315-676-7314
EDWARD J SHEATS JR.
SHEATS & BAILEY, PLLC
Ed is the founder and senior member of Sheats & Bailey, PLLC, a law firm with a practice emphasizing commercial and industrial construction law and litigation, as well as labor law for the construction industry. The firm has offices in Upstate New York in Syracuse and in New York City.
Ed began his career in construction working in his hometown of Buffalo first as a laborer and then carpenter. He worked for a small company that performed small commercial and high-end residential work. He served in the Air Force as a Judge Advocate in the late 1980’s and was Honorably Discharged in 1989. During his years as a Judge Advocate, he gained extensive trial experience. He was assigned to the legal office of an Air Force Major Command, Alaskan Air Command (AAC). With AAC Ed was legal advisor on most large construction, and operations and maintenance projects throughout the State. He traveled throughout Alaska meeting with Native Corporations to negotiate leases and land deals. He then managed the construction of co-gen facilities, military installations, radar systems and other Government projects on those parcels from cradle to grave-bidding to litigation. Ed entered private practice in 1989 with the Syracuse firm Bryant, O’Dell and Basso, one of the first construction specialty firms in New York State.
A true construction practice is not like a typical law firm. And certainly not like a huge high overhead firm that needs thousands of billable hours just to keep the lights on. A true construction practice is made up of attorneys with trade experience. It needs people who know that project problems occur daily, who can manage themselves to be able to change pace and direction at a moment’s notice. It needs people who understand estimating, overhead, labor loading, trade sequencing and design. And not just from books.
Ed is the firm’s senior litigator. He represents private and public owners and developers, design professionals, general and specialty primes, subcontractors, manufacturers reps and manufacturers. He represents construction associations and multi-employer bargaining units. His practice, like the firm, includes construction from beginning to end. He advises and represents clients on project delivery, project management, labor law, claims and litigation and appeals.
During more than 38 years of practice in this area of law, Ed has trained many thousands of design professionals, contractors, owners and others in matters involving construction law, legal issues for design professionals, legal issues for owners and developers and others.
Ed has performed training for the New York State Office of General Services and the State University Construction Fund. Training for those State agencies includes project management, claims management and mitigation, and contract management issues for the senior executive level personnel, with separate training for the boots on the ground construction management personnel.
Ed has also performed training across Canada for Export Development Canada, which is a Canadian Crowne Corporation. EDC provides a type of credit insurance for subcontractors and manufacturers from Canada who provide services and materials throughout the world.
From 2016 to 2021 Ed served as Special Counsel to the State University Construction Fund on matters involving construction law and construction management. He has served on the Build New York Award Jury for over 20 years. Ed has performed training for numerous construction organizations including the Associated General Contractors of America, Syracuse Builders Exchange, Northern New York Builders Exchange and Mohawk Valley Builders Exchange.
The firm’s clients include ENR 400 contractors and small family-run construction companies. Our owner and design professional clients range from Fortune 100 and 500 companies to small not-for-profit owners and small design firms. Ed is counsel to the Syracuse Builders Exchange, Construction Employers Association of Central New York, Northern New York Builders Exchange and Mohawk Valley Builders Exchange.
Ed has served as a guest lecturer at the Clarkson University School of Engineering and at SUNY-ESF school on construction management. He is routinely called upon to perform in-house training for design professionals, construction managers, contractors and subcontractors.
Sheats & Bailey, PLLC
609 Vine Street
P.O. Box 586
Liverpool, New York 13088
Telephone (315) 676-7314
Facsimile (315) 676-7189