skip to main content
Search
Menu

Loring ("Woody") A. Cook III is of counsel at Murtha Cullina. He has a broad and extensive range of experience in commercial law and complex civil litigation, both trial and appellate, with a focus on and passion for construction law.

For more than 45 years, Woody has served as advocate and trusted advisor to owners, both public and private, general contractors, construction managers, subcontractors and others in the construction industry. His services extend not only to dispute resolution in all of its forms (negotiation, mediation, arbitration, administrative proceedings, jury and non-jury trials) but also to business planning, negotiation and drafting of contracts, creation and perfecting of mechanics liens and extensive advising of clients before and during the construction process. Woody is equally skilled in the management of construction projects as he is with the preparation, negotiation, defense and prosecution of construction claims. He has represented construction clients in several hundred cases involving public and private construction of buildings and public works projects. Notable projects include: design and construction of Gillette Stadium; Logan Airport (Terminals A, B, C and E, as well as the Airport’s elevated roadways); the new Harvard Law School; renovation of the Harvard Fogg Museum; Boston’s Big Dig; the MBTA Orange Line extension; development of the Chelsea Naval Shipyard; and historic renovations of the Old State House and Faneuil Hall. In addition, Woody has represented clients in the construction of numerous schools, hotels, multi-family housing projects, hospitals and medical office buildings, bridges, underwater pipelines, power plants, data centers, laboratories, courthouses, casinos, highway and roadwork.

Woody is a frequent lecturer on construction subjects to legal and construction industry professional groups. He serves as an arbitrator, mediator and master in construction disputes.

  • After a failed mediation, successfully negotiated a resolution among DCAMM, construction manager client and subcontractor of a delay/impact claim on a C. 149 § 29A project.

  • Tried a 40+ day bench trial involving general contractor client against the developer of a large condominium project who had terminated the general contract. Obtained rulings of a wrongful termination in favor of the general contractor along with findings and rulings of a Chapter 93A violation by the Owner.

  • Successfully negotiated resolution and payment of extra work and delay/impact claims and C. 149 § 29E prompt pay claims, against a general contractor, with Owner participation.

  • Tried a multiple day jury trial and obtained a verdict in favor of general contractor client dismissing a C. 21E environmental claim asserted by a Town in connection with the installation of an underground oil storage tank 20+ years earlier.

  • On behalf of a construction manager, successfully mediated a resolution of a multi-party dispute initiated by a subcontractor and involving the airport authority owner and its design team.

  • On behalf of a joint venture general contractor, successfully mediated a major dispute half way through a $80 million bridge repair contract that threatened to derail the entire project.

  • Negotiated and drafted hundreds of millions of dollars in construction and architectural contracts for a national Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) involving projects throughout the United States.

  • Negotiated and drafted hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contracts for a national construction management company, many regional contractors and a host of local contractors.

  • Represented construction manager in a favorable resolution at mediation of 11-party dispute by condominium trustees alleging faulty workmanship and design and water infiltration.

  • As mediator, successfully mediated a global resolution of a 10-party construction dispute.

  • Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Fellow

  • American Arbitration Association, Construction Advisory Council

  • Massachusetts Building Congress

  • Boston Bar Association

  • Massachusetts Bar Association

  • American Bar Association, Forum Committee on the Construction Industry

  • Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Massachusetts
    - Board of Directors, Past Member
    - C. 149A Committee

Areas of Focus

Services

Industries

pdf

Credentials

Education

  • Boston College (J.D.)
  • University of Massachusetts (B.A., Phi Beta Kappa)

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit