Joe Virene serves as Gray Reed's Construction Practice Group Leader. Joe combines deep industry knowledge with efficient dispute resolution skills in and out of the courtroom to help clients navigate the various challenges that arise during sophisticated construction projects. With broad experience handling every issue and dispute imaginable – contract negotiation and drafting, payment disputes, lien filings, suspensions and delays, construction and design defect claims, plus many more – Joe is well-equipped to guide clients through projects from start to finish. His client list runs the gamut of businesses working on industrial, pipeline, oil field and general construction projects, including suppliers, distributors, subcontractors, general contractors, project owners and engineers. Joe is Board Certified in Construction Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Construction and energy clients routinely rely on Joe to advise on the entire range of other issues that arise during their projects and daily operations, including general employment matters, contract review, business governance, insurance, collections and protecting their interests as creditors in a customer bankruptcy. He also negotiates and prepares a variety of construction and operational contracts, including master service agreements, master purchase agreements, distributorship agreements, personal guarantees, security agreements, general terms and conditions, non-competes and non-disclosure agreements.
Joe also handles complex commercial litigation in a wide variety of commercial contexts. He has handled lawsuits involving covenants not to compete, trade secret theft, breach of fiduciary duty, products liability, UCC security interests, fraudulent transfers, fraud and bankruptcy preference claims. Joe has also worked on numerous appeals in state and federal courts. Throughout every step of the process, Joe will outwork the other side and provide creative solutions in litigating or resolving the dispute.