Bradley M. Beaman - Brochure
 

Education

J.D., Drake University Law School (with high honors), 2005

B.A., University of Northern Iowa, 1998

  

Practice Groups

  • Construction Law
  • Litigation
  • Procurement/Contracting

Overview

Brad works with clients in both the Public Law and Private Law Practice Areas, with a focus on litigation, construction law, and procurement/ contracting. He currently serves as chair of the firm's Construction Law Practice Group.

As a litigation attorney, Brad serves as a legal adviser to clients counseling them on their legal rights and litigation strategy, settlement negotiations, and trial preparation. Brad has extensive experience representing public and private clients on various matters in jury trials, bench trials, administrative proceedings, and in arbitration. He has represented clients in a wide variety of disputes involving complicated legal issues.

Brad has experience litigating claims in the areas of construction defects, contract and payment disputes, mechanic’s liens, OSHA compliance, professional liability, insurance coverage, and personal injury. He also has litigated a variety of employment issues, including employment discrimination, FMLA violations, wrongful termination, retaliation, unemployment claims, worker classification violations, and wage and payment matters.

In the areas of Construction Law and Procurement/Contracting, Brad advises clients on risks and benefits of contract language, public bidding laws, Ch. 573 claims, and other topics related to construction of public improvements.

Prior to Ahlers & Cooney, Brad was a shareholder in the litigation department of another Des Moines area law firm. A native of Central Iowa, Brad comes from a family of farmers and educators. Prior to law school, Brad taught high school Spanish and coached sports in the West Des Moines schools, and kept busy in the summers by roofing, painting, or detasseling corn. Brad also served in the Iowa Army National Guard as an infantryman.

Bar Admissions

Iowa, 2006

Court Admissions

All Iowa Courts

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Iowa

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa

U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit

Representative Projects

Prior to Ahlers & Cooney:

  • As lead counsel, successfully resolved complex construction disputes involving condominiums, hotels, school buildings, and residential properties
  • Multiple defense verdicts for clients accused of performing defective work
  • Recovered over $500,000 from general contractors in multiple disputes for terminating a subcontractor
  • Recovered over $200,000 from a general contractor who withheld payment from a subcontractor
  • Member of legal team successfully defending class action claim against general contractor for personal injuries
  • Member of legal team successfully defending school district against claims of age and disability discrimination
  • Member of legal team representing school district in high-profile lawsuit involving alleged violation of the Iowa Open Records law
  • Member of legal team representing purchasing cooperative of Iowa schools in multiple cases involving claims brought under state and federal antitrust laws, RICO, and the Iowa Trade Secrets Act

Memberships

American Bar Association

  • Sections: Litigation, Labor and Employment
  • Forum Committee on the Construction Industry

Iowa State Bar Association

  • Sections: Construction Law, Labor and Employment Law, Litigation
  • Past Member of Construction Law Section Council, Legislative Construction Law Committee

Polk County Bar Association

Iowa Defense Counsel Association

Recognitions

Construction Lawyers Society of America, Charter Fellow

Best Lawyers in America©

  • Commercial Litigation  (2024)
  • Construction Law  (2024)
  • Litigation – Construction  (2024)


Super Lawyers Great Plains - Construction Litigation (2021, Rising Star 2015-2016)

International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award, awarded in law school for representation of clients through Drake Legal Clinic

Speaking/Presentations

Brad's most recent speaking engagements include:

Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, Municipal Utility Law 101 Workshop, "Bid Letting," October 2023

Ahlers & Cooney, Employment Law Client Seminar, "Case Law Update," with Sam McMichael, April 2023

Iowa Association of School Business Officials, Spring Conference, "It Wasn’t Supposed to Be Like This - How to Prepare for and What to Do After a School Construction Project Goes Bad?," with Danielle Haindfield, March 2023

Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, Municipal Utility Law 101 Workshop, "Competitive Bidding," November 2022

Iowa Municipal Attorneys Association, Annual Seminar, "Managing Public Improvements," with Kristine Stone, November 2022

Iowa State Bar Association, Construction Law Seminar, "Case Law and Legislative Update," with Jodie McDougal, Dentons Davis Brown, May 2022

Iowa State Bar Association, Construction Law Section Council, "Statutory and Case Law Update," with Jodie Clark McDougal, Dentons Davis Brown, 2019 and 2021

Iowa Engineering Law, "Professional Liability Insurance for Engineers," May 2014

NBI Human Resources Law from Start to Finish Seminar, "Controlling Unemployment Compensation Costs, Workplace Behavior and Privacy-Current Developments," May 2014

Ames Home Builders Association, Statute of Repose: "How Far Back Can Contractors Be Sued for Construction Defects?," February 2014

Published Articles & Books

Iowa Supreme Court Limits Liability for Breach of Implied Warranty of Workmanlike Construction, BUILD Des Moines, with Sean O’Brien, January 2015

The Statute of Repose: Should Iowa Reduce the Time to Sue for Allegedly Unsafe or Defective Construction?, BUILD Des Moines, July 2014

Estate Tax Consequences of Revenue Ruling 2004-64: Silence in Grantor Trusts Is Anything but Golden, 54 Drake L.Rev. 929, 2006

Professional, Community and Civic Leadership

Polk County Volunteer Lawyers Project

Iowa Legal Aid, COVID-19 Legal Advice Hotline volunteer

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Waterloo, Iowa, former volunteer

  
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