Max Rayetsky is a Partner in the firm’s Construction Practice Group. Max represents real estate owners, developers, general contractors, construction managers, subcontractors, suppliers and other members of the construction industry in transactional, litigation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) matters arising out of private and public construction projects.

Max prosecutes and defends claims for base contract and extra work balance, delay and consequential damages, construction and design defects, wrongful termination and termination for convenience, lien law trust diversion and claims under mechanic’s liens and bonds, from inception through trial and appeal. In addition, he drafts and negotiates construction, design, consultant and license/access agreements.

Previously, Max worked at leading construction and real estate development law firms, where he focused his practice on construction law and litigation. 

Max is an Associate Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America, an invitation-only construction lawyer honorary society with membership limited to 1,200 practicing Fellows from the U.S. and internationally. He is also an active member of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law and the New York City Bar Association Construction Law Committee. Currently, he serves on the Advisory Board of the Mattone Family Institute for Real Estate Law at St. John’s University School of Law and the Real Estate Council of Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County.

Max is regularly recognized by Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers as a rising star and one to watch in construction law and construction litigation.

He frequently speaks on topics relating to mechanic’s liens and adjoining property disputes.

Max is fluent in Russian and Ukrainian.

Representative Matters:

• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of a trade contractor after a 5-week-long jury trial involving claims of non-payment, defective construction and defective design.
• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of a national commercial kitchen and foodservice supplier dismissing plaintiff’s principal claims seeking direct, incidental and consequential damages.
• Obtained summary judgment from the bench on behalf of ownership dismissing a general contractor’s $1.8 million claim for alleged non-payment.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of ownership dismissing a general contractor’s $1.7 million claim for alleged non-payment.
• Successfully defended a leading national heavy civil construction general contractor against a $22 million delay damages claim by a major electrical subcontractor in connection with the renovation of a subway station that had been destroyed during the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.
• Successfully defended a top national university against $20 million delay damages, extra work balance and mechanic’s lien foreclosure claims by a major electrical subcontractor in connection with the ground-up construction of a multi-million life science laboratory.
• Successfully defended a premier general contractor specializing in high-end residential and commercial construction against a million-dollar defective construction claim by the project owner and successfully prosecuted a mechanic’s lien foreclosure claim in connection with the ground-up construction of a residential house in the Hamptons, New York.
• Successfully defended a general contractor against a $5 million claim for defective construction by the project owner and successfully prosecuted a million-dollar non-payment claim in connection with the renovation of a multi-unit residential high-rise.
• Successfully prosecuted a non-payment claim under a payment bond on behalf of a trade contractor against the surety in connection with the renovation of the sewage system of a township.
• Successfully prosecuted a non-payment and mechanic’s lien foreclosure claim on behalf of a trade contractor in connection with the renovation of a home care facility.
• Successfully defended a general contractor against a $6 million non-payment claim by a modular subcontractor in connection with the ground-up construction of a juvenile detention facility.

Transactional Representative Matters:

• Drafted and negotiated a multi-million dollar cost-plus with a GMP contract with a general contractor/construction manager on behalf of a private owner in connection with the ground-up construction of a restaurant in the Hamptons, New York. 
• Drafted and negotiated a multi-million dollar cost-plus with a GMP contract with ownership on behalf of a general contractor/construction manager in connection with the ground-up construction of a private residencein the Hamptons, New York. 
• Drafted and negotiated a multi-million dollar sub-contract with a modular manufacturer on behalf of a general contractor/construction manager in connection with the ground-up modular construction of a commercial multi-storied building in Brooklyn, New York. 
• Drafted and negotiated a series of license/access agreements on behalf of a joint-venture owner/developer in connection with a scattered-site passive-housing development project in New York, New York.
• Drafted and negotiated a series of license/access agreements on behalf of an owner/developer for the ground-up construction of a mixed-use, multi-unit high-rise in New York, New York.
• Drafted and negotiated a series of license/access agreements on behalf of a non-profit property owner in connection with an affordable-housing development in Bronx, New York.
• Drafted and negotiated a license/access agreement on behalf of a co-op relating to a neighboring developer’s renovation project in New York, New York.
• Drafted and negotiated a license/access agreement on behalf of the owner of a market-rate walk-up in connection with a developer’s ground-up construction project in Brooklyn, New York.