Stites & Harbison, PLLC

Angela Richie Stephens is a member of the firm's Construction Law Service Group. She joined the firm's Louisville office in September 2004 and is admitted to practice in Kentucky. Her practice is devoted primarily to construction law.  She is a LEED Accredited Professional and uses her knowledge of sustainable design and construction to advise clients about various legal issues arising out of green or sustainable design and construction.  She also is the first attorney in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to achieve Green Advantage^® certification.

Recent Assignments

• Successfully defended a client in an OSHA dispute which resulted in OSHA withdrawing all of the citations and penalties originally assessed against the client
• Assisted client with review and analysis of Federal Acquisition Regulations (DEAR Regs) and other government contractor requirements on a Department of Energy project
• Assisted client with proposal process on a carbon capture and sequestration project which will receive grant of Recovery Act funds
• Assisted with successful resolution of disputed change order claim on behalf of a subcontractor
• Assisted with successful resolution of HVAC design defect claim on behalf of an owner
• Successfully obtained outstanding payments for subcontractor who was not paid by the general contractor for work conducted on a project
• Assisted with successful resolution of a multi-million dollar mold claim brought against a general contractor

Recent Speaking Engagements and Publications

Speaking Engagements:

• "Asphalt Pavements and the LEED Green Building Design," Plantmix Asphalt Industry of Kentucky (PAIKY) 2010 Summer Meeting, Lexington, Ky., June 11, 2010
• "Selling Green Steel," Southern Association of Steel Fabricators 2010 Convention, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., June 5, 2010
• "From Voluntary to Mandatory—New Laws in Sustainable Design and Construction," News, Booze and Free CEUs, AIA/EKC & Bluegrass CSI Trade Fair, Lexington, Ky., June 2, 2010
• "Thirsty Thursday: What does alphabet soup (IPD, BIM, LEED, etc.) have to do with the future of healthcare construction?," Stites & Harbison PLLC, seminar, May 20, 2010
• New Laws in Sustainable Design," Ohio Valley Region of Design-Build Institute of America, Louisville, Ky., December 10, 2009
• "LEED Certification of Public Buildings," Division 10 ABA Forum on the Construction Industry, Teleconference, November 20, 2009
• "Applied LEED Discussion: Using LEED as a Guideline," Green Steps Conference, October 23, 2009
• "Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in Sustainable Design and Construction," Green Steps Conference, October 23, 2009
• "Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in Sustainable Design and Construction," AGC of Kentucky, Safety Day Conference, September 11, 2009
• How to Avoid Legal Pitfalls Associated with Sustainable Design and Construction," Chicago Committee on High Rise Buildings, Chicago, Ill., August 13, 2009
• "Contract Language and Risk Management Primer: Understanding basic contract language and the implications.  Effective methods in reducing your company's risk," NASCC The Steel Conference 2009 Advance Program, 2009 Annual Stability Conference, Phoenix, AZ, April 1-4, 2009
• "Kentucky Construction Law: Changes that Affect You," Kentucky Book Conference, Bowling Green, Ky., March 19, 2009
• "Kentucky Construction Law — Changes That Affect You," Stites & Harbison, Louisville, KY, August 21, 2008
• "Fundamentals of Construction Contracts: Understanding the Issues," Lorman Seminar, Louisville, KY June 4, 2008
• "Construction Contracts — Who's the Fairest of Them All? AIA vs. Consensus DOCS," NAWIC Louisville Chapter, Louisville, KY, May 12, 2008
• "Legal Issues for Kentucky Design Professionals," HMS, Louisville, KY, March 12, 2008
• "What to Do When Construction Projects Go Bad in Kentucky, Lorman Seminar, Louisville, KY, February 26, 2008
• "Mock Arbitration," NAWIC Annual Planning Conference, Louisville, KY, November 3, 2007
• "Change Orders in Kentucky," Lorman Seminar, Louisville, KY, October 16, 2007
• "Fundamentals of Construction Contracts: Understanding the Issues," Lorman Seminar, Louisville, KY, June 28, 2007
• "What to Do When Construction Projects Go Bad in Kentucky," Lorman Seminar, Louisville, KY, June 28, 2006
• "Law for Design Professionals in Kentucky, CSI Louisville Chapter, Louisville, KY, May 11, 2006

 Recent Publications: 

• "Green Building Codes," co-author with Ronald J. Stay, Modern Contract Solutions, March 2010
• "Sustainable Design and Construction: From Voluntary to Mandatory?," Steel Erectors Association of America (SEAA) e-newsletter, February 2010
• "States starting to require architects and contractors to design and construct public buildings to achieve LEED Silver Certification," Design Cost Data Magazine, November-December 2009
• "New regulations in Kentucky require architects and contractors to design and construct public buildings using LEED 2009," Stites & Harbison Client Alert, October 9, 2009
• "Made in America?," Modern Steel Construction, February 2009
• Contributing Author, Kentucky Construction Law, Stites & Harbison, PLLC, 2007
• Co-author, "The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and Recent Legislation Regulating the Hiring of Illegal Immigrants," The Construction Lawyer, Volume 27, Number 1, Winter 2007
• Co-editor of the updates for the 2005 and 2006 supplement to the Construction Law Handbook
• Assisted with research for the Construction Business Formbook, 2004

Before Stites & Harbison

During her tenure at the University of Louisville's Speed Scientific School she interned with Messer Construction Co., where she assisted the Project Manager, on the construction of a steel and concrete building, by implementing a quality assurance program and updating project schedules.

Ms. Stephens also interned with Camp, Dresser, & McKee where she provided engineering services to assess the needs of water drainage and sewage systems.

Ms. Stephens also previously served as a summer associate with the firm's Louisville office.

She is a native of Villa Hills, Ky.