Phillip G. Alber

Phillip G. Alber’s practice concentrates primarily in the area of Construction Disputes and Surety and Fidelity Law. He is licensed to practice in Michigan and Ohio, and is admitted in U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, District of Arizona, District of Minnesota, Northern District of Ohio, and United States Court of Federal Claims.

Mr. Alber is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Forum Committee on Construction Law, and is Past Vice-Chair of the ABA’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section’s Fidelity and Surety Law Committee.

Mr. Alber is an approved Mediator for Michigan courts, and a former Case Evaluator with the Macomb County Circuit Court Mediation Tribunal. He frequently writes and lectures on construction and surety issues.

In February 2023, Mr. Alber was elected as a Fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers, an international organization of premier construction lawyers. Mr. Alber is the only Fellow of the American College in Michigan.

University of Michigan, B.A., Cum Laude, Economics
Wayne State University Law School, J.D., Cum Laude
Mediation Training (40 hours of training to be listed as approved mediator for Michigan courts.)
Arbitrator I, Fundamentals of the Arbitration Process, American Arbitration Association

American Bar Association, Forum Committee on Construction Law
American Bar Association, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Past Vice Chair
National Bond Claims Association, Past Program Chairperson
Surety Association of Michigan
Macomb County Bar Association Case Evaluator Panelist, Macomb County Circuit Court

State Bar of Michigan, 1975
US District Court of Michigan – Eastern, 1975
US District Court of Michigan – Western, 1982
6^th Circuit Court of Appeals, 1978
Supreme Court of Ohio, 2016
US District Court of OH – Northern, 2018
US District Court – Southern, 2023
US District Court of AZ, 1990
US District Court of MN, 2004
Federal Court of Claims, 2006

Michigan Super Lawyer: 2007-2025
Who’s Who in American Law, 6th to 15th Editions
Who’s Who in America, 56th to 62nd Editions
Who’s Who in the World, 21st to 26th Editions
Who’s Who in Finance and Industry, 33rd to 36th Editions

“Making Sense Out of Performance And Payment Bonds”
“Delay Claims in Michigan”
“Second Tier Claimant’s Notice Requirements Under Michigan’s Bond Statute”
“Does The Typical Unfair Settlement Practice Act Create Private Rights For Litigants Against Sureties”
“CD-ROMS to Gigabytes: Electronic Media Discovery”
“The Effect on the Surety of a Default Judgment Against the Principal”
“Project Update 1995: Illustrative Provisions of a General Indemnity Agreement Taken In Connection With Contract Surety Bonds”
“The Surety Indemnity Agreement- Law & Practice”
“Negotiating Skills and Claims Handling”
“The Discharge of the Surety by Release of the Principal”
“Rights and Remedies by Principals or Indemnitors Against the Surety”
“Legal, Practical and Ethical Considerations When Sitting for a Deposition as a Corporate Designee”
“Digging through the Rubble – the Prosecution and Defense of Claims after the Contractor’s Business Fails”
“Breach, Default, Termination and other Contract Provisions: The Need to Connect the Dots in a Performance Bond Claim”
“The Devil is in the Detail – Differences in General Indemnity Agreements and What They Mean to your Customers”

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Practice Areas

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