Michael Branca is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Peckar & Abramson, P.C. He is a past chair of the Board of Governors of the Construction and Public Contract Law Section of the Virginia State Bar and is a past chair of the Government Contract Section of the Federal Bar Association. Mr. Branca received his BA degree from the University of Virginia and his JD degree from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He regularly counsels his clients with respect to all aspects of government contract law including bid protests on the front end of projects and claims on the back end. He also handles contractor integrity and compliance issues and federal and state false claims act matters. Mr. Branca is the editor of the Forum's Construction Lawyer journal, the co-author of the Thomson West treatise Virginia Construction Law, and also writes and lectures regularly on construction and government contract topics.
William E. Franczek is a partner with Vandeventer Black LLP where his practice focuses on construction law, public contract law, and alternative dispute resolution. He is a mediator and arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association (AAA), and on the AAA National Panel for Complex Construction and the AAA Construction Mega Project Panel. He is past chair of the ABA Forum on Construction Law Division 13¿Government Construction, and is a member of the Governing Committee for the Forum. Mr. Franczek has been recognized as Best Lawyer in AmericäLawyer of the Year for Construction in Norfolk, Virginia (2012, 2016), and as a Senior Statesman and Eminent Practitioner in Chambers USA. He is AV preeminent peer review rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Franczek earned his BS in civil engineering and JD from Syracuse University.
Paul Varela is the founder of Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP, a national construction law firm with offices in Tysons Corner, Virginia, and San Francisco, California. Mr. Varela is an authority on complex construction contract dispute resolution and represents clients in the construction industry domestically and internationally, and has extensive experience representing federal government contractors. He is a frequent speaker and author on construction industry topics, is an active member of the ABA's Forum on Construction Law, is a past chair of the Washington Building Congress, and has been consistently recognized as a top lawyer by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, The Legal 500, and Super Lawyers.
Barbara Werther is a partner at Troutman Sanders, LLP, and is head of the government contracts and construction group in Sedgwick's Washington, DC office. Ms. Werther is recognized as one of the leading construction and government contracts attorneys in the United States with more than 35 years of experience in construction and government contracts law. She has been resoundingly and consistently recognized as one of the top lawyers in construction law. Ms. Werther has lectured extensively to clients and various trade associations on a variety of construction law topics. Her expertise and experience is reflected in her comprehensive practice. She is known as an expert on contract terms and conditions for developers and owners, and focuses on contract drafting and negotiation. She also represents owners, contractors, and subcontractors in litigation involving scheduling, delays, inefficiencies, changes, differing site conditions, and terminations for default. In 2006, Ms. Werther hosted the first Women in Construction (WIC) conference in Washington, DC, by women for women in all aspects of the construction industry. Today, in its tenth year, the conference boasts 250 attendees, with an all-day event featuring five panels, a keynote speaker and a speaker/sponsor dinner the night before the conference.
