In her 45 years of practice, Laird handled cases as diverse as suing the United States for contract balances to defending employers at administrative hearings on unemployment claims. She has represented business owners, contractors, subcontractors, sureties, and individuals in a variety of business disputes. Much of Laird’s practice related to construction and surety law, a natural outgrowth of her previous work as an associate surety counsel for a major surety.
For more than 20 years, Laird also has served as a neutral with the American Arbitration Association. She is on the construction, large complex, and construction megaproject case panels, and though most of her arbitrations have involved construction, some have been in the commercial and consumer arenas.
Since November 2018, Laird’s practice has been limited to arbitration. During her years as an arbitrator, she has dealt with a variety of projects, including LNG tanks, a lake resort, cell towers, a national cemetery, an earthen reservoir, a casino and boat basin, industrial warehouses, commercial buildings, condominium developments, and roadways. Among the issues arbitrated are wrongful termination, default, delay, extras, substantial completion, bond claims, changed conditions, design and construction defects, latent defects, liens, nonpayment, acceleration, impact damages, labor inefficiencies, negligent supervision and management, and breach of warranty. Laird takes her role as an arbitrator very seriously and works to ensure that all parties receive full and fair hearings.
AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell; Texas Super Lawyer, Best Lawyers
Speaking Engagements/Publications:
Speaker and Contributing Author, “Joinder and Consolidation”, AAA/ICDR/AAA Mediation.org Panel Conference, 2019
Speaker and Contributing Author, “Beauty is Only Skin Deep: Selected Issues Regarding Building Exterior and Interior Finishes”, ABA TIPS Fidelity & Surety Law Committee, Mid-Winter Meeting 2016
Speaker, “Getting out of the Arbitration Weeds”, ABA Forum on the Construction Industry/TIPS Fidelity & Surety Law Committee Mid-Winter Meeting, 2011
Speaker and Contributing Author, The Surety’s Indemnity Agreement: Law and Practice, ABA Fidelity & Surety Law Committee, Spring Meeting, 2008
Contributing Author, The Performance Bond Manual, American Bar Association, 2006
Speaker and Contributing Author, Texas Construction Bond and Lien Claims, Half Moon, LLC, November, 2005
Speaker and Contributing Author, Construction Lien Law and the New Residential Construction Commission Act in Texas, Lorman Education Services, August, 2005
Speaker, Arbitrator Ethics: What Ought One Do?, American Arbitration Association (Dallas) 2004
Speaker and Contributing Author, (1) Construction Lien Law in Texas; (2) Construction Claims in Texas; and (3) Construction Litigation in Texas, Lorman Education Services, 2001
Author, “Are Breach of Warranty Damages Cause by an Occurrence?, Texas Building Trends, September/October 2001
Co-Author, Legislative Wrap-Up, Texas Building Trends, July/August 2001
Author, Pending Legislation Affecting Construction, Texas Building Trends, May/June 2001
Speaker and Contributing Author, When Construction Goes Wrong: The Surety’s Perspective, The University of Texas School of Law Mortgage Lending Institute, 2000
Speaker and Co-Author, The Availability and Scope of Appeal of Arbitration Awards Under the Federal, Uniform and State Acts, ABA TIPS Annual Meeting, 2000; 29 The Brief 32-37, Spring 2000
Moderator, Design-Build Construction Projects from the Perspective of a Contractor, Surety and Commercial Owner, DRI Annual Meeting, Joint Program of the Fidelity and Surety, Construction, and Business Litigation Committees, 1999
Speaker and Author, Practical Advice in Drafting Contractual Insurance Provisions, ABA Forum on the Construction Industry, Spring Meeting, 1999
Co-Author, Construction Warranties in Texas, 13 The Construction Lawyer 20, April, 1993
Contributing Author, Texas Construction Law, Federal Publications, Inc. 1991
Associations and Memberships:
State Bar of Texas, Construction Law Section, Past-President
Texas Construction Law Foundation, Past-President
Texas Board of Legal Specialization Exam Commission (Construction Law) -past member
Texas Board of Legal Specialization Initial Advisory Committee (Construction Law)
Dallas Bar Construction Law Section, Past-Chair
Texas Aggie Bar Association, Past-President
American Arbitration Association Construction Mega Project, Construction, and Large Complex Case Panels
Education and Bar Admissions:
Laird attended law school at the University of Texas, graduating in 1978. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, graduating in December, 1974. Laird was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1978.