Legal Services & Lawyers

Mr. Croessmann represents numerous architectural and engineering firms, environmental consultants, insurance companies and contractors in both simple and complex litigation. He is also involved in providing a wide range of services that are tailored to the construction industry. The services include contract negotiation, government contracting, business planning, risk management, ownership transition, and mergers and acquisitions. Further, Mr. Croessmann has been heavily involved in litigating insurance coverage disputes involving Superfund, environmental claims and construction defects.

In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Croessmann co-founded the Matrix Design Companies where he currently serves as president of Matrix IMA an architectural firm specializing in forensic, litigation support and expert witness services and as a principal/general counsel of the Matrix Design Companies. Previously, Mr. Croessmann also served as a lobbyist and deputy general counsel for the American Institute of Architects in Washington, D.C. Mr. Croessmann is also active in industry associations. He is a member American Institute of Architects and was on the Board of Directors and the 2004 President of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the AIA. He is active in the Associated Builders and Contractors of Virginia and the American Bar Association's Construction Fourm. He has also served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and is actively involved in alternative dispute resolution

Representative Cases:
1. Negotiated a Construction Management at Risk contract with a public agency for construction of a 100 million dollar Water Treatment Plant in Florida.
2. Prepared and assisted in negotiating several claims and change orders under a design build contract on an 87 million dollar modernization of a waste water treatment plant in Tacoma Washington.
3. Drafted and pursued a delay and inefficiency claim against the Maryland State Transportation Authority.
4. Defended an architect in a claim involving the observation tower on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Washington D.C.
5. Defended a structural engineer in a claim by the Argentine Navy for settlement damage caused by sheeting and shoring system in Washington D.C.
6. Successfully defended a Securities Fraud case in U.S. District Court and the subsequent appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeal.

Caroline specializes in business strategy. Through 4D Assessment (TM) she analyzes clients' businesses and circumstances to forecast and prevent crises, to mitigate and resolve active crises,and to encourage rebound of businesses by breaking the repetitive crisis cycle. The point is to keep clients out of trouble and solve problems.

Caroline helps parties in conflict resolve their disputes by business conciliation, neutral evaluation or facilitated negotiation. Her goal is to reduce the frequency and costs of transactional disputes, operational crises and litigation. She has particular facility with issues including: intellectual property, employment, executive employment, environment, governance, and real estate.

Caroline can help guide strategic planning, development, risk assessment and turnaround. She helps US and foreign clients identify opportunities as well as risks, rationalize business models and business plans, develop products, restructure their teams, resolve personnel/talent matters, and initiate strategic alliances. She can help realign splintered management and guide turnaround.

Caroline has helped developing companies raise capital, develop commercial contracts, hone presentations, and rationalize the business model and team. Caroline has worked with several private equity firms, including firms in New York, London and Texas. Her clients have had interests in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Licensed in DC and Texas, Caroline is an active member of the DC and American Bar Association. While inactive in Texas, she remains a member of the College of the Texas Bar Association.

Over the years, she has taken leadership roles on nonprofit boards, including turnarounds and founding entities. She has degrees in geology and law; her business background includes technology and energy technology. Her analyses have been published in the Harvard Business Review and elsewhere. Caroline has advised developing companies, entrepreneurs, investors, CXO's and directors on all three coasts and abroad while also raising her sons. She lives with her family in Virginia.



Do not roll from crisis to crisis. Assess conditions and red flags early to work smoothly and to avert crises. Deal straightforwardly and assertively with any real crisis at hand. Balance realities with risks, costs and benefits to solve crises before you slip beyond loss into catastrophe and chaos. Come to terms with the 'other side' through conciliation and negotiation. Also: Clarity at the Highest Levels(R) Strategic Business Guidance for CXO's, Directors & Entrepreneurs; and Clear Counsel(R) Strategic Business Guidance for Counsel.

Nichole concentrates her practice in the areas of business and real estate law. As a founding member of Flippen Casey, PLLC, she is dedicated to providing quality services to her clients.

Nichole represents and advises individuals and entities in a wide array of business matters involving entity formation, litigation, contracts and business transactions. In addition to her business law practice, Nichole maintains an active real estate practice representing Boards of Directors and individual members of condominium associations and homeowners associations. She also handles matters involving commercial and residential leases and other landlord/tenant matters.

Her professional memberships include: the Virginia State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and the Northern Virginia Black Attorneys Association. She is also a Board Member for a local condominium association and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

PRACTICE SUMMARY

Business Formation, Business Law & Litigation, Civil Litigation, Community Association Law, Contracts, Debt Collection, Landlord/Tenant Transactions & Real Estate Law

Mr. McLeod grew up in North Texas before his undergraduate studies took him across the globe. Mr. McLeod graduated from Adelaide University (South Australia), receiving a B.A. degree in History. Returning to Texas, he then attended Texas Christian University and went on to comlpete an M.A. in History. Mr. McLeod then undertook his legal education at the University of the District of Columbia School of Law with the help of academic scholarships and grants and went on to graduate cum laude. During law school Mr. McLeod attained the prestigious position of Managing Editor of the University of the District of Columbia Law Review. First serving as a summer clerk for the Spotsylvania Circuit Court and then as an intern for the Spotsylvania Commonwealthâs Attorney.

Mr. McLeod is the founding partner of Justin McLeod, PLC a firm practicing in consumer protection, landlord-tenant, real estate litigation and social security disability throughout Fredericksburg and the greater Richmond areas.

Daniel M. Press is a lawyer with the law firm of Chung & Press, P.C., in McLean and Annandale, Virginia, and Cumberland, Maryland. A 1988 magna cum laude graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, he was an editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He received his B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University. After graduating from law school, Mr. Press served as a judicial law clerk for Judge Jaime Pieras Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Mr. Press practices in the Bankruptcy and Federal District Courts in the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland, the 4th and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeals, as well as other U.S. Appellate, District and Bankruptcy Courts around the country. He is a member of the Section Council of the Consumer Bankruptcy Section of the Maryland State Bar Association and is the Treasurer of the McLean Bar Association. He has spoken on bankruptcy and litigation topics at Continuing Legal Education seminars and programs sponsored by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA), the Virginia Bar Association, Virginia CLE, the Maryland State Bar Association, the Bankruptcy Bar Association for the District of Maryland, and the Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education in the Law.

Mr. Press grew up in Cumberland, Maryland, where his mother, Carolyn Press, also an attorney, continues to practice with his firm, and his father assists as a paralegal. He resides in Vienna, Virginia, with his wife, two children, and their dog.

Retired US Army Officer