Mr. Koch’s practice includes complex commercial litigation, litigation management, insurance coverage and extra-contractual defense litigation, the construction process, construction litigation and arbitration, contract interpretation, U.S. pension entitlements, successions and estates, fidelity, surety and financial institution bonds, lawyer’s malpractice, errors and omissions, and sports and entertainment law. Mr. Koch participated in negotiations in Egypt after the Yom Kippur War leading to removal of ships sunk in the Suez Canal; represented a consortium of companies involved in reconstructing Kuwait and its oil fields after Operation Desert Storm; represented a major international insurance company in developing indemnity agreements, construction bonds, and guarantees for use with contractors in twelve countries in Europe and the Mid-East.  Mr. Koch represented the lead insurer in the adjustment of the business interruption claims of the Titan IV rockets manufacturer when the solid rocket fuel manufacturing plant in Henderson, Nevada supplying that missile program was destroyed in an explosion. Mr. Koch has represented parties in complex litigation involving nuclear power and fossil fuel plants; the shipping industry; the former Louisiana Sunday Closing laws; Louisiana Contractor Licensing laws; and the resurfacing of both runways of the New Orleans International Airport (MSY). Mr. Koch currently represents the international construction management firm managing all construction at the New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY) and serving as a joint venturer in the construction of the new Mississippi River bridge at St. Francisville, Louisiana. Mr. Koch is also Louisiana counsel for the General Contractor for the new VA Hospital in New Orleans. As an appellate practitioner, Mr. Koch has briefed the United States Supreme Court on the Insurance Industry’s position on coverage issues regarding the Security Dealer’s Blanket Bond, and the New Zealand Supreme Court on the interpretation by United States Courts on coverage issues related to the Financial Institution Bond. Mr. Koch is a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers (Founder and Former Chair of its Insurance Industry Committee and a former member of its Board of Governors), and is a consultative member of the American Law Institute. Mr. Koch has chaired the American Bar Association’s Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Co-Chaired the ABA’s first three National Institutes of the Forum on the Construction Industry, chaired six ABA National Law Institutes, founded and served as first Chair of the Louisiana Bar Association’s Section on Construction, Fidelity and Surety Law, served as a Vice Chair of the Fidelity and Surety Law Committee of the International Association of Defense Counsel, currently serves on both the Surety Claims Institute Board of Governors and the Advisory Council of the Chief Judge of the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. Mr. Koch is a founding member of The Board of Trustees and an original Trustee of the Federalist Society, is a member of the National Bond Claims Association, is one of the four Advisors Emeritus of the Fidelity Law Association and is a Life Fellow of both the American and Louisiana Bar Foundations. Mr. Koch is a member of the Society of Construction Law of Great Britain and the Center of Construction Law of Great Britain. Mr. Koch is listed in Best Lawers in America (alternative dispute resolution, legal malpractice law, construction law, insurance law and commercial litigation); International Who’s Who of Construction Lawyers as being among the world’s pre-eminent construction lawyers for 2010; Who’s Who Among International Best and Brightest Executive Professionals Throughout the World; Louisiana Life Magazine’s Super Lawyers Section as Top Attorney; New Orleans Magazine’s Top Lawyers; Litigation Magazine’s Top Commercial Litigation Lawyers; and the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Pre-eminent Lawyers.

Areas of Practice:

Arbitration

Banking Law

Business and Commercial Litigation and Appeals

Construction Law

U.S. Pension Entitlements

Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Law

Fidelity, Financial Institution and Surety Bond Litigation

Successions and Estates

Professional Malpractice Litigation

Sports and Entertainment Law

Bar Admissions:

Louisiana

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana

U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit

U.S. Court of Federal Claims

U.S. Court of International Trade

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Tax Court

Education:

Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1960 - J.D.

University of the South (Sewanee) and Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1957 - B.A.

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1959 - International Studies Program

Northwood University, 1994 - Doctor of Laws Degree, Honoris Causa

Published Works:

Fraud and Dishonesty Under the Blanket Bond, American Bar Association, 9 Forum 229, 1973

Surety’s Obligation to Pay Subcontractor Where Owner Fails to Pay Under Contract, American Bar Association, 11 Forum 1212, 1976

The Bankers Blanket Bond and The Loan Exclusion Clause, American Bar Association, 1978

The Use of Litigation and Arbitration in Resolving Contract Disputes, (Co-Author), American Bar Association, 1979

Developments Favorable to the Contract Bond Surety, International Association of Defense Counsel, 1980

Armorplating the Indemnity Agreement Against Modern Day Legal Weaponry, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Torts and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association, 1982

The Surety’s General Indemnity Agreement: Current or Out of Date?, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Torts and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association, 1984

Annotated General Indemnity Agreement, Contributing Author, Insurance Counsel Journal, 1985

Pursuit of Indemnitors: A Quest for All Seasons, Surety Claims Institute, 1985

Recoverability by Surety of its Attorneys Fees From Indemnitors, National Bond Claims Institute, 1985

Surety Default Litigation, Co-author; Construction Litigation Superconference, 1986

Arbitration of International Law Issues, Presented to the Tulane and Louisiana State University Law Schools, 1986

International Turnkeying: Use and Misuse, and Relevant Contractual Provisions, International Bar Association, 1986

Non-Recoverability from Surety of Statutory Civil Penalties Assessed Against Public Entities of Public Laws, Allegedly Arising Out of Failure of Principal to Perform Contract, International Association of Defense Counsel, 1986

Default of A Multi-Projects Public Works Contractor Bonded By A Single Surety: Some Practical And Legal Problems And Solutions, Construction Litigation Superconference, 1986

Construction Law and Construction Litigation, Practicing Law Institute, 1987

Financial Institution Litigation Trends in the 1980′s: Quo Vadis?, Fidelity Program of the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association, 1987

Construction Litigation: Representing the Contractor, (Co-Author), Construction Litigation Involving Contractors and Their Sureties, John Wiley & Sons, 2nd Edition, 1988

Financial Institution Bond Litigation Manual: A Case Study for Bankers, Sureties, Insurers, and Attorneys, Editor, Monograph From Papers Presented at the TIPS Fidelity and Surety Law Committee Annual Meeting, American Bar Association, 1988

The Agreement of Indemnity and the Defenses of the Indemnitors, Practical Applications & Uses by the Surety of the Agreement of Indemnity, ABA Fidelity and Surety, 1989

Louisiana Chapter, Payment Bond Manual, A Publication of the American Bar Association, 1991

The Treatment of Foreign Law by U.S. Courts, International Bar Association, 1993

Surety Defenses Recognized by Federal and State Courts and Boards, American Bar Association, Division for Professional Education, 1995

Who is an Employee — Known or Unknown — Under the Crime Policy?, The Fidelity Law Journal, Vol. 1, 1995

Co-Author, Employee Dishonesty: The Essential Elements of Coverage Under Insuring Agreement, American Bar Association, Second Edition, 1998

Prime Contractors’ Pitfalls When Their Subcontractors Use Factors, Minnesota Institute Legal Education, Construction Law Institute, 1999

What Every Construction Lawyer Must Know About Innovative and Specialized Insurance Products on Today’s Market, Author and Moderator, The Contractor’s Construction Superconference, 2000

Contractors and Their Sureties, Construction Disputes: Representing the Contractor; Aspen Law and Business, First, Second, and Third (2001) Edition

How to Negotiate the General Indemnity Agreement Before the Job and Avoid its Perils if the Job Goes Sour, Author and Moderator, The Contractor’s Construction Superconference, 2002

Chapter on General Indemnity Agreement, Construction Business Handbook; Aspen Law and Business, 2004

Louisiana Chapter, Recurring Author, Fifty State Construction Lien and Bond Law; Aspen Law and Business

Louisiana Chapter, Recurring Author, State-by-State Guide to Architect, Engineer, and Contractor Licensing; Aspen Law and Business

Role of the Rule of Law in the Wake of Worldwide Disasters, 2005

Classes/Seminars Taught:

Annual and Mid-Winter Meeting Programs on Alternative Dispute Resolution, Complex Litigation and Construction, Insurance, Surety and Financial Institution Bond Law and International Commercial Law (Chaired Six and Co-Chaired Four), American Bar Association National Institutes, 1965 – Present

Frequent Lecturer, United States and International Construction, Commercial and Constitutional Law, United States, Great Britain and the European Continent, 1965 – Present

Associate Professor of both Political Science and Business Law, University of Central Florida, 1961 – 1963

Associate Professor of Languages (German), Tulane University, 1957 – 1960

Honors and Awards:

Inducted into University of the South (Sewanee) Athletics Hall of Fame, September 24, 2010

Listed in International Who’s Who of World’s Pre-eminent Construction Lawyers, 2010

Listed in “Best Lawyers in America”, 2010

Listed in Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Pre-eminent Lawyers, 2010

Listed as Top Commercial Litigation Lawyer in Litigation Magazine, 2010

Listed as Top Attorney in Louisiana Life Magazine’s Super Lawyers Section, 2010

Listed as Top Lawyer in New Orleans Magazine, 2010

Listed in Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals Throughout the World, 2010

Sons of the American Revolution Outstanding Community Service Award, 1995

Doctor of Laws, Northwood University, 1994

Commencement Speaker, Northwood University, 1994

National D-Day Museum Outstanding Service Award, 1993 – 2003

Louisiana State Bar Association Outstanding Service Award, 1993

United States Supreme Court Historical Society Outstanding Service Awards, 1990 – 1993

American Bar Association Outstanding Service Award, 1991

Federalist Society Outstanding Service Award, 1988

United States Secretary of Commerce “Export Now” Outstanding Service Award, 1988

United States Secretary of Energy Outstanding Service Award, 1988

Thomas C. Cunningham Outstanding Service to the People of the Western Hemisphere Award, 1987

Louisiana State Bar Association Outstanding Service Award, 1985

President’s E-Star Award for Continuing Outstanding Contributions to the United States Export Expansion Program, as President of the World Trade Center of New Orleans, 1985

President’s E-Star Award for Outstanding Contributions to the United States Export Expansion Program, as President of the World Trade Center of New Orleans, 1983

World Trade Center of New Orleans Board of Directors Award for Outstanding Services Rendered, 1965 – 1985

United States Secretary of Defense Commendation for Outstanding Armed Services Absentee Voter Program, 1964

Professional Associations and Memberships:

American Arbitration Association - Construction Projects and International Panels

American Arbitration Association, 1979 – 1999 - Louisiana Advisory Council

American Bar Association, 1978 – 1979 - Co-Chair, 1st 3 National Programs Forum on the Construction Industry

American Bar Association - Chair, Fidelity & Surety Law Committee, TIPS (1990-1991)

American Bar Association - Vice Chair, Professionalism and Quality of Life Committee (1991-1993)

American Bar Association - Vice Chair, Appellate Advocacy Committee, TIPS (1991-1996)

American Bar Association - Vice-Chair, Profs.’, Officers’ & Directors’ Law Committee (1996-2000)

American Bar Association, 1994 - Faculty Member, Appellate Advocacy National Institute

American College of Construction Lawyers, 1997 – 2000 - Fellow, Board of Governors

American College of Construction Lawyers, Fellow - Insurance Industry Committee, Founder and 1st Chair

American Law Institute, 1988 – Present - Consultative Group on Restatement of the Law 3rd, Suretyship

American Law Institute - Consultative Group on Restatement of the Law 3rd, Unfair Competition

American Law Institute, 1988 – Present - Consultative Goup, Restatement of the Law 3rd, Law Governing Lawyers

American Law Institute - Complex Litigation Project

American Law Institute - Consultative Group, International Insolvency Project

Center of Construction Law, Great Britain, 2002 – Present

Federalist Society, 1988 – Present - Trustee/Board of Visitors

International Association of Defense Counsel, 1978 – Present

International Bar Association, 1965 – Present - International Construction Law Committee (T)

Louisiana Bar Association - House of Delegates, 1991-1993

Louisiana State Bar Association - Lifetime Fellow

Louisiana State Bar Association - Chair, Professionalism Task Force, 1991-1993

Louisiana State Bar Association, Fidelity, Surety and Construction Law Section - Founder and Chair, 1991-1993

National Bond Claim Association, 1984 – Present

Society of Construction Law, Great Britain, 2001 – Present

Surety Claims Institute, 1997 – Present - Board of Governors

Surety Claims Institute, 1975 – Present

United States Court of Federal Claims, 1988 – Present - Chief Judge’s Advisory Counsel

United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana - Disciplinary Enforcement Counsel, 1985 – Present

United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana Advisory Group for the 1990 Civil Justice Reform Act, 1995 – 1999

United States Fifth Circuit Judicial Conference, 2001 – Present - Delegate, 1983 – Present

Languages:

German

Italian

Spanish

English

Attorney News & Announcements:

CityBusiness has announced its 2012 Leadership in Law honorees

Montgomery Barnett Named “2011 USA Construction Law Firm of the Year”