About Ron White

Ron White specializes in resolving complex disputes with persistence and passion. He has had a long legal career in construction law: as a young law clerk, new associate, and later as a law partner, Ron was mentored by the pre-eminent California construction lawyer Gordon Hunt, co-author of California Construction Law (Aspen Publishers 16th ed. 2000). During his twenty-five year litigation career, Ron represented cities, counties and other public agencies, large corporations and small businesses, individuals and associations in jury trials, bench trials, arbitrations, and mediations; he also argued a number of cases before the California Court of Appeals. One such case, Halbert’s Lumber Inc.v. Lucky Stores, Inc. (1992) 6 Cal. App. 4th 1233 led to the amendment of California Civil Code § 3262, the statute governing the release of mechanics’ liens. In addition, Ron has lectured to construction industry trade groups and lawyers on a variety of construction law topics.

Ron has litigated claims arising from an assortment of construction projects, including dams, wastewater treatment facilities, hospitals, high-rise office buildings, public schools and universities, convention centers, condominium developments, tract housing, and custom homes. He has been involved in nearly every aspect of construction that does not require a hard hat, including drafting contract provisions, preparing bid protests on public works projects, managing labor disputes and OSHA investigations, facilitating change orders and requests for information, negotiating project close-outs and preparing claims, securing defense and indemnity from insurance carriers, and resolving the competing interests arising from performance and completion bonds. For years he worked closely with industry experts in various disciplines such as architecture and engineering, geotechnical and geology, estimating and scheduling, fabrication and water-proofing.

Professional Associations

  • Member Southern California Mediation Association
  • Member Los Angeles County Superior Court Mediation Panel
  • Member Redlands Arbitration and Mediation Services Panel
  • Western Council of Construction Consumers, former legal advisory committee member

Education

  • Brigham Young University (BA, international relations/Japanese, 1981; JD, 1984)
  • Harvard Law School's Mediation Training for Lawyers
  • Institute of Construction Management, Commercial & Construction Mediation Training
  • Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Advanced Mediation Skills

Bar Admissions

  • Member State Bar of California
  • Member State Bar of Arizona
  • Member State Bar of Utah