MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 11, 2017 – Butler Snow is pleased to announce that Robert L. Crawford, Michael I. Less and Clifton M. Lipman will join the firm’s commercial litigation group practicing in the Memphis office.
“We are fortunate to have this group join Butler Snow,” said Donald Clark, Chairman, Butler Snow. “The experience and knowledge they bring to the firm certainly strengthens our commercial litigation practice, and will be of great benefit to clients.”
Crawford concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial litigation including financial institutions and general business disputes. He has been named to Woodward White’s Best Lawyers in America® list for Commercial Litigation – Banking and Finance since 2006, is AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been rated by Mid-South Super Lawyers® in Business Litigation since 2007. He was also recently named the Banking and Finance “Lawyer of the Year” for Memphis by Best Lawyers®.
Crawford is a member of the Memphis and Tennessee Bar Associations, a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Tennessee Bar Association’s Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Initiative Working Group, the Tennessee Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee, and is a fellow of the Memphis and Tennessee Bar Foundations. He is a past president and a former board member of Memphis Museums, Inc., has served as the chair and vice-chair of the Memphis Area Legal Services Campaign for Equal Justice, and was on the board of Youth Leadership Memphis, Inc. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College and his Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University.
Less concentrates his practice in all aspects of construction law. His experience includes serving as counsel for owners, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, design professionals, financial institutions, insurance companies and sureties. He has handled contract drafting, negotiation, and dispute resolution matters for clients across the construction industry. He has also represented clients in construction litigation and alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration, throughout the United States.
Less has been named to Woodward White’s Best Lawyers in America® list since 2005, is AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and been recognized by Super Lawyers in the area of Construction Litigation. He is a Fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers and in 2010 was the recipient of the Don L. Smith Award in Recognition of Lifetime Achievement in the Advancement of Tennessee Construction Law.
Less is a member of the American Bar Association where he is active in the Forum on the Construction Industry and the fidelity and surety law committee of the Tort and insurance practice section, the American Arbitration Association and the Tennessee Bar Association. He was a founding member of the Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel and served as its president in 2006. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Missouri and his Juris Doctor at the University of Memphis Cecil B. Humphreys School of Law.
Lipman concentrates his practice in all aspects of construction law and will practice in an of counsel role at Butler Snow. He has served as counsel, mediator and/or arbitrator on numerous multi-party and multi-million dollar claims. He is AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is a member of the American Bar Association, the Memphis Bar Association, the Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel, the Tennessee Bar Association, and the Tennessee Construction Advisory Council.
Lipman earned a bachelor’s degree, Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Juris Doctor from the University of Memphis.
Butler Snow’s commercial litigation team handles a wide array of complex disputes arising from contract and business arrangements for a broad range of businesses nationwide. The practice is led by some of the firm’s most experienced trial lawyers who have gained regional and national reputations for successfully handling complex commercial litigation, class actions and mass tort matters. The firm’s construction litigation team has extensive experience in private and public construction projects that cover a variety of issues related to the construction, design, project management and financing of construction projects. Our attorneys represent a diverse range of individuals and businesses in the construction industry, including developers, contractors, sub-contractors, lenders, material suppliers, architects, engineers and insurers. These lawyers regularly litigate complex nationwide issues and represent client in arbitration hearings and mediation.
