Biography

Marilyn Klinger heads the Construction Practices Group for Sedgwick out of the Los Angeles office, and is involved in all aspects of construction law on a state and national level. She represents the full spectrum of the construction industry, from owners, contractors, subcontractors, and sureties. Her practice includes time-related claims and litigation (e.g., delay/impact), legal advice and counsel regarding the contracting process (e.g., bid and contract disputes/performance bond claims), payment enforcement/defense (e.g. payment bonds/mechanic’s liens/stop notices/insurance claims), administrative and scope claims and litigation (e.g., differing site conditions, change and extra work orders/inadequate plans and specifications, and subcontractor substitutions), and counseling and transactional services to the contraction industry (e.g., general advice and counsel, including contract preparation and negotiation.

In addition, Ms. Klinger has extensive experience in dispute resolution including litigation, trial, appeals, arbitration, and mediation.

Memberships & Honors

Ms. Klinger is recognized and involved in many local and national industry associations in the following capacities:

• Recipient, James Acret Award (2010) for outstanding achievement in construction law legal writing.
• Member, Associated General Contractors of America Contract Documents Committee.
• Member, Associated General Contractors of California, Legal Advisory Committee.
• Member, ABA/Forum on the Construction Industry, Steering Committee, Division 5.
• Creator of ABA/TIPS/FSLC Mid-Winter Meeting “A Day in the Life” Fidelity and Surety Claims Handling.
• Creator of ABA/TIPS/FSLC regional programs, Outreach Back to Basics, Contract Surety Claims, Hartford, Chicago and Seattle.
• Active participant, Chair of the Fidelity and Surety Law Committee (FSLC) of the ABA Torts and Insurance Practice Section, including service on the Long Range Planning Committee, Regions Division, Law Division, Construction Forum Joint Program Committee and as program moderator and speaker.
• Active participant in the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry since 1985, including speaker at the 2010 Annual Meeting and the 1998 Joint Program of the ABA Construction Forum and TIPS/FSLC, and co-moderator for the 1996 and 1997 joint programs.
• Active participant and former Chair (1996-1998) of the Fidelity & Surety Committee and the Construction Law and Litigation Committee of the International Association of Defense Counsel; panelist at the Construction Dispute Mediation program presented at the IADC 1992 Spring meeting; panel moderator for the 1994 New York Mid-Winter meeting on miscellaneous surety bonds; speaker at the February 1997 internal committee meeting and presented "The Measure/Scope of Damages Against a Performance Bond Surety" and the moderator of the joint program at the July 1997 meeting regarding Business Torts.
• Former president of the Fidelity & Surety Claims Association of Northern California and an active participant and periodic speaker in that association, as well as the Surety Claims Association of Los Angeles, the Fidelity and Surety Association of Northern California, the San Diego Surety Association, the National Bond Claims Association, the Surety Claims Institute, and the National Association of Surety Bond Producers.

Ms. Klinger is recognized in Who's Who in American Law and Who's Who in American Women.  She is also acknowledged with an "AV" rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest ranking for legal ability and general ethical standards, as reported in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

While attending law school, she was a member of the Thurston Honor Society, the Order of the Coif, and the Hastings Law Journal editorial staff.