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Deirdre Joan Cox

Principal

  • Telephone: (510) 835-9100
  • Facsimile: (510) 451-2170
  • Email: dcox [at] wulfslaw [dot] com

Biography

For the past fourteen years, Deirdre Joan Cox, a principal with the firm, has practiced in the construction field. Formerly a partner in a San Francisco construction law firm, Ms. Cox's practice involves representing public and private property owners, design professionals, and contractors in complex construction matters, including the drafting of construction documents, advising clients during the course of construction, claims review and analysis, and claims resolution, including mediation, arbitration, and litigation.

Ms. Cox also has experience in inverse condemnation and California land use, development and CEQA law, having represented both private and public entities in connection with flood control disputes, water rights, and environmental impact review/mitigated negative declaration issues.

Ms. Cox also has experience in commercial disputes, legal malpractice, professional liability, product liability, insurance disputes, and general litigation matters. She has successfully mediated and tried numerous cases. Ms. Cox seeks to focus on the client's strategic goals throughout the course of representation, with the objective of timely and cost effective case management and resolution. She is admitted to practice in the State and Federal courts of California.

Ms. Cox serves as a Settlement Commissioner for the Alameda County Superior Court.

Ms. Cox serves as a Planning Commissioner for the City of Sausalito.  She is also President of the Board and a contracts professor at East Bay Law School. She has also taught Public Finance and Law & Economics at Golden Gate University. 

Education

  • Ms. Cox received her J.D. with honors from Golden Gate University School of Law, where she was issue editor of the Law Review. She was awarded the Golden Gate University criminal litigation award, and the American Jurisprudence awards in torts, trial advocacy and legal drafting.
  • B.A., summa cum laude, Golden Gate University (1991)
  • J.D., Golden Gate School of Law (1994)

Affiliations

  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, California Women Lawyers
  • Member, Bar Association of San Francisco
  • Member, Contra Costa County Bar Association
  • Member, Alameda County Bar Association
  • Member, Women Lawyers of Alameda County
  • Member, National Association of Women in Construction

Professional Experience

  • Construction

    • Represents owners, primarily public entities, in construction dispute resolution, including mediation, arbitration and litigation of course-of-performance and post-completion claims pertaining to delay, impact and workmanship.
    • Public and Private Projects
      Represents commercial, industrial, and residential property owners in complex litigation involving design and construction deficiencies.
      Represents national and international engineering and construction firms in complex claims resolution.
    • Construction Claims Avoidance and Contract Administration
      Drafts and negotiates construction agreements on behalf of public and private owners and private owners with prime and multiple prime contractors.
      Negotiates complex, multi-phase rehabilitation and repair projects, including residential, commercial, municipal projects, and schools.
    • Represents property owners in reviewing, negotiating and drafting agreements with design professionals, design-build firms, construction managers, and owner's representatives.
      Advises owners, prime contractors, and subcontractors regarding course of performance issues, claims, contract modifications, change orders, mechanics' liens, and insurance coverage issues.

Speaking Engagements and Publications

  • "The Robert Alton Harris Decision: Federalism, Comity, and Judicial Civil Disobedience", Golden Gate University Law Review, 23:1, Spring 1993.
  • "The Statute of Limitation Saga Continues," San Francisco Attorney Magazine, 26:2, February 1999.