Lloyd N. Shields

Practice Areas

Sonny Shields has an extensive practice of 44 years in diverse areas including construction industry, surety and insurance defense, products liability, general commercial litigation, real estate and zoning law, general corporate matters and intellectual property matters. Sonny regularly drafts construction and construction-related contracts and documents. Prior specific experience includes handling structural failures, masonry failures, mold contamination, industrial equipment failure, built-up roof failures, soils failure, pavement failure, various types of leakage and seepage problems, window wall and glass failure, sealant and caulking failure, interior and exterior finish failure, delay and acceleration claims, inefficiency and stacking claims, payment issues, and design professional errors and omissions, as well as more esoteric types of failures in the industry. Sonny also has a great deal of experience in Louisiana public and private works claims, as well as with Miller Act claims and all aspects of construction bond work (performance and payment bonds).

Career

Spanning 44 years of construction and surety law, including all aspects of that industry from writing contracts for Contractors, Owners, Architects, Subcontractors, Engineers and Suppliers and the litigation of disputes involving those parties in the industry. Resolving those disputes involve litigation, arbitration, mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Also, serving as Arbitrator and Mediator in many cases, beginning in the early 1980's. Types of disputes involved primarily construction industry issues but also products liability and personal injury.

Myriad trials and hearings in numerous state and federal courts including appeals courts, various Boards of Contract Appeals, administrative hearings before licensing boards, OSHA hearings, and zoning hearings.

Professional Memberships

Louisiana Law Institute Civil Procedure Committee;

American Bar Association;

Louisiana State Bar Association;

New Orleans Bar Association;

Associated Builders and Contractors;

Associated General Contractors;

Charter Fellow, Construction Lawyers Society of America;

Defense Research Institute;

Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel;

National Bond Claims Association;

Surety Claims Institute

Publications

Refer to web site

Personal

For over 30 years, Sonny has been an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School on the subject of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure and nearly 30 years at Tulane Law School on the subject of Historic Preservation Law. He has delivered more than 200 papers and presentations on numerous aspects of construction and surety law and negotiation and mediation skills and practices.

New Orleans Community Service:

- Former president of Preservation Resource Center

- Former chairman of the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission

- Current board member of Louisiana Landmarks Society

- Current board member of Ogden Museum of Southern Art

- Current vice-president of Louisiana Museum Foundation

- Former Clerk of Session, St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church

- Former president of Garden District Association