Michael W. Winfield

Construction Practice

For over thirty years, Mr. Winfield has represented and advised public and private owners (including developers, school districts, universities, municipalities, authorities, and local government entities), contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and design professionals in all phases of construction contracting, procurement, development and dispute resolution. His practice includes the preparation, review and revision of project documentation; contract negotiations; project administration counseling; risk mitigation and analysis; and the prosecution, defense and resolution of claims through informal and formal dispute resolution processes (including mediation, arbitration and litigation).

He has handled claims involving defective construction of building systems and structural components; design errors and omissions; defective specifications; delays and impacts; lost productivity; owner interference; multi-prime interference; coordination failures; extra and/or additional work; cardinal change; default termination; differing site conditions; public bidding violations (including bid protest injunction actions); breach of payment obligations; and prompt payment violations, among other matters.

Commercial Practice

Mr. Winfield also represents local, regional, national, and international business clients in commercial disputes in both federal and state courts. His experience includes matters involving breach of contract, unfair competition and business torts, violation of restrictive covenants, misappropriation of trade secrets, copyright infringement, and fraud. He serves as Chair of the firm's Commercial Litigation Practice Group.  

Mediation and Arbitration Services

A significant portion of Mr. Winfield’s practice is devoted to the area of dispute resolution. He is a strong advocate of exploring pragmatic and creative business solutions involving alternative processes to the standard litigation model. He provides counseling to the firm's clients on various forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration.  

Mr. Winfield is also a highly experienced mediator and arbitrator. He is a certified member of the mediation panel for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and a member of the American Arbitration Association’s Panel of Construction and Commercial Arbitrators. He received extensive formal mediation training from the acclaimed Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law. In addition, he served as an Adjunct Professor at Widener University Commonwealth Law School where he developed and taught a mediation skills course to upper-level law students from 2012 to 2013.

Peer Recognition and Honors

Mr. Winfield has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2016 - 2026 editions in the Construction Law category, and was recognized as Lawyer of the Year in the Construction Law category in the 2021, 2023 and 2025 editions for the Harrisburg region – a distinction given to the individual attorney with the overall highest peer feedback in each practice and metro area. He has also been recognized in the Construction Law category by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers annually since 2014. He is a Charter Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America, an invitation-only construction lawyer honorary society limited to 1,200 practitioners from the U.S. and abroad. For information about these selections and an overview of common third-party publications, rankings, and list methodologies click here.

Admissions

Mr. Winfield is admitted to practice before all state courts in Pennsylvania and Maryland; the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; the United States District Court for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania; and the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.