Bruce H. Schoumacher, Shareholder

Bruce Schoumacher is the Group Co-Chair of the Construction Practice Group and also practices in several other areas, including professional liability, product liability, commercial litigation, and antitrust. He works with a variety of professionals, including architects, engineers, contractors and manufacturers.  He has recently been recognized by his peers and named as a Leading Lawyer in the area of construction law.  He has also earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Besides construction litigation, he works regularly with owners, contractors and design professionals drafting and negotiating construction contracts and professional services agreements.  He recently drafted standard form agreements for an industrial equipment manufacturer, including sales terms, purchase terms, equipment test and rental agreements and sales representative agreements.  He has extensive experience drafting international commercial contracts, including design agreements, sales representative contracts, repair agency agreements, distributor agreements and fabrication agreements.

Working with our other attorneys, he has assisted clients in establishing successful businesses.  He also regularly works with clients on legal issues which arise during the daily operation of their businesses.  Further, he works with our intellectual property attorneys to handle the patent, trademark and copyright matters for our business clients.

Mr. Schoumacher is a former instructor of business administration at Bellevue College and in the University of Maryland Overseas program.  He is author of Engineers and the Law:  An Overview (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1986), contributing author of Construction Law (Matthew Bender & Company, 1986), co-author of Successful Business Plans for Architects (McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992), and contributing author of Construction Law Handbook (Aspen Law and Business, 1999 and Construction Business Handbook (Aspen Publishers, 2004). He also is co-author of "A New Remedy: Product Recall", published in the Loyola University Consumer Reporter, Fall, 1988, and authored “Contract Awards and Contract Administration,” in Quality Assurance:  A National Commitment, Proceedings of the Conference, (ASCE, 1997).  He has contributed numerous articles to the Consulting/Specifying Engineer and other publications.

Mr. Schoumacher is also an active speaker in the construction industry, having been featured at over 100 seminars or meetings of the American College of Construction Lawyers, American Society of Civil Engineers, Power Engineering Society, American Society of Military Engineers, Illinois Society of Construction Attorneys, Illinois State Bar Association, Western Society of Engineers, Chicago Building Congress, Chicago Bar Association and other organizations.  He also acts a moderator and speaker at Lorman Education Services’ Illinois Construction Lien Law Seminar, which Querrey & Harrow attorneys have presented more than 20 times.

Mr. Schoumacher is a director and former vice president of the Chicago Building Congress, a past member of the Illinois State Bar Association's Council on Insurance Law, and former chair of the Membership and Bar Activities Committee of the Illinois State Bar Association.  He is also a former chairman of the Federal Civil Procedure Committee of the Chicago Bar Association.

Mr. Schoumacher has authored more than 60 articles on construction issues in the Consulting-Specifying Engineer, Construction Specifier and other publications listed below.

Memberships

• Chicago Bar Association, Chairman, Federal Civil Procedure Committee, 1982-1983
• Illinois State Bar Association, Member, Section Council, Insurance Law Section 1986-1991
• Standing Committee on Membership and Bar Activities, Member, 1985-1990, Chair 1988-1989
• Special Committee on Computerized Legal Research, 1986-1987
• Ad Hoc Committee on Large Law Firms, 1993-1997
• Nebraska State Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Defense Research Institute
• Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
• Lawyers Club of Chicago
• Chicago Building Congress, Director, 1985-present; Vice President 1989-1991
• American Institute of Architects, Professional Affiliate, 1987-present
• Western Society of Engineers, Associate Member, 1987-present

Community Involvement

• Speaker at over 100 seminars or meetings which include:
• American College of Construction Lawyers
• American Society of Civil Engineers
• American Society of Military Engineers
• Illinois Society of Construction Attorneys
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Western Society of Engineers
• Chicago Building Congress
• Chicago Bar Association
• Moderator and Speaker, Illinois Construction Lien Law Seminar, presented more than 25 times by Lorman Education Services and Querrey & Harrow, Ltd.

Representative Matters

With partner David Flynn, he represented a wood roof truss manufacturer which had been sued after roof trusses fabricated by it collapsed during erection.  Three construction workers were seriously injured.  After a five-week trial and the testimony of fifty witnesses, the jury found the roof truss manufacturer not liable.

He is currently representing a window contractor in a suit claiming defective installation of windows during conversion of a large warehouse to residential condominiums. 

He represented a school in a claim for extra work made by a mechanical contractor for close to one million dollars arising from a noise abatement project at the school.  After extensive investigation he favorably settled the case for the school without the need for extensive discovery.

He represented a general contractor in rehabilitation of an existing historic building into a restaurant.  The owner refused final payment to the contractor, alleging numerous defects.  He filed a mechanics lien claim and a suit for foreclosure.  The suit was stayed while this matter was arbitrated.  After the hearing, the arbitrator found in favor of the contractor.  He successfully argued that most of the owner’s claims had been waived for failure to follow the contract procedures for making claims.

He represented an architect in a wall collapse case in which two masons were killed.  The case was settled favorably for our client, whose insurer paid a small part of the settlement.

He has represented numerous contractors, subcontractors, vendors, design professionals and owners in mechanics lien cases.  Many of those matters have involved claims against construction bonds.

Professional Activities

• Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys, Member, Steering Committee, 2003-2007; Treasurer, 2007-present
• American College of Construction Lawyers, Fellow
• Illinois Bar Foundation, Fellow

Publications

• Chicago Adopts Construction Site Cleanliness Ordinance
• Architects and Engineers Professional Liability Insurance
• Tenders of Defense

Contributing Author: "Construction Business Handbook," Aspen Publishers, 2004; "Construction Law Handbook," Aspen Law & Business, 1999

Co-author: "Successful Business Plans for Architects", New York, McGraw Hill, Inc., 1992

Author: "Engineers and the Law: An Overview," New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, Inc., 1986

Contributing Author: "Construction Law," New York, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., 1986

"Relevancy Under the New Federal Rules and the Illinois Law," Chicago Bar Record, March-April, 1976

Co-author: "A New Consumer Remedy - Product Recall," Loyola University Consumer Law Reporter, Fall, 1988