Barbara G. Werther

I litigate claims on behalf of owners, general contractors and subcontractors in federal and state courts and before arbitral tribunals. I also draft and negotiate construction and architect contracts for developers and construction contracts for contractors. Notwithstanding that my training and experience is as a litigator, my principal goal is to assist clients in finding a path to resolve issues, eliminate disputes and to find sensible solutions to complicated legal issues.  Separately, in the same vein, I also am trained as a mediator and arbitrator, I am on the current AAA panel, and I perform those services when requested either through the AAA or ad hoc.

I also routinely represent government contractors in claims against the federal government. This includes performance and payment bond disputes; representing government contractors in False Claims Act investigations and disputes; and representing government contractors in bid protests and claims at the various Boards of Contract Appeals and in the Court of Federal Claims.

I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received my Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University. I am admitted to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia. I co-founded the Women In Construction, Inc organization, a 501 C (6), and served as President of the annual conference from 2006 to 2021. In 2018, I served as the President of the Construction Lawyers Society of America, and I continue as a Fellow. Since 2016, I have been a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers and was recently selected to its Board of Governors. Chambers has ranked me since 2008. I have been selected to SuperLawyers from 2006 to the present. From 2016 to 2018, I was Chair of Division 13, Government Construction Contracts, of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry, and in that capacity edited a recent ABA publication, Federal Government Construction Contracts. I am on the faculty of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (“NITA”) and also on the faculty of the ABA Division 13 Trial Advocacy Program.

In my spare time I enjoy horseback riding, cycling, golf and triathlete competitions. I serve on the Board of the Leukemia Ball in Washington, D.C., on the Host Committee for Active Minds Casino Night, and since 1984 have been on the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women, where I am currently co-chair of the athletics’ subcommittee.

Experience

Member of the Virginia and DC Bar Associations
Member of the Federal Bar Association

Publications

• Author in first edition, and all subsequent additions and updates as recently as 2024, Construction Law Handbook, “Terminations” (4th ed. 2021)
• Editor, “Federal Government Construction Contracts,” Third Edition, 2017
• Co-author, “Todd Construction v. United States: Navigating Performance Evaluation Claims in the Court of Federal Claims,” The Construction Lawyer, Winter 2015
• Co-author, “Navigating the Buy America Act in Federal Transit Authority Funded Contracts,” Under Construction, American Bar Association, March 2014
• “How Non-U.S.-Owned Companies Can Compete for Federal Government Contracts,” ConstructionWebLinks.com, March 24, 2010
• “$130 Billion for Construction in the Economic Stimulus Bill: Where It Will Be Spent,” ConstructionWebLinks.com, Feb. 23, 2009

Speaking Engagements

• Co-presenter, “When the Axe Falls: Terminations on Government Construction Projects,” Forum on the Construction Industry, Fall Meeting, American Bar Association, September 2023
• Presenter and Mock Judge, ABA Forum on Construction Trial Advocacy Program, March 6 to 8, 2023
• Presenter, “Damages in a Termination for Default | Who gets whacked?,” Construction Lawyers Society of America, December 2022
• Presenter, “Why Construction Projects are Immune from the Economy: Change Orders & Delays,” Fast-forward transformation, Construction & Real Estate Conference 2021, Presented by AICPA and CIMA
• Moderator of “Taking the Next Steps: Overcoming Implicit Bias to Improve Diversity + Inclusion in Law Firms (and Law Departments), June 17, 2021 with Panelists Lori Baggett, Allen Estes, and Michelle Lipkowitz
• Moderator of “Take Another Look: Bias, Diversity and Inclusion,” ACCL 32nd Annual Meeting (Virtual Conference), March 16-21, 2021 with Panelists Lori Baggett, Robert L. Johnson and Rashida MacMurray-Abdullah
• Presenter, “Cutting Edge Techniques in Mediation and Arbitration,” Construction Lawyers Society of America, December 2019
• Presenter, “Public Construction Projects Not Always a Hollywood Ending” ABA Midwinter Meeting, Forum on Construction Law, 2019
• Presenter, “Breach of the Government’s Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing”, Hot Tips at American College of Construction Lawyers Annual Meeting, February 2019
• Presenter, “Case Study: VW international, Inc. ASBCA No. 60596,” Construction Lawyers Society of America North American Construction Law Symposium II, 2018
• Presenter, “The World’s Worst Contract Clauses,” North American Construction Lawyers Symposium, 2017
• Presenter at 38th Annual Construction and Public Contracts Law Seminar Virginia State Bar’s Annual Seminar, 2017
• Presenter, “Tips for Playing ‘The Price Is Right’ on Your Government Contract Claim,” World Congress, National Contract Management Association, 2014
• Presenter, “Is That Really Proof of Delay? Critical Path Method Analyses Versus the Insurgents,” Construction Super Conference, 2014