Harper Heckman

Harper Heckman practices in the areas of lien, bond, construction law and civil litigation and is the Chair of the firm's Construction Practice Group.  He has tried cases in both state and federal courts and has argued before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the North Carolina Supreme Court, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

He is a certified Superior Court mediator and a certified arbitrator on the American Arbitration Association's Construction Panel of Neutrals. 

• Best Lawyers in America, Construction Law since 2008
• Listed in Business North Carolina's "Legal Elite" in Construction Law for eight consecutive years (2005-2012)
• Five time North Carolina "Super Lawyer" for Construction Law (2006-2010)
• University of North Carolina School of Law - Adjunct Professor of Construction Law (2004 - Present)
• North Carolina Bar Association - Construction Law Section (Past Section Chair, Lien Law Rewrite Committee,Co-Chair Specialization Committee)
• American Bar Association - Forum on the Construction Industry (Governing Committee; Chair of the Contract Documents Division)
• Triad Business Journal's "40 Leaders Under Forty"

• Represented University in arbitration and mediation arising from delayed construction of student housing project
• Represented structural steel erector in the defense of three wrongful death claims arising from building collapse
• Represented construction manager in the recovery of extended representation fees through mediation with municipal agency
• Represented owner of a high rise hotel in Santa Monica, CA in litigation and mediation against the design teams seeking the recovery of damages caused by defective design
• Represented electrical subcontractor in federal court litigation involving delay and disruption claims by and against a general contractor on a federal prison hospital
• Represented mechanical subcontractor in collection of delay and disruption claims associated with the construction of a high-rise hotel at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida
• Represented electrical subcontractor in multi-party litigation and mediation against State and surety arising from delays in construction of University Student Activity Center
• Represented owner of multi-phase mixed use and highway construction project in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
• Represented hospital in contracting for a facilities expansion with the architect and general contractor
• Represented utility company in defense of jobsite accident and wrongful death claims.
• Represented highway contractor in disputes involving its subcontractor and the North Carolina Department of Transportation
• Represented owners, contractors and subcontractors in proceedings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Board

Mr. Heckman has lectured on a variety of construction-related topics and has authored or co-authored the following publications:  

• Drafting the Perfect One-Year Warranty, The Construction Lawyer, Summer 2007
  
• State-by-State Analysis of Legal Issues Affecting Architects, Engineers, Contractors and Others, Aspen, 2005
  
• Time is Money: An Analysis of Liquidated Damage Clauses, The Construction Lawyer, Fall 2004
  
• Contingent Payment Clauses, The Construction Business Handbook, Aspen, 2004
  
• State-By-State Guide to Architect, Engineer and Contractor Licensing, (Co-Author), Aspen, 1999
• State-by-State Survey of Economic Loss Doctrine in Construction Litigation, American Bar Association Litigation Section, 1996

Aetna Casualty & Surety Company v. Ind-Com Electric Company, 139 F.3d 419 (4th Cir. 1998)

City of New Bern v. Carteret-Craven EMC, 356 N.C. 123, 567 S.E.2d 131

Energy Investors Fund, L.P. v. Metric Constructors, Inc., 133 N.C. App. 522, 516 S.E.2d 399

• North Carolina Attorneys Honored as “Legal Elite”
  Nexsen Pruet is pleased to announce that eight of its attorneys have been named to Business North Carolina magazine’s “Legal Elite” list for 2012.
• 62 Attorneys Named to the 2012 Edition of Best Lawyers®
  Nexsen Pruet is proud to announce that 62 of its attorneys have been named to the 2012 edition of Best Lawyers®.
• Attorneys Recognized by North Carolina Super Lawyers®
  Nexsen Pruet is pleased to announce that nine attorneys from the firm’s Greensboro and Charlotte offices have been named to the 2011 list of North Carolina Super Lawyers®. Two attorneys are named as North Carolina “Rising Stars.”
• North Carolina Attorneys Named to “Legal Elite” List
  Harper Heckman and David Senter made the list in the Construction law category. Ben Kahn made the list for Bankruptcy law and Grainger Pierce is listed in the Employment law category.
• David Luzum Joins Greensboro Office; Expands Firm’s Construction Practice
  He will expand what is already one of the largest construction practices in the Southeastern United States.
• Fifty-nine Attorneys Selected for Best Lawyers in America®; Five Practice Areas Listed Among Top in the Carolinas
  Nexsen Pruet is proud to announce that 59 of its attorneys have been named to the 2011 edition of Best Lawyers®.
• Charlotte and Greensboro Attorneys Recognized by North Carolina Super Lawyers®
  Nine attorneys from the Charlotte and Greensboro offices of Nexsen Pruet have been named to the 2010 list of North Carolina Super Lawyers®. Four more attorneys are named as “North Carolina Rising Stars.”
• Two Nexsen Pruet Attorneys Top “Legal Elite” List; Five Recognized By Business North Carolina Magazine
  Five Nexsen Pruet attorneys have been listed in Business North Carolina magazine’s “Legal Elite.” The listings appear in magazine’s January 2010 issue.
• Fifty-eight Attorneys Selected for Best Lawyers in America®
  Fifty-eight Nexsen Pruet attorneys will be included in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
• Eight Nexsen Pruet Attorneys Named Among North Carolina’s Super Lawyers®
  Greensboro – Eight attorneys in the Greensboro office of Nexsen Pruet, PLLC have been named to the 2009 list of North Carolina Super Lawyers®.
• Ten Nexsen Pruet Attorneys Named as "Legal Elite"
  Ten Nexsen Pruet attorneys have been named in Business North Carolina magazine’s “Legal Elite.”
• 45 Nexsen Pruet Attorneys Selected for Best Lawyers
  Columbia, SC – Forty-five Nexsen Pruet attorneys will be included in the 2009 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. The publication also ranks Nexsen Pruet #1 in eleven practice areas in South Carolina and three in North Carolina.
• Seven Nexsen Pruet Attorneys Named Among North Carolina's "Super Lawyers"
• Seven Attorneys Named Among N.C.’s “Legal Elite”
• 38 Nexsen Pruet Attorneys Names To "The Best Lawyers in America 2008"
  Thirty-eight attorneys from Nexsen Pruet, LLC were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2008 – including six who have now earned the honor for 10 years or more.
• Seven Nexsen Pruet Attorneys Named Among North Carolina's "Super Lawyers"
• 6 Attorneys Named Among NC's "Legal Elite"
  Business North Carolina magazine has named six attorneys from Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier’s Greensboro office to its “Legal Elite” listing, an honor bestowed by the publication on less than 5 percent of the state’s lawyers.
• Six Nexsen Pruet Attorneys Named Among North Carolina's "Legal Elite"
  Business North Carolina magazine has named Six attorneys from Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier to its list of the profession's "Legal Elite," an honor bestowed by the publication on just 3 percent of the state’s lawyers.
• Six Nexsen Pruet Lawyers Named Among North Carolina's "Super Lawyers"
  Six attorneys in the Greensboro office of Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier, PLLC have been named among North Carolina's "Super Lawyers" in a Law & Politics publication survey.
• 5 Lawyers Named Among "Legal Elite" in Business North Carolina Survey
  Five Nexsen Pruet attorneys have been named among the 2005 "Legal Elite" in a survey by North Carolina Business magazine.

• Nexsen Pruet 2008 Construction Industry Shoot