Kurt Dettman draws upon his legal and public management experience to facilitate dispute resolution, focusing on open communication and consensus building among contractors, owners, attorneys and consultants. With over 24 years of legal experience, including more than 13 years of senior management experience on the Central Artery/Tunnel Project in Boston, Mr. Dettman has a keen understanding of and sensitivity to the resolution of disputes in a variety of settings and circumstances. Mr. Dettman’s current consulting practice focuses on the use of all forms of dispute resolution in the construction industry, including dispute resolution systems design, Partnering, settlement negotiation, mediation, arbitration and Dispute Review Boards.
Mr. Dettman was involved with this $14.729 Billion project since 1992, advancing from Senior Counsel, to Chief Counsel, to Associate Project Director for Claims Resolution. As the project’s lead attorney, he managed all legal matters on the project, including construction claims, design claims, Owner Controlled Insurance Program, alternative dispute resolution, cost recovery, procurement, contract negotiation and administration, inter-governmental relations and agreements, conflicts of interest, ethics, regulatory oversight, labor, employment, building issues, DBE regulations, environmental and right of way litigation, civil and criminal investigations, and legislation.
From October of 2001 to early 2003, Mr. Dettman was given the added responsibility of general oversight of the Cost Recovery Program, reporting to the General Counsel of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. From October of 2001 to early 2003, Mr. Dettman also was given the responsibility of supervising the Director of Claims and Changes, who was responsible for analyzing and negotiating all contract claims and changes on the project.
Becoming Associate Project Director for Claims Resolution inMay of 2003, Mr. Dettman managed a 110-person staff and numerous outsideconsultants. He was responsible for preparing and implementing a plan to resolve over 5,000 open issues/claims with a claimed value of over $600 million. He oversaw the teams that settled out on a global basis several major contracts with claims totaling over $460 million using a combination ofnegotiation and mediation. In addition, he substantially reduced the claims backlog on other contracts through a proactive negotiation program.
Examples of the contract claimson which Mr. Dettman lead the negotiations include the following:
Mr. Dettman was the law clerk to Justice William G. Callow of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1983 to 1984. Thereafter, Mr. Dettman was a commercial litigator at two leading Boston, Massachusetts law firms from 1984 to 1992, providing legal advice in the areas of complex commercial and business disputes, lender liability litigation and associated workouts, insurance coverage disputes, construction disputes and litigation, products liability litigation, trademark and copyright, and appellate tax board appeals.
Organization Memberships
American Bar Association, Section of Dispute Resolution (Co-chair of the Arbitration Committee; Chair, Disclosure Subcommittee of the Arbitration Committee) and Forum on the Construction Industry
Professional Activities
Mr. Dettman has spoken at many conferences and groups about the use of alternative dispute resolution in the construction industry, including:
