Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Brian C. Blair has a national trial practice that includes a broad range of experience in complex commercial litigation and construction law. Mr. Blair has handled litigation in state and federal courts throughout Florida, and serves as lead counsel in cases pending in Texas, New York, Georgia, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and California.

In his construction law practice, Mr. Blair has extensive experience defending and prosecuting construction defect and delay claims, subcontractor disputes and contract claims. Mr. Blair has served as lead counsel for clients in a large variety of high-profile claims for FORTUNE 500 clients, including: claims arising out the design and construction of several of the largest and most prominent hotels in New York City; prosecuting multiple construction defect claims for the largest publicly traded retail real estate company in North America; defending claims related to design and construction defects for several large theme parks; and representing one of the largest metropolitan cities in the South over claims related to a water treatment plant. Mr. Blair has also handled construction claims relating to airports, apartment complexes, courthouses and bridges.

Mr. Blair has developed a nationally recognized sub-practice within his construction work related to Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and The Fair Housing Act. Mr. Blair's experience in these areas includes: serving as lead counsel in defense of a major cruise ship line for claims which sought to impose millions of dollars in remedial work on large passenger vessels; defending multiple national class actions with purported class members in excess of 54 million individuals for national retail chains involving over 5,000 stores, fourteen hotels and four large theme parks; representing several nationally ranked top-tier colleges and universities on design and defects claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and The Fair Housing Act involving over 500 buildings; and defending major television networks related to claims brought against popular game shows and childrens' television shows.

In his complex commercial litigation practice, Mr. Blair has extensive experience in a variety of matters. Mr. Blair's experience includes: serving as lead counsel for a FORTUNE 500 client defending a class action based upon deceptive and unfair trade practices for gift cards; defending claims against publicly traded European shipyards for commissions relating to a $100,000,000 ship refurbishment; representing national hotel chains with respect to tax assessments; and defending or prosecuting a number of claims in state and federal courts related to tortious interference, securities litigation, premises liability, enforcement of employment agreements and condemnation proceedings.

Mr. Blair is a member of the American, Federal and Florida Bar Associations. He is also a member of the Litigation and Construction Law Sections of the American Bar Association. Mr. Blair is the former Treasurer and Law Week Chairman of the Young Lawyers Division of the Sarasota County Bar Association. He maintains an “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell and was named one of the up-and-coming lawyers in construction by the Orlando Business Journal in May 2003. In July 2008 and 2009, Mr. Blair was selected for inclusion in Florida Trend’s “Legal Elite,” a peer-ranked survey of the top 1.6 percent of all lawyers in the state of Florida. Mr. Blair was also voted by his peers as a member of the 2008 “Best of the Bar” survey by the Orlando Business Journal. Mr. Blair serves on the Advisory Board for the Rosen College of Hospitality and is the Secretary and a member of the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross of Central Florida.

Areas of Practice

• Litigation: Commercial
• Litigation: Class Action Defense

Bar Admissions

• Florida, 1993
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia
• U.S. District Court Middle District of North Carolina
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida

Professional Associations and Memberships

• American Bar Associations (Member)
• Federal Bar Associations (Member)
• Florida Bar Associations (Member)
• American Bar Association (Member of the Litigation and Construction Law Sections)
• Sarasota County Bar Association (Former Treasurer and Law Week Chairman of the Young Lawyers Division)
• Rosen College of Hospitality (Advisory Board)
• American Red Cross of Central Florida (Secretary and a Member of the Board of Directors)

Honors and Awards

• "Best of the Bar"

Classes and Seminars

• "ADA Issues and Defensive Strategies for the Real Estate and Hospitality Industries,"
• "ADA—How It Applies to and Affects Your Business,", Coca-Cola Company

Education

• Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama, 1992
  J.D.
  Honors: American Jurisprudence Book Awards
  Honors: Torts II and Constitutional Law II
  Honors: Phi Delta Phi
  
  Law Journal: American Journal of Trial Advocacy, Editor-in-Chief and Associate Managing Editor
• University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 1989
  B.A.
  Major: Political Science

Published Works

• "Easy Steps for Firms to Prevent Accessibility Lawsuits,", Orlando Business Journal, April 27, 2007
• "California, Other States Face Spate of ADA-Related Suits,", The Recorder, April 4, 2007
• "New Wave Of ADA Suits Hit Several States,", The National Law Journal, April 2, 2007
• "National Federation Of The Blind Files Target Lawsuit,", USA Today, October 26, 2006
• "The Need To Be Accessible,", Commercial Builder/Architect, March, 2006
• "Property Owners Sued For Alleged ADA Violations,", Atlanta Business Chronicle, January 15, 2005
• "Judge Dismissed Suit Claiming Disney Ships Are Not Accessible,", Orlando Sentinel, July 27, 2001

Address

SunTrust Center, Suite 2300
200 South Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801-3432

Phones

(407) 649-4050

Faxes

(407) 841-0168

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.bakerlaw.com