Frances Haynes, partner, is a leader in Womble Bond Dickinson's Real Estate Industry Group. Her practice emphasizes providing focused, cost-effective legal advice to businesses, owners, and contractors on all facets of commercial law, development issues, and risk avoidance. She is experienced in all phases of the construction process, including responding to RFPs and RFQs, negotiation and documentation of construction, and architectural and engineering contracts in all iterations (i.e. Design Bid Build, CMAR, Design Build, EPC, PPP, IPD) from inception to project completion. She has been rated an "AV/Preeminent Attorney" in Martindale-Hubbell for the last 25 years and was named among the Top 25 Female Lawyers in Arizona in Southwest Super Lawyers. She was also the first woman to serve as chair of the Construction Law Section of the Arizona State Bar Association. In January 2018, Frances was named fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America.
Frances has nearly three decades of experience litigating and arbitrating construction claims, defective work warranty and liquidated damages, employment, and personal injury claims. She has successfully tried civil litigation cases through trial, including seven-figure damage claims arising from personal injury, commercial breach of contract issues, indemnity claims, and construction extra work and delay claims in litigation and arbitration. Frances has represented private businesses and public entities on commercial procurement and alternative energy. She has also tried and arbitrated cases in both state and federal court and through private judges/arbitrators, where the cases could not be resolved on favorable terms.
Frances regularly counsels clients on avoiding litigation or arbitration by utilizing client-oriented contract documents and resolving disputes outside of litigation. She has participated in countless arbitrations and mediations. She holds a Mediator Certificate of Completion from the American Arbitration Association. She recently completed a 40-hour mediation course sponsored by the Arizona Attorney's General Office.
In addition, Frances has spoken to various industry organizations, such as:
- The State Bar of Arizona
- The Arizona Builders Alliance (formerly the Arizona Building Chapter of the Association of General Contractors)
- The National Association of Women Construction Business Owners
- The National Association of Credit Managers
She also frequently serves as a speaker at Maricopa County Bar and State Bar Association seminars. Topics have included:
- Procurement
- Litigation avoidance
- Contract interpretation
- UCC issues
- Arbitration and mediation of legal disputes
- Legal issues facing general contractors and subcontractors
- The bid process
- The estimating process and related disputes
- Bid protests and legal problems
- Claims against public entities
- Licensing of contractors in the State of Arizona, including legal ramifications of non-compliance
Representative Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients
- Successful representation of a contractor in a federal bid protest at the U.S. Federal Court of Claims in a best value award for $95 million worth of work.
- Successfully represented large mining company in a two-week trial case in a federal court case where plaintiff's claim of personal injury due to alleged chemical inhalation exposure was rejected.
- Successfully represented a commercial developer/owner in trial for breach of contract and violation of prompt pay laws; following two-week trial, developer/owner won and recovered lawyer fees and costs.
- Negotiated, structured, and documented engineering, procurement and construction agreements, and solar qualified management agreements for large scale solar projects.
- Negotiated and documented architectural, engineering, and construction services agreement from inception through successful completion of the highly acclaimed Arizona Cancer Center of behalf of the owner, University Medical Center.
- Served as primary counsel defending publicly traded corporation in international litigation after the client was sued in federal court for $23 million for alleged breaches of contract, business interference, extra work, delay damages, and retention. Case favorably settled after several days of mediation following mediation-directed discovery and limited motion practice (for cost-containment reasons). Client paid contract retention, accrued interest on the retention, and anticipated defense costs only.
- Represented owners in the negotiation and documentation of all types of construction and alternative energy contracts, including integrated project delivery, design build and at-risk construction.
- Successfully defended public entity owner against a seven-figure construction claim for breach of contract, delay, and extra work claims. Following two weeks of evidentiary hearings to an administrative tribunal, client obtained a complete administrative law order in its favor and the opposition was ordered to pay client’s fees and costs in connection with the successful defense.
Professional & Civic Engagement
- Arizona State Bar Association Construction Law Section, Member (First Female Chair, Former Officer, Former Board Member and has been a member of the committee responsible for construction-related continuing legal education)
- Construction Lawyers Society of America, Trial Law Institute and Diversity Law Institute, Member
- Annual Arizona State Bar Construction Law Seminar, Panelist and presenter
- Maricopa County Bar Association, Member
- American Bar Association, Member
- Fresh Start Women's Foundation Legacy Society, Founding Member
- Fresh Start Women's Foundation Planning Giving Committee, Chair
- Fresh Start Women's Foundation, Executive Board Member
Thought Leadership
- Arizona Attorneys' Fees Manual, Seventh Edition, Co-Author, Continuing Legal Edition of the State Bar of Arizona, August 2022
- Checklist for Construction Employers as They ‘Reopen' for Business, azbigmedia.com, April 30, 2020
- Benefits of the 2016 Arizona Business Entities Competitive Omnibus Act, Legislation enables electronic meetings and easier written shareholder consents and corrects common issues affecting Arizona corporations and partnerships, July 22, 2016
- ADA litigation on the rise in Arizona, June 21, 2016
Honors & Awards
- Arizona Business Magazine, AZ Business Leaders, Construction, 2024
- Connect CRE, Lawyers in Real Estate Awards, Phoenix & Southwest, 2023-2024
- The Best Lawyers in America, Woodward/White, Aiken, S.C., Construction Law, Construction Litigation and Real Estate Law, 2006-2025; Commercial Litigation, 2024-2025
- Southwest Super Lawyers, 2013 Top 25 Female Attorneys, Construction Litigation, 2009-2020
- Martindale-Hubbell, "AV/Preeminent Attorney" rating, Highest Possible Peer Review Rating in Legal Ability and Ethical Standards, 1993-2020, 2025
- Arizona Commercial Real Estate Magazine, "Most Influential Women in Commercial Real Estate for 2019"
- Construction Lawyers Society of America, Fellow, 2018, 2019
- Recognized as One of the Most Influential Women in Commercial Real Estate, Arizona Commercial Real Estate Magazine, August 2019
Languages
- Spanish
