challenge still encountered has been creating opportunities for attorneys to get to know one another. With the goal of facilitating internal relationship building so that attorneys can readily and proactively identify risks and opportunities for our clients, and seek out appropriate internal resources for doing so, we have established very specific programs in order to accomplish this goal. We are confident that these efforts will foster internal relationships that benefit our clients and will continue to support the firm’s cultural principles.

  • What does the firm think it’s legacy has been for the NY construction industry?

While Polsinelli is new to the construction scene in New York, we are not new to the Real Estate scene in New York. We have a strong team of attorneys who are equal parts contracting and litigation. Polsinelli’s construction attorneys collaborate with the firm’s Real Estate practice to deliver contracting and litigation assistance to the real estate development community. We look forward to helping our clients in New York.

  • Why did you join the Subcontractors Trade Association?
    Jason Samuels and Aaron Zerykier joined Polsinelli’s Construction practice in January and we are excited to expand upon their collective expertise in representing trade contractors in New York and nationwide. Jason has been a member of the STA for approximately 14 years and believes that the STA is integral to the success of construction throughout New York. Many of the concerns faced by union trade contractors are also recognized by our developer clients. We all have a substantial interest in seeing our clients succeed. Finally, we believe in New York. The construction projects in New York are exciting and are at the forefront of the development world.  Polsinelli looks forward to being part of that.