About
the Cullimore Law Firm

Mission

The mission of The Cullimore Law Firm is to provide efficient and skilled legal counsel to construction, environmental and public law matters through the use of virtual legal technology combined with practical experience.

Welcome to The Cullimore Law Firm! If you are reading this, you are likely thinking about a development or construction project, or require assistance in addressing a legal issue related to a construction, environmental or public law matter.

The individual most often missing from the list of key individuals on a construction or environmental project is legal counsel. Involving legal counsel in your project and in your ongoing operations is highly recommended. From beginning to end, the advice of legal counsel can help avoid costly disputes and manage risk. Moreover, certain aspects of a project really need the involvement of an attorney.

One example is the preparation of contracts for any work you intend to perform and agreements related to utility service. Just as you would not want your attorney preparing plans and providing design services, you should not want a non-attorney preparing legal contracts and documents. And, form contracts…well, they are just that, form contracts meant for a generic project, and not necessarily for the needs of your specific project. Also, the organization preparing a form contract may provide language in the contract that protects the interests of that organization’s constituents and transfers that risk on to your organization. Moreover, not involving legal counsel in contract preparation could result in violations in Ohio law, unenforceable contract provisions, or disputes.

Likewise, without involving legal counsel in your organization’s team, you may be depriving your organization of the needed advice and perspective that can only come from an attorney. Your legal counsel should have the necessary practical experience that is required to truly understand your organization’s business.

The Cullimore Law Firm strives to incorporate and maintain practical experience in the construction, environmental and public law areas, and to maintain a network of industry experts to serve your organization’s needs and goals.

Core Values

Client Focused Legal Work - the client always comes first
Integrity - always be responsive, honest, trustworthy, and ethical
Vision - strategize to assist you in reaching your goals
Collaboration - work closely with your organization and team, colleagues and industry professionals to promote desirable outcomes
Experience - utilize decades of practical experience to assist you in reaching your goals

ABOUT THE FOUNDer

Desmond Cullimore created The Cullimore Law Firm to take advantage of increasing virtual technology that enables the firm to efficiently operate and focus on construction, environmental, and public law matters; operate a firm that maintains its relationships with other attorneys practicing in various areas of the law; and, maintain and grow relationships with public and private organizations, design professionals and industry experts.

Summary of Legal Experience:

Desmond is an attorney who has practical experience in construction and environmental matters, having worked as a contractor before becoming a professional engineer. Desmond has more than a decade of experience in the field of civil and environmental engineering prior to becoming an attorney, serving as an engineering consultant to public owners, an engineer and project manager for large scale construction projects, and an engineering manager for a public utility where he managed multiple departments and multi-million-dollar projects.

Desmond has worked with public owners, residential, hotel and commercial developers and contractors on complex development projects as both an engineer and/or an attorney in the planning, engineering, and construction of projects; the investigation of construction defects; and, advising clients, or handling the dispute resolution process, in various construction related areas, including: utility service, water and sewer agreements, water systems, wastewater systems, storm sewer systems, closed landfills, building construction (site work, parking lots, concrete, structural, building envelope—wall/roofing, HVAC systems, plumbing, electrical, technology systems, athletic facilities, etc.), easements, annexation, eminent domain, and advising clients on legislation and public law matters.

Desmond works with engineers and architects, construction managers, contractors, and public and private owners on all phases of a construction project. Desmond’s legal experience includes litigation, alternative dispute resolution, and transactional law related to contracting, construction manager at-risk and design build project delivery methods, competitive bidding, prevailing wage, mechanics’ liens, warranties, defective design and construction, and environmental matters related to air, water and hazardous waste.

Summary of Construction and Engineering Experience:

Before becoming an engineer, Desmond worked as a contractor in general contracting and property maintenance, and as a contractor in the telecommunication industry. As an engineer, Desmond in the areas of water quality assessments, water and wastewater facilities, collection/distribution systems, stormwater management, watershed protection, utility management, and landfill environmental monitoring. He has utilized technology related to geographic information systems, collection system and water distribution system modeling, as well as water quality modeling for project planning, data analysis, and decision-making.

Desmond has held various positions throughout his career as an engineer working for an international environmental engineering consulting firm and for multiple municipalities in Ohio. Desmond served as a senior manager within a public water and wastewater utility; served as the Project Manager for municipal capital improvement utility projects; served as a registered professional engineer managing many technical and administrative duties associated with the planning, design and construction of utility and civil infrastructure; and, worked with municipal engineering, planning and zoning departments related to commercial and residential development. Desmond is also a Board Certified Environmental Engineer, and holds a Class 3 wastewater treatment operator certification through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Education, Admissions, Professional Registrations and Certifications

Admitted, The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio
Admitted, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
Admitted, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
Member, Water Environment Federation/Ohio Water Environment Association
Member, American Academy of Environmental Engineers
Board Certified Environmental Engineer – Water Supply & Wastewater – The American Academy of Environmental Engineers
State of Ohio Professional Engineer Certificate of Registration
Former Certified Class 3 Wastewater Operator – Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Capital University Law School (J.D., cum laude), Order of the Curia
Capital University Law School – Concentration Certificate of Dispute Resolution
Syracuse University (B.S., Environmental Engineering)

Recent Presentations and Published Works

Speaker, “Ethics for Professional Engineers: Rules and Case Studies,” Virtual Ethics Workshop, December 2020
Speaker, “Ethics for Professional Engineers,” Close-to-Home Workshop, October 2020
Speaker, “A Review of Pending Ohio Legislation that Could Impact Municipal Facilities,” Government & Regulatory Affairs Workshop, March 2020
Speaker, “An Independent Overview of the Rules for Professional Engineers, Continuing Education, and Surviving an Audit,” OWEA Ethics and Rules Workshop, November 2019
Speaker, “The Bid Review Process – Evaluating and Documenting the Process, Bidder Protests, and Litigation,” May 2019
Speaker, “Engineering Ethics,” Franklin County Chapter of Ohio Society of Professional Engineers, November 2018
Speaker, “Strategies for Dealing with Claims – Project Documentation; Specific Claims – Lien & Bond Claims and Errors & Omissions.”
Speaker, “Engineering Ethics,” APWA Engineering Ethics, September 2018
Speaker, “Resources for Hiring Outside Professionals,” Ohio GFOA Annual Conference, September 2018
Speaker, “Engineering Ethics,” American Public Works, September 2018
Speaker, “Construction,” Ohio Association for Career and Technical Education (OACTE) 2018 Connections to Education Conference, July 2018
Speaker, “The Bid Review Process – Evaluating and Documenting the Process, Bidder Protests, and Litigation”
Speaker, “Engineering Ethics,” Franklin County Chapter of Ohio Society of Professional Engineers, April 2018
Speaker, “Property Tax Revenue for School Districts,” BASA and OASBO Webinar: The Financial Impact of Ohio’s Pipelines, April 2018
Speaker, “Design Build – Construction Management at Risk,” OWEA One Water Government & Regulatory Affairs Workshop, March 2018
Speaker, OML Newly Elected Council Seminar, February 2018
Speaker, “What to Do If the Roof Leaks and Other Project Claims; Real Property Issues for Schools,” BASA School Facilities & Safety Conference and Expo, February 2018
Speaker, “Construction Management – Retaining and OFCC Close Out,” OASBO Hot Topics, January 2018
Speaker, ” Construction Problems,” OASBO Facility Masters Conference, December 2017
Speaker, “An Independent Overview of the Rules for Professional Engineers, Continuing Education and Surviving an Audit,” OWEA Ethics & Rules Mini Workshop, November 2017
Speaker, “ESC Facilities Workshop,” Ohio Educational Service Center Association (OESCA), June 2017
Speaker, “Construction Topics for Public Owners: Pay Applications – Utilizing Retainage and the Surety Bond,” April 2017
Speaker, “School Procurement and Construction Issues – Quick Hits,” BASA School Facilities and Safety Conference, March 2017
Speaker, “Construction Considerations,” Sinclair Community College Education Law Seminar, February 2017
Author, “Challenging the Selection of an Arbitrator,” Dispute Resolution Journal, Vol. 65. No.2
Author, “Reform Gives Public Authorities More Options for Projects,” Columbus Business First
Many past presentations and publications have been archived due to the amount of material. Please contact The Cullimore Law Firm to learn about previous presentations and publications.

About the Cullimore Law Firm