Scott W. Kowalski.
The overview.
Scott helps construction industry clients navigate and negotiate the contracts, claims, and disputes that shape construction projects. His clients are developers, general contractors, trade contractors, and design professionals — architects and engineers — across Virginia and beyond.
- Drafting and negotiating construction contracts
- Reviewing and documenting construction claims
- Resolving construction claims through discussions, mediation, or binding dispute resolution
Scott advises clients on complex contractual matters and helps them focus on what actually matters in their contracts, claims, and broader business objectives. The goal is always practical — protect the project, preserve the relationships when possible, and pursue resolution as early and cleanly as the facts allow.
Working in construction in college and law school gave Scott firsthand insight into the industry and a practical understanding of how projects actually operate behind the scenes.
Scott W. Kowalski · on his foundationA Lynchburg native, Scott and his wife have four adult children. Away from the office he's on the tennis and pickleball courts, the golf course, or a trail — hiking, backpacking, and camping.
Experience
Scott combines a national construction-law pedigree with a deep Virginia practice — chairing the firm's board while serving as the senior point of contact for many of its largest regional and national clients.
Chair of the Board of Directors. Member of the firm's construction law group and the lead attorney for many of PLDR's largest regional and national clients.
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims — Judicial Clerk (immediately following law school)
- Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald LLP — Tysons Corner, VA — 12+ years at a major national construction law firm
Scott worked in the construction industry in college and law school. That firsthand exposure to how projects are built — schedules, change orders, the rhythm of a job site — informs every contract he drafts and every claim he defends.
Recognition & Involvement
- Chambers USA — Virginia Construction Lawyer (2020–2025)
- Martindale-Hubbell — AV Preeminent rating
- Virginia Business Legal Elite — Construction Litigation (2018–2025)
- Virginia Super Lawyers — Construction Litigation (2017–2026)
- Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Star — Construction Litigation (2008, 2010)
- Lynchburg Business Magazine Top Lawyers of Greater Lynchburg — Construction (2018–2026)
- Virginia State Bar Construction & Public Contracts Law Section — Chairman (2020–2021); Vice-Chair (2019–2020); Secretary (2018–2019); Treasurer (2017–2018); Board of Governors (2011–2022)
- Virginia Bar Association Construction & Public Contracts Law Section — Section Chair (2015); Secretary (2014); Treasurer (2013); Council Member (2009–Present)
- Virginia Bar Association — Board of Governors (2016–2019)
- Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC), Virginia Chapter — Executive Committee (2021–2022); Board of Directors (2007–Present)
- Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance — Executive Committee & Board (2022–2025); Government Relations Committee Chair (2022–2025)
- Lynchburg Bar Association — Member
- Virginia Legal Aid Society — Pro Bono Panel Member
- St. John's Episcopal Church — Senior Warden (2022); Vestry (2021–2023); Rector Search Committee (2019, 2026)
- Meals on Wheels of Greater Lynchburg — Chairman of the Board (2023–2024); Board of Directors (2019–2025)
Publications & Speaking
- Co-Author, Recent Developments in Construction and Public Contracts Law in Virginia, Annual VSB Construction and Public Contracts Law CLE (2015–2025)
- Co-Author, Defending Payment Bond Claims — What Is to Be Done?, Virginia Lawyer, Vol. 66 (February 2018)
- Co-Author, A Project Manager's Guide: How to Keep Construction Projects From Going Bad — And What to Do When They Do (April 2006; March 2008)
- Co-Author, AIA Sample Form Contracts (October 2006; September 2005)
- Co-Author, Practical and Legal Fundamentals of Construction Contracts and Schedules (September 2005)
- Co-Author, AIA Contracts in Virginia (November 2004)
- Federal Circuit Court Upholds Ruling Limiting a Surety's Right to Assert the Claims of Its Defaulted Principal, From the Ground Up (Winter 2003)
- Ambiguities in Contract Documents, Construction Briefings (December 2002)
- Speaker, Annual VSB Construction & Public Contracts Law Seminar — "Recent Developments in Construction and Public Contracts Law in Virginia" (2015–2025)
- Speaker, YHB Construction Symposium — "Mechanic's Lien Releases — Are They Worth the Paper They Are Printed On?" (November 2018)
- Speaker, ABC-VA Seminar — "What You Don't Know and Can It Hurt You?" (May 2018)
- Speaker, USGBC SW Virginia Chapter — "Legal Implications of LEED" (2011)
- Panel Member, National Association of College and University Attorneys Annual Conference — "When Green Initiatives Get Slowed in the Mud" (June 2010)
In Scott’s Words
"My focus is on helping clients make good business decisions about their construction projects — and achieving the earliest resolution possible on any claims or disputes."— Scott W. Kowalski · Chair of the Board
Areas of focus
The practice.
Scott chairs PLDR's Board of Directors and is the firm's senior construction lawyer. He advises developers, general and trade contractors, architects, engineers, and sureties on contracts, claims, and dispute resolution — through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation. Recognized by Chambers USA, Virginia Business Magazine’s Legal Elite, and Virginia Super Lawyers in construction litigation.
In the office
Get to know Scott Kowalski.
Talk with Scott
When it's the contract, the claim, or the dispute — call Scott.
From negotiating a new construction contract to defending a claim to negotiating in a mediation — Scott's office will help you find the earliest workable resolution to the matter in front of you.