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Charles M. Sink is of counsel in the firm’s Construction Practice Group and former chair of the Complex Litigation Department.  He has more than 30 years of commercial litigation experience, largely involving construction or energy claims, and related insurance issues.  He also has served as the sole arbitrator or panel chair in over 100 cases with the American Arbitration Association, with California’s Office of Administrative Hearings, and with the International Chamber of Commerce.

In state and federal courts, and in private arbitrations, Mr. Sink represents private owners, public entities, architects, engineers, and EPC contractors.  His claims experience covers many forms of public and private infrastructure, including: conventional, nuclear, and alternative energy power plants; mass transit systems; sewage treatment plants; bridges and roads; commercial, governmental, and office buildings; housing; and hospitals.  Recent engagements: contracts and due diligence work for five utility-scale solar projects (California); $435 million transit system lawsuit (west coast); $450 million power plant claim (midwest); $200 million nuclear power plant dispute (international); $120 million pipeline arbitration (international); and $35 million bond claim (Pacific Rim).

He has negotiated, drafted or reviewed all manner of construction documents, including design-build agreements, EPC contracts, purchase orders, and professional service agreements.  He regularly advises clients on how to structure projects and how to resolve claims short of litigation or arbitration.

Mr. Sink is a Fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers.  He is a member of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry. He regularly speaks and teaches classes on construction contracts and on dispute resolution. Chambers USA consistently ranks him among the top construction attorneys in California. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Construction Law and Litigation - Construction), and has been recognized by Who’s Who Legal as one of the “Most Highly Regarded Lawyers” in construction for 2012.

For several years, he edited The Construction Lawyer, a quarterly publication of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry.  Some of Mr. Sink's recently published books include: Construction Damages and Remedies, 2^nd Ed. (ABA, 2012) The 2007 A201 Deskbook, (ABA, 2008); False Claims in Construction Contracts: Federal, State, and Local, (ABA, 2007); "Waivers of Consequential Damages" in Handbook on Construction Arbitration & ADR (JurisNet, LLC, 2007).

He graduated cum laude from Harvard University, and received his J.D. from Hastings College of the Law, University of California; Order of the Coif.