Jeffrey A. Brauer

Jeffrey A. Brauer is a trial attorney and partner who focuses his practice on commercial litigation and construction law.  For more than 30 years, he has handled his clients’ most complex financial, construction and commercial disputes from development through discovery, mediation, trial, and appeal. He succeeds by diving into the details, embracing the complexity, and engineering outcomes that accomplish his clients’ business and legal objectives. He works across the U.S. on his clients’ matters, currently handling cases in California, Florida, New York, Ohio and other states.

Complex Business Litigation

Jeff provides ongoing representation as national counsel for one of the largest cryptocurrency trading platforms in the United States, handling commercial disputes, class action litigation, and consumer disputes. He also has extensive experience handling contract disputes, business torts, business divorces, and shareholder disputes. For his clients, he has obtained immediate and emergency injunctive enforcement of client rights, such as non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. He also has handled intellectual property issues, health care agreements, securities issues, and insurance claims.

Complex Construction Disputes

Jeff represents some of the largest international and domestic owners, contractors, architects, and subcontractors in various complex disputes. He has handled a variety of engineering design disputes including civil (heavy highway and bridge), structural, mechanical, electrical, chemical, HVAC, and alternative energy (including ethanol and bioenergy) engineering disputes. Jeff has negotiated and litigated issues involving AIA project documents, construction agreements, owner claims for termination for cause and supplementation of work force, performance and payment bond claims, and claims related to surety work. He also has resolved contractor claims for delay, including scheduling claims, application of the Eichleay formula, measured mile calculations, and claims for lost profits. In addition to being an advocate in more than 20 arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association, JAMS, and other commercial arbitration administrators, Jeff serves as an arbitrator for the Commercial and Construction Panels of the American Arbitration Association, and frequently serves as an arbitrator and mediator on various matters.

Creditor/Debtor Representation and Litigation

Jeff has represented purchasers of debt, banks, and other secured creditors in various proceedings, including commercial foreclosures, bankruptcy, and receivership, often ending in creative resolutions of such disputes through transactions that maximize recovery and minimize creditor risk. He also has represented borrowers in complex lending disputes, raising defects in lending instruments as defenses to creditor action. In furtherance of these claims, Jeff frequently litigates matters in bankruptcy court.

Accolades

Financial Services and Products

• National counsel for cryptocurrency exchange handling an array of litigation and arbitration matters throughout the United States, including class actions, commercial disputes, and consumer disputes in various federal and state courts and in arbitration.
• Provides guidance and advice to various internal business issues.
• Representation of cryptocurrency issuer in litigation with provider of marketing in advance of commercial initial coin offering.
• Frequent representation of numerous financial services firms, including non-traditional lenders, regarding enforcement and collection of debt arising out of financial products in state, federal, and bankruptcy court.

Construction

• Litigation counsel for owner of sports and entertainment complex on claims against general contractor, surety, and numerous subcontractors.
• Advised client on bid contest regarding multimillion dollar service agreement in the South where the awarding entity decided to split its award to two contractors, notwithstanding finding that the client was responsive, responsible, and lowest price on the overall project.
• Served as special counsel to joint venture member of multibillion dollar automotive project on its rights against its partner and against contractors in an effort to obtain early resolution and avoid significant delays on construction. Aided in negotiation of development of path forward and negotiation of settlement.
• Developed and pursued megacontractor’s large builder’s risk insurance claim following an underground collapse on an infrastructure project on the West Coast. Retained and oversaw the work of outside experts, oversaw submission of claim, monitored ongoing work and reporting, and mediated resolution of claim. Thereafter, retained to pursue subsequent claim against subcontractor responsible for non-insured losses.
• Advised megacontractor on negotiations with provider of builder’s risk carrier and other coverage on billion-dollar bridge project in the South following changes as to key design team participants. Retained coverage and aided in project moving forward.
• Advised megacontractor on claims on several different projects against a single insurer, including projects in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, and aided in pursuing claims under policy.
• Served as lead counsel representing national roofing subcontractor litigating large claims against general contractor on federal construction project, which led to significant schedule delays and cost overruns.
• Advised international contractor on pursuit of claims in receivership proceedings regarding provider of key construction equipment in international tunneling projects and worked to preserve claims and develop repayment program.
• Advised megacontractor on claims against insurers following losses on heavy highway project in the Pacific Northwest and aided in pursuing claims under policy.
• Representation of a joint venture including regional contractors and a megacontractor on the prosecution of geotechnical defect claims against project engineers resulting in numerous landslides in a P3 highway extension project in the Midwest. As a further part of the representation, representation of the JV in the pursuit of deficiency claims against the project insurer in federal court proceedings.
• Defense of a construction material supplier whose product was claimed to have compromised multimillion dollar project in the Southeast, causing nearly the entire project to be torn out and reconstructed.
• Representation of a regional joint venture in complex litigation regarding the performance of a steel contractor on a mile-long bridge crossing a busy river where the precoated steel was so riddled with pock marks and other imperfections that the entire bridge had to be re‑blasted and re‑coated in place, greatly delaying performance of the project.
• Representation of an owner of a large apartment building that suffered a series of wintertime sprinkler failures that resulted in flooding interior hallways and widespread negative media coverage. Arbitrated claims against the general who installed insulation improperly, allowing for pipes to freeze. The general contractor brought in dozens of subcontractors and insurers with extensive and varied expert and damages opinions.
• Representation of a specialty contractor responsible for installing a decorative exterior curtainwall in a dispute regarding performance in the Northeast.

• Hahn Loeser Petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to Settle Circuit Split Over Personal Jurisdiction Under the Commodities Exchange Act
  March 10, 2025
• Gleason, Brauer Secure Order Sending Crypto User’s Lawsuit to Arbitration
  May 16, 2024
• Best Lawyers Recognizes 87 Hahn Loeser Attorneys Across 53 Specialties
  August 17, 2023
• Best Lawyers Recognizes 75 Hahn Loeser Attorneys Across 45 Specialties
  August 18, 2022
• Seventy-One Hahn Loeser Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers Across Forty-Seven Specialties
  August 19, 2021
• Seventy-Four Hahn Loeser Lawyers Recognized by Best Lawyers Across Forty-Six Specialties
  August 20, 2020
• 26 Hahn Loeser Attorneys Recognized by Ohio Super Lawyers® 2020
  November 27, 2019
• Jeff Brauer Nominated to Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association Board of Directors
  April 09, 2019
• 26 Hahn Loeser Attorneys Recognized by Ohio Super Lawyers® 2019
  December 05, 2018
• 30 Hahn Loeser Attorneys Selected as Super Lawyers
  December 02, 2016
• American Arbitration Association Roster of Arbitrators
  October 17, 2016
• HLP Client Victory, Tesar Industrial Contractors
  March 11, 2016
• 30 Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP Attorneys Listed in 2015 Ohio Super Lawyers
  December 08, 2014
• Brauer Honored with Community Service Award by Ohio State Bar Foundation
  September 15, 2008

• Author

  AAA-ICDR® Introduces AI Arbitrator to Streamline Construction Dispute Resolution – Great Promise or Reason for Concern?

  October 31, 2025
• Speaker

  Ethics for Construction Attorneys

  May 21, 2022
• Speaker

  Ethics for Construction Attorneys

  April 15, 2021
• Speaker

  “Obstacles to Enforcement of International Judgements”

  January 21, 2021
• Author

  The Devilish Details

  February 18, 2019
• Speaker

  Sizzling Hot Topics in Professional Conduct

  October 31, 2017
• Author

  Practitioner’s Guide to Class Actions, Ohio Chapter

  August 24, 2017