Kenneth H. Lazaruk

Partner

  • Kenneth H. Lazaruk
  • Phone: +1 212 692 1085

    Kenneth H. Lazaruk - LinkedIn Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    1540 Broadway
    New York, NY 10036-4086
    USA
  • Duane Morris LLP
    230 Park Avenue, Suite 1130
    New York, NY 10169-0079
    USA

Kenneth H. Lazaruk practices in the area of construction law. Mr. Lazaruk has more than 40 years' experience in the construction industry, 30 of which has been as an attorney exclusively practicing in the field of construction law. Mr. Lazaruk's experience as an attorney includes all aspects of construction law with an emphasis on representing owners and developers in the drafting and negotiation of design and construction agreements.  Mr. Lazaruk also represents owners and developers in construction disputes resolved through either mediation, arbitration and/or litigation. He also has experience representing other parties involved in construction projects including design professionals, architects, engineers, contractors, construction managers, suppliers and vendors.

Mr. Lazaruk has a diverse background that includes experience in the fields of law, design, construction, engineering and tax/finance. In addition to his experience as a practicing attorney, he has worked for major engineering, consulting and construction management firms. Mr. Lazaruk has drafted and negotiated contracts for all types of projects including office buildings, affordable and high end residential towers, stadiums and public works/infrastructure.  He is also a licensed professional engineer in the states of New York and New Jersey.

Mr. Lazaruk has been directly involved in the design and construction of some of the most iconic projects in the New York metropolitan area, including:

  • Essex Crossing
  • The Hudson Yards Redevelopment
  • The Office Building Towers located at the site of the World Trade Center
  • Columbia University's Manhattanville Expansion
  • The Time Warner Center
  • Yankee Stadium
  • Bronx Terminal Market Retail Center
  • East River Plaza
  • The Barclays Arena at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, New York
  • Various Residential Towers at Battery Park City
  • The Proposed Jets/Olympic West Side Stadium
  • Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Genomics Center
  • Various Residential Towers located in New York City known as:
    • 15 Central Park West
    • 50 United Nations Plaza
    • 18 Gramercy Park
    • One Carnegie Hill
    • Tribeca Green
    • The Harrison
    • The Brompton Superior Ink
    • The Caledonia
    • Astor Place
    • Zaha Building at 28th Street and 10th Avenue
    • 41-45 Park Avenue
    • One Cadman Plaza

Mr. Lazaruk has been actively involved in the alternate dispute resolution process for the past 30 years. Certified as an arbitrator and mediator by the American Arbitration Association and as a mediator by the International Mediation Institute, he has participated in many matters resolved via ADR either as counsel for a party or as arbitrator or mediator. He has also lectured on ADR before many groups, including the Metropolitan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, an organization of which he has been past president and a member for the past 40 years.

A member of the New York and New Jersey bar associations, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers, Mr. Lazaruk is a 1983 graduate of New York Law School and a graduate of New York University Graduate School of Business (M.B.A.) and the City College of New York (B.C.E.).

Representative Matters

    Transactional

  • Represented a major engineering company in its multimillion-dollar acquisition of a New York-based grandfathered professional engineering corporation via a simultaneous signing and closure of a stock purchase agreement.

  • Represented Taconic Investment Partners in the negotiation and execution of an agreement with the City of New York to identify, plan, build, open and operate a COVID-19 vaccination hub at Essex Crossing, on the Lower East Side.

  • Representation of a developer in drafting and negotiating many design and construction agreements for The Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project, which includes the construction of approximately 16 skyscrapers containing more than 12,700,000 square feet of new office, residential and retail space. Such transactional advice included representation of the developer in drafting and negotiating a design/build contract for the design, development and construction of a steel platform and certain related improvements and foundations over an active rail yard used by the Long Island Rail Road Company, which served to provide the square footage necessary for the new retail office and residential space above.

  • Representing St. Michael’s Home, a long-term care facility for the Greek Orthodox community in Yonkers, New York, in connection with drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements and providing advice regarding the development, construction and conversion of an existing seminary/school to an assisted living and independent living facility on an 11.3-acre site with 91 units and 147 beds.

  • Representation of a sports franchise owner in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements for the “Hard Rock Stadium Modernization and Renovation Project” that was completed in 2017 with construction costs exceeding $600 million, the “South Video Wall Project” that was completed in 2018 with construction costs exceeding $5 million, and the “Broadcast, IT, Sound System, Security Infrastructure, Cabling and Termination Design/Build Project” that was completed in 2018 with construction costs that exceeded $4 million.

  • Represented Broad Street Development, LLC, in the drafting and negotiation of design/construction agreements in connection with the development, design and construction of 209-219 Sullivan Street, New York, New York – A high-end 40 unit residential condominium project consisting of the demolition of an existing structure, the renovation of an existing structure, the renovation of an adjacent structure and the construction of a new building.

  • Providing counseling and advice to an equity joint venture in connection with proposals for the $4 billion redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport's main terminal, one of the largest planned infrastructure projects in New York City.

  • Representing Columbia University, drafting and negotiating design/construction agreements as well as risk/insurance consultation in connection with Columbia’s redevelopment of a 35-acre area of Manhattanville which will be utilized to expand its campus and participate in the revitalization of the area. The project includes the building of a total of seventeen new academic mixed-use facilities over a twenty-two year period.

  • Represented a developer in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements for the Essex Crossing Project, which is a 6 acre mixed-use development project across 9 city blocks with construction costs in excess of $1.1 billion.

  • Representation of a developer in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements for One Clinton Street, which is a mixed use residential building that also houses the Brooklyn Public Library on the ground floor with construction costs in excess of $480 million.

  • Representation of a developer in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements to develop and construct a residential development of approximately 185,000 square feet comprising of a 22-floor high end residential building and one below grade cellar level located at 514-520 West 28th Street New York with construction costs in excess of $450 million.

  • Representation of a developer in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements for 311 West 42nd Street, which is a 350,000 square-foot mixed-use residential building with 300 apartments near Hell’s Kitchen and Times Square with construction costs in excess of $250 million.

  • Representation of a developer in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements with Amtrak, The Long Island Rail Road Company and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority involving the Gateway Tunnel Project, which involves the construction of concrete casing to accommodate two new rail tunnels into Penn Station between Newark, New Jersey and New York City.

  • Representation of a sports franchise owner in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements for the “Formula 1 Racetrack Project” that commenced in 2019 with construction costs expected to exceed $80 million.

  • Representation of a school in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements for “School Expansion Project”, which includes a two-story addition to an existing structure, with construction costs in excess of $120 million.

  • Representation of a developer in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements for Hahne & Co. Redevelopment Project, which includes the re-development of an iconic department store building into 160 residential units, Whole Foods, and community space, with construction costs in excess of $175 million.

  • Represented a developer in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements for its downtown Los Angeles redevelopment project, which includes the construction of approximately 400 residential units, a 300-unit hotel, 176,000 square feet of retail space and 12,000 square feet of residential space; transactional advice included preparing and negotiating trade agreements in excess of $250 million.

  • Represented a healthcare provider in drafting and managing a suite of tailored master design and construction agreements for use by its facility and project management staff.

  • Representation of a developer in the acquisition of land, and the drafting and negotiation of a design/build agreement for the construction of a curtain wall manufacturing facility in Chichester, Pennsylvania.

  • Representation of a movie and television production studio in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements for “Production Studios O and N”, which includes multiple television and movie studios currently used to film Sesame Place, Orange is the New Black and The Affair, with construction costs in excess of $40 million.

  • Representation of a Philadelphia-based developer in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements for 25 Kent Ave., which is the first new office development project in Brooklyn in over 40 years with construction costs in excess of $140 million.

  • Representation of a property owner in drafting and negotiating a license agreement with an adjacent developer to install scaffolding, roof protection, vibration monitors, crack monitors and other safety devices.

  • Representation of a developer in drafting and negotiating design and construction agreements for 42 Trinity Place, which is a 42-story skyscraper in New York’s financial district with construction costs in excess of $200 million.

    • Dispute Resolution

  • Obtained dismissal, on behalf of Columbia University, of more than $10 million in subsurface conditions claims, which concerned the construction of slurry walls and foundations by a joint venture comprised of E.E. Cruz and Nicholson Construction on the Mind Brain Building at Columbia's Manhattanville campus.

  • Representing one of the ten largest construction companies in New York in defense of major litigation involving the One Hanson Place concerning conversion of the iconic Williamsburg Savings Bank building in Brooklyn, New York from an office building to a mixed-use building, involving retail, residential, and commercial spaces.

  • Defended well known preparatory school in a $34 million action for wrongful termination of its contract brought by contractor. The school discovered contractor was misappropriating funds, and the action ultimately concluded with all claims against the school being dismissed.

Areas of Practice

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Construction Law

Admissions

  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Education

  • New York Law School, J.D., 1983
  • New York University Graduate School of Business Administration, M.B.A., 1977
  • City College of New York, B.C.E., 1973

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2008-present
  • Thelen LLP
    - Partner, 2006-2008
  • Ross & Cohen
    - Partner, 1998-2006
  • Edwards and Zuck, P.C., Consulting Engineers
    - General Counsel, 1997-1998
  • Zetlin & DeChiara
    - Partner, 1996-1997
  • Baer, Marx & Upham
    - Partner, 1994-1996
  • Shea & Gould
    - Partner, 1983-1994
  • Coopers & Lybrand
    - Tax and Financial Specialist, 1980-1983
  • HRH Construction Corporation, Division of Starret Housing
    - Construction Engineer, 1979-1980
  • Western Electric
    - Strategic Planner, 1977-1979
  • Dames & Moore
    - Project Engineer, 1973-1977

Professional Activities

  • American Arbitration Association
    - AAA Arbitrator and Mediator
    - AAA Master Mediator Panel
  • International Mediation Institute
    - Mediator
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
    - Mediator
  • Supreme Court of the State of New York
    - Mediator
  • American Society of Civil Engineers
    - Past President, New York Chapter
  • National Society of Professional Engineers
  • Founding member, Duane Morris' New York Office Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Honors and Awards

  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2012-2024

  • Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, 2010-2024

  • Listed in New York Metro Super Lawyers

  • Referenced in Legal 500 U.S.- Leading Lawyers for Construction 2014
  • AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®

No aspect of these rankings has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Further information on methodologies is available via these links.

Selected Publications

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Webinar, "U.S. Construction Considerations During the COVID-19 Pandemic," NAIOP Webinar, April 2, 2020

  • Seminar, “Design & Construction Contracts 101,” Professional Women in Construction, New York City, June 14, 2016

  • Seminar, “Preparing and Administering Design & Construction Contracts,” Related Companies, February 22, 2016

  • Seminar, "Construction Contracts," Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP, New York City, August 2010
  • Seminar, "Public Contracting in the Age of the Stimulus Package: Are You Ready For Transparency?" Duane Morris LLP, New York City, June 2009
  • Seminar, "Construction Insurance – Best Practices And New Developments for 2008 and Beyond," Thelen, LLP, New York City, April 2008
  • Seminar, "Design and Engineering Contract Issues," Thelen LLP, New York City, March 2007
  • Seminar, "Choosing the Right Forms of Construction 1996 Contracts," Thelen, LLP, New York City, February 15, 2007
  • Seminar, "What To Do When Construction Projects Go Bad," Lorman Education Services, New York City, May and June 2006

  • Seminar, "Construction Law '96 - Current Trends," American Society of Civil Engineers, Metropolitan Section, Construction Group, New York City, February 1996

  • Seminar, "Alternate Dispute Resolution," Shea & Gould, New York City, April 1992