John Bulman, a founding partner of Little Bulman Medeiros & Whitney PC, was recently elected to the board of governors of the American College of Construction Lawyers. Bulman, whose practice areas include construction law, business-dispute resolution and neutral arbitration, and mediation services, originally joined the college as a fellow in 2006. He holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
PBN: Tell us a little about the ACCL and what your responsibilities as a member of its board of governors will entail.
BULMAN: The ACCL is composed of around 175 attorneys … The ACCL’s mission is to facilitate and encourage the association of outstanding construction lawyers bonded by common professional interests and ideals and committed to service to the construction industry. … My responsibilities include participation at board meetings, serving on various committees, and vetting and voting on nominations made to the ACCL.
PBN: What originally drew you to this practice area?
BULMAN: When I was a young lawyer, I represented a general contractor on several disputes. I grew to like the construction industry, which constitutes such a significant segment of our economy. I also liked the people – by and large the salt of the earth, problem-solvers and risk-takers – and I liked helping them succeed in what can be a highly litigious industry. I enjoyed the intellectual challenges of practicing construction law. Finally, construction law meshes very well with my career-long interest in creative methods of resolving disputes, which in turn provided me a good platform to develop my skills and reputation as an effective arbitrator and mediator.
PBN: As one of the founding partners of your firm, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, can you share a favorite memory from your time there?
BULMAN: Leading a seminar at the Montana Construction Law Institute in the morning and fishing the Yellowstone River in the afternoon? Lecturing Hon. William Webster and others in Dublin, Ireland on handling large, complex arbitration cases? Traveling to Melbourne, Australia to present a paper at the Society of Law Conference on the evolution of arbitration law in the United States? Many, many great memories. •
