one of the world’s leading full-time arbitrators and mediators of construction, engineering, and infrastructure claims and disputes arising in the United States and globally. He is a distinguished member of the panels of neutrals of both JAMS and JAMS International, and is the Director of JAMS Global Engineering and Construction Group.
Experience
As a practicing lawyer for over 40 years prior to becoming a full-time neutral, Mr. Bruner concentrated on construction, engineering, energy and infrastructure litigation and was lead counsel in over 100 arbitrations and litigated cases venued in over 30 states. He also mediated or participated in mediation of numerous cases. Represented parties included the spectrum of construction industry participants: public and private owners, contractors, subcontractors, specialty contractors, architects, engineers (civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, geotechnical, hydrological), sureties, insurers, material manufacturers, material suppliers, equipment suppliers, construction lenders, and construction accountants.See, bio at www.philbruner.com (lists representative cases arbitrated and mediated); bio at www.accl.com for list of articles; and bio at www.jamsadr.com under ’neutrals’.
Work History
Following law school graduation and active military service as a Judge Advocate in the United States Air Force, Mr. Bruner engaged for 40 years in private practice of law in Minnesota’s Twin Cities with the law firms of Briggs and Morgan PC (1967-1983, Hart & Bruner PA (1983-1990 as senior partner), and Faegre & Benson LLP (now Faegre Drinker) with offices then in Minneapolis, Denver, Des Moines, Boulder, London, Frankfurt and Shanghai (1991-2007 as senior partner and founding head of the firm’s Construction Law Group). On January 1, 2008, Mr. Bruner joined JAMS as a full-time arbitrator, mediator, and dispute resolver, and as head of JAMS Global Engineering and Construction Group of neutrals engaged in dispute resolution worldwide. See bios at www.jamsadr.com, www.jamsinternational.com, and www.philbruner.com
Cases
Mr. Bruner has served as chair or arbitrator in many national and international arbitrations. See list of representative cases at www.philbruner.com; bio at www.accl.com; and bio at www.jamsadr.com under ’neutrals’ .
Training
Founded and taught construction law courses as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School (2003-2007) and at William Mitchell College of Law (2006-2008), and also taught government contract law and Commercial Contract law at William Mitchell College of law (1970-1976). Lecturer, Masters Institute in Construction Contracting (1992-present). Lecturer on International Arbitration for the Master\"s Degree Program on Construction and Law at the University of Stuttgart (2018- 24). Presented over 400 law lectures on Arbitration, ADR, construction, engineering and energy subjects, including international audiences in international professional audiences in Alnwick (England), Barcelona, Beijing, Calgary, Chicago, Cologne, Halifax, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne (Australia), Miami, Montreal, New Delhi, New York, Nice, Patiala (India), Princeton, Quebec City, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Stuttgart, Taormina (Sicily), The Hague, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, Warsaw and Washington DC. For recent venues, see, bio at www.philbruner.com; bio at www.accl.com; and bio at www.jamsadr.com under ’neutrals’ .
License(s)
States of Minnesota and Wisconsin, U.S. Supreme Court, federal appellate courts and district courts. See, bio at www.philbruner.com; bio at www.accl.com; bio at www.jamsadr.com under ’neutrals’.
Education
Princeton University (Bachelor’s degree in History); University of Michigan Law School (Juris Doctor Degree): Syracuse University (Master of Business Administration Degree).
Publications
Co-Author, Bruner and O’Connor on Construction Law (2002, updated and supplemented annually), the authoritative nine volume, 12,500-page treatise on American law governing construction and dispute resolution, and cited in over 600 Westlaw reported judicial opinions issued by the US. Supreme Court, Federal Appellate Courts, Federal District Courts, State Supreme, appellate and trial courts, U.S. Territorial and Commonwealth Courts, and Federal and State Court of Claims. In addition to his co-authorship of the BRUNER & O’CONNOR treatise, Mr. Bruner has authored or co-authored more than 50 professional articles, such as: Construction Law: It’s Historical Origins and Its Twentieth Century Emergence as a Major Field of Modern American and International Legal Practice, 75:2 Ark. L. Rev. 207 (2022); Joinder of Nonsignatories in International Arbitration, 38 Int’l Construction L. Rev 266 (July 2021); Damage Recovery Measurement Issues Unique to Construction Disputes, 36 Int’l Construction L. Rev. 320 (July 2019); Streamlining Construction Arbitration: Reducing the Peril of “Double Jeopardy” in Dual-Track Proceedings, 38 Construction Lawyer 7 (Fall 2018); The Appeal of Appellate Arbitration, 35 Int’l Construction L. Rev 436 (Fall 2018); Evaluative Mediation of Complex Construction Disputes, 22 Singapore Construction Law 1 (January/February 2014); Mediating Public Sector Construction Disputes in the United States: “Square Corners”, “No Free Lunch” and Principles of Fairness, 30 Int’l Construction L. Rev. 201 (April 2013); Why Arbitrate?, 1 Court of Arbitration Lewiatan E-Review 8 (2012); Construction Mediation: Pick a Mediator with Experience in Dealing with Construction Industry Participants’ Differences in Outlook, 11 The Dispute Resolver 1 (Dec. 2012); Rapid Resolution ADR, 31 Construction Lawyer 6 (Spring 2011); The Initial Decision maker: The New Independent Dispute Resolver in American Private Building Contracts, 27 Int’l Construction L. Rev. 375 (July 2010); Global Construction ADR: Meeting an Industry’s Demand for Specialized Expertise, Innovation and Efficiency, (2009), 69 J.C.C.C.L; The Historical Emergence of Construction Law, 34 William Mitchell L. Rev. 1 (2007); The Construction Review, Construction Briefings Series (1982 – 2007); Strategic Generalship of the Complex Surety Case, in MANAGING AND LITIGATING THE COMPLEX SURETY CASE (Bruner and Haley, eds., 2007); and, Force Majeure and Unforeseen Ground Conditions in the New Millennium: Unifying Principles and ‘Tales of Iron Wars\"”, 17 Int’l Construction L. Rev. 47 (January 2000).
Awards
Mr. Bruner’s professional honors include Founding Fellow and past President of The American College of Construction Lawyers; Honorary Fellow of The Canadian College of Construction Lawyers; Fellow of The International Academy of Construction Lawyers; Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators; Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London); Arbitrator Member of Britain’s Society of Construction Arbitrators (London); Certified Mediator, International Mediation Institute (The Hague); Arbitrator Member of the London Court of International Arbitration; Member of the International Chamber of Commerce U.S. National Arbitration and ADR Committee; Member of The Institute of Energy Law Panel of Arbitrators; Board member of The International Construction Law Association; Member of The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals; and Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Mr. Bruner is a recipient of the 2005 Cornerstone Award presented by the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law to one lawyer annually for “exceptional service to the construction industry, to the public and to the legal profession”. He also was awarded the 2011 Norman Royce Prize presented by Britain’s Society of Construction Arbitrators for scholarship in the field of construction dispute resolution. He was recognized in 2011 by the Construction Lawyer (journal of the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law) as a “giant of our field.” He is vetted by International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers as one of the world’s leading commercial arbitrators, commercial mediators and construction lawyers, and since 2003 has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America. Profiled for decades by Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in the World, the Marquis Who’s Who Publications Board has honored him with its 2018 Albert Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2024 he was recognized by the University of Minnesota with its Alan E. Peterson Award for Distinguished Service in Government Contracting. See, bio at www.philbruner.com; bio at www.accl.com; bio at www.jamsadr.com under ’neutrals’.
Panels
See, bio at www.philbruner.com; bio at www.jamsadr.com under ’neutrals’.
Associations
See 5 page bio at www.philbruner.com; bio at www.accl.com for list of articles; bio at www.jamsadr.com under ’neutrals’.
Miscellaneous
See, bio at www.philbruner.com; bio at www.accl.com for list of articles; bio at www.jamsadr.com under ’neutrals’.
