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William E.
Underwood

Position
Partner
Office
Atlanta

William Underwood is a partner on the Construction Team and head of the firm’s Atlanta office. He focuses on construction litigation, alternative dispute resolution, and contract drafting, review, and negotiation.


William represents a broad array of domestic and international clients, including owners, general contractors, and design-build contractors, with issues related to large industrial and infrastructure construction projects located in the United States and abroad. He has represented clients in a number of US and international dispute forums, including state and federal courts, federal boards of contract appeals, AAA arbitration, ICC arbitration, and LCIA arbitration. 

William provides legal advice to clients throughout the entire life cycle of a project, from inception to completion. William’s experience ranges from representing owners and contractors involved in high stakes disputes regarding billion-dollar projects to advising clients on issues related to contract drafting, contract negotiation, risk mitigation, and overall project management. 

While in law school, William served as a student attorney in the Washington and Lee Community Legal Practice Center and represented the school in the ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition. He also served as an articles editor for the Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice and authored a published student note on Fourth Amendment search and seizure law.

Noteworthy

  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Construction Law (2026)
  • Best Lawyers®, "Ones to Watch," Construction Law and Litigation – Construction Law, Atlanta, Georgia (2021–2025)
  • Georgia Super Lawyers, "Rising Star," Construction Litigation (listed annually since 2023, also listed in 2021)
  • Benchmark Litigation, 40 & Under List (2022, 2025)
  • The Legal 500 United States, Real Estate – Construction (2019)

Experience

  • Represent an international design-build contractor in a $79 million AAA arbitration arising out of the construction of an $800 million public-private partnership interstate expansion project

  • Represent an international aerospace manufacturer in LCIA arbitration with total claims in excess of $180 million related to the manufacture and delivery of advanced tactical fighter aircraft

  • Represent a general contractor with over $280 million of in-project claims related to the renovation of an international airport, with total estimated project costs in excess of $1.5 billion

  • Represent a specialty supplier in AAA arbitration with multi-million dollar claims related to the $4 billion renovation and construction of multiple terminals in a major international airport

  • Represent an international corporation in a multi-party $65 million ICC arbitration involving an equipment supplier and multiple mechanical installers on the construction of a $1 billion industrial plant
  • Represent an international owner in a $98 million ICC arbitration arising out of the construction of a Greenfield Project with a total cost of more than $750 million 
  • Represent a European global supplier of equipment and services in a $150 million ICC arbitration related to the construction of a major hydroelectric power plant in South America
  • Represent a general contractor in a US district court in a multimillion-dollar dispute arising out of a European-based defense project totaling approximately $200 million
  • Represent a European-based corporation in a multimillion-dollar dispute with an international equipment designer arising out of the construction of an industrial plant totaling more than $1 billion
  • Advise a European-based railway company on contract negotiation, contract management, and dispute resolution for multiple projects located in the United States with a collective value of more than $100 million
  • Represent a federal contractor in a multimillion-dollar dispute arising out of a historical renovation project
  • Represent a domestic shipyard in a state court in a $30 million dispute involving the construction and delivery of multiple ships collectively valued at approximately $100 million

Publications

  • "It's Called 'Delegation' – Basic Risks and Considerations for Delegated Design on Projects," ConsensusDocs, April 14, 2025
  • "To Pay or Not to Pay: When Payment and Withholding Rights Collide," ConsensusDocs, June 7, 2024
  • "Pyrrhic Victories: Consider the Real Cost of "Winning" a Dispute," ConsensusDocs, December 18, 2023
  • "Strangers in a Strange Land: Revisiting Arbitration Provisions to Account for Increasing International Influences," ConsensusDocs, June 12, 2023
  • "Trends and Developments," Chambers Global Practice Guide, Construction Law – USA Chapter, 2023
  • "Re-Thinking the One-Sided Contract: Considerations for a More Balanced Approach to Contracting," ConsensusDocs, November 16, 2022
  • "Trends and Developments," Chambers Global Practice Guide, Construction Law – USA Chapter, 2022
  • "Not So Fast, My Friend: Pacing and Concurrent Delay," ConsensusDocs, April 12, 2022
  • "Louisiana Federal Court Follows Other Federal Courts Enjoining Vaccine Mandates for Government Contractors," LAGC Magazine – Winter Edition, 2022
  • "Beyond the Blog — COVID-19 Recap — January 16, 2022," Jones Walker LLP Disaster Prep & Recovery Client Alert, January 16, 2022
  • "Louisiana Federal Court Follows Other Federal Courts Enjoining Vaccine Mandates for Government Contractors," Jones Walker LLP Construction Client Alert, January 5, 2022
  • "Federal Court Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Government Contractors," Jones Walker LLP Construction Client Alert, December 16, 2021
  • "Trends and Developments," Chambers Global Practice Guide, Construction Law – USA Chapter, 2021
  • "A Classic Blunder: Practical Advice for Avoiding Two-Front Wars," ConsensusDocs, August 6, 2021
  • "Beyond the Blog — COVID-19 Recap — April 11, 2021," Jones Walker LLP Disaster Prep & Recovery Client Alert, April 11, 2021
  • "COVID-19’s Impact on Construction," Associated General Contractor’s Georgia Construction Today, March 2021
  • "Render Unto Caesar: Considerations for Returning Withheld Sums," ConsensusDocs, January 7, 2021
  • "Miscellaneous Claims," Architect and Engineer Liability: Claims Against Design Professionals, Wolters Kluwer, 2020
  • "Arbitration," Construction Law Update, Wolters Kluwer, 2020–2023
  • "Read Before You Sign: Claim Waivers in Project Documents," ConsensusDocs, May 29, 2020
  • "Hurry Up and Wait: Pacing and Concurrent Delay in Schedule Disputes," Construction Executive, April 9, 2020
  • "COVID-19’s Impact on Construction: Is There a Remedy? — Time Extension, Force Majeure, or More?" Jones Walker LLP Construction Client Alert, April 3, 2020
  • "Indemnification Disputes – What is the Scope and Meaning of the Contractual Clause?" Construction Law: Advanced Issues and Answers, National Business Institute, September 2019
  • "Effectively Managing Project Closeout: It Ends Where It Begins," The Associated General Contractors of America's Law in Brief, June 17, 2019
  • "Government Contracts," Construction Law Update, Wolters Kluwer, 2017–2019
  • "Striking out Before You Get to the Plate: Know Your State’s Statutes of Limitations and Statutes of Repose," Construction Law Newsletter, Vol. 4, Iss. 4, (Aug. 2018)

Presentations

  • "Coming to America: How to Best Utilize International Arbitration in the United States," 2023 Construction Law Update Seminar, Houston, Texas, May 18, 2023
  • "Delays, Dollars, and Disasters! How to Prevent and Deal with Them," 2023 Construction Law Update Seminar, Houston, Texas, May 18, 2023
  • "Subcontracts," Concentrated Course in Construction Contracts, Federal Publications Seminars, Atlanta, Georgia, November 4, 2022
  • "Subcontracts," Concentrated Course in Construction Contracts, Federal Publications Seminars, Hilton Head, South Carolina, August 26, 2022
  • "Tips, Tricks, and Advice for Properly Managing Schedule Delays and Manufacturing Disruptions," A&D Manufacturing Conference, Greensboro, North Carolina, May 18, 2022
  • "Disputes in Federal Contracting," Atlanta Bar Association Construction Section, Atlanta, Georgia, November 17, 2021
  • "COVID-19’s Impact on Construction: Is There a Remedy? – Time Extensions, Force Majeure, or More?" myLawCLE Webinar, April 30, 2020
  • "Indemnification Disputes," Construction Law: Advanced Issues and Answers, National Business Institute, Atlanta, Georgia, October 3, 2019
  • "Subcontracts," Concentrated Course in Construction Contracts, Federal Publications Seminars, Las Vegas, Nevada, September 19, 2019

Memberships

  • American Bar Association, Forum on Construction Law; Vice-Chair, Young Lawyers Division, International Law Committee (2018–2019)
  • Atlanta Admissions Program, Member, Washington & Lee University (2014–present)

  • Atlanta Bar Association, Construction Law Section
  • State Bar of Georgia
  • Young Alumni Law Council, Washington & Lee University School of Law (2021–present)

Atlanta
Suite 1400
3455 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30326
D: 404.870.7514
F: 404.870.7501
Emailwunderwood@joneswalker.com

Education

  • Washington and Lee University School of Law
    JD, cum laude, 2012
  • Washington and Lee University
    BA, European History and Classics, cum laude, 2009

Bar Admissions

  • Georgia

Court Admissions

  • US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • Supreme Court of Georgia
  • All Georgia state, superior, and appellate courts

Related Practices

  • Construction
  • Litigation
  • Aerospace & Aviation
  • International Arbitration

Related Industries

  • Construction Industry
  • Aerospace & Aviation
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