Jeffrey W. Coleman

Attorney Jeffrey W. Coleman, PE, FACI, focuses his practice on construction law, professional liability defense, concrete construction and general business law, including insurance and coverage.

Mr. Coleman has been a licensed structural engineer since 1977 and a practicing attorney since 1984. Coleman provides clients with a single resource for both legal and risk management issues. He has represented design professionals in all matters of their business, including defense of multimillion-dollar design defect and negligent construction administration claims.

Nationally known for his knowledge and experience in the area of concrete construction, Coleman is the author of Legal Issues in Concrete Construction (1st and 2nd editions). He is the only attorney who has been named a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute (FACI). He will serve as president of the American Concrete Institute in 2020/21. 

He is known for his involvement with large, complex construction litigation cases including:

• Notre Dame Stadium, Indiana
• Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Michigan
• Great Lakes Aquarium, Minnesota
• A North Dakota ethanol plant
• Florida and California marina cases

In addition to handling major cases, much of his practice involves advising clients on contracts, contract negotiations, claims avoidance and early resolution of potential claims.

Coleman also offers unique capabilities in the area of risk financing (insurance) alternatives, including formation of captive insurance companies and excess coverage through the London insurance market in response to the crisis in the professional liability markets during the 1980s. He has a 25-year working relationship with Lloyds of London syndicates and other London-based insurance companies.

Before establishing The Coleman Law Firm, he co-founded Coleman Hull & Van Vliet with long-time partner and friend William D. Hull. Previously, Coleman was general counsel for Ellerbe Becket, an architectural, engineering, interior design and construction firm.

Associations

Coleman is a member, board member or executive of legal and engineering associations including:

• American Bar Association
• Hennepin County Bar Association
• Consulting Engineers Council of Minnesota
• National Society of Professional Engineers
• American Institute of Architects
• American Concrete Institute
• American Society of Concrete Contractors
• American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota
• Minnesota Concrete Council

Recent Awards

• Named a Best Lawyer in Minnesota by Best Lawyers / U.S. News & World Report
• State of Minnesota’s exclusive Client Choice Award recipient in the Construction category. Award recipients can only be nominated by corporate counsel, and are selected based on their “ability to add real value to clients’ business above and beyond the other players.”
• Richard Stehly Industry Advancement Award from the Minnesota Concrete Council, for advancing the concrete industry
• Delmar L. Bloem Distinguished Service Award from the American Concrete Institute (ACI) for outstanding service to ACI Committee “Responsibility in Concrete Construction”
• Tom Roche Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota (the only attorney to receive this award)

He has been frequently selected by Thomson Reuters for the Minnesota Super Lawyers list and achieved the highest ranking (AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated) by Martindale-Hubbell.

Education

• B.S., civil engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
• M.S., structural engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA (Master’s degree thesis on fatigue behavior of air-entrained concrete, a research project for the Iowa Dept. of Transportation Paving Division)
• J.D., cum laude, William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, MN