Christopher Solop leads the firm’s Construction Litigation and Government Contracts sections. Chris has extensive experience representing owners, prime contractors, and subcontractors in all areas of construction and government contracts, including pre- and post-award protests, equitable adjustments, claim preparation, and litigation. Chris’s practice also includes mediation, arbitration, and litigation of complex commercial construction claims.
Chris's experience in construction law and litigation spans more than thirty-five (35) years. Representing both public and private clients in the construction industry, Chris has been an advocate for their interests from contract review, bidding, contract performance, and through claim resolution. He has pursued successful bid protests before federal, state, and local authorities. His construction claims and litigation experience include both "above" and "below ground" construction of commercial and residential projects; utility installation and horizontal directional drilling; levee construction and rehabilitation; dock construction; dredging; military family housing construction; highway and infrastructure construction. Claim issues have involved defective plans and specifications; insurance coverage and defense; scheduling, acceleration, and delays; constructive changes; variations in estimated quantities; site access; differing site conditions; terminations for default and convenience; and loss of efficiency claims. Chris has also litigated numerous payment and performance bond claims associated with contract disputes. His experience in this area includes negotiating tender and takeover agreements with sureties where the contractor has defaulted on its performance obligations and defending against surety claims under General Indemnity Agreements.
Chris's experience also includes representing large and small construction and service contractors on all aspects of federal and state acquisition issues, including Section 8(a) issues; regulations governing the U.S. Small Business Administration’s HUBZone, Mentor-Protégé and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned small business procurement program and other programs. He has prepared numerous joint venture and teaming agreements that have been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration to the advantage of large and small companies under various small-business assistance programs.
Chris is a certified arbitrator for construction, commercial and consumer disputes with the American Arbitration Association.
University of Mississippi, J.D., cum laude (1987)
Arizona State University, B.S. Environment Resources in Agriculture (1977)
U.S. Forest Service, Range Conservationist Louisiana (Kasatchie National Forest 1977-79) and Mississippi (DeSoto National Forest) (1979-1984)
Mississippi State and Federal Courts
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Tennessee State and Middle District Courts
United States Court of Federal Claims
United States Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit
AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review
Charter Fellow, Construction Lawyers Society of America
Mississippi Business Journal - Leadership in Law (2013)
Best Lawyers in Construction Law (2011-25)
Best Lawyers in Government Contracts Law (2015-25)
Best Lawyers in Litigation - Construction (2019-25)
Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year- Construction Law (2022)
Selected to Mid-South Super Lawyers (by Thomson-Reuters) in the area of Construction Litigation (2019-24)
Co-authored Encyclopedia of Mississippi Law, Chapter 19, Construction Law
Author, Bond Claims, Contractor Claims and Subcontractor Issues (2017)
Author, Litigation: Allegations, Defenses, and Proving Your Case (2015)
Seminar: MS Procurement Law (2017)
Seminar: MS Construction Lien Law (2017)
Seminar: Construction Mediation and Arbitration (2017)
Seminar: Construction Law Seminar (2011)
Seminar: AIA Contracts in Mississippi (2004)
Co-authored The Contractor's Deskbook (1996)
Co-authored Mississippi Construction Law: What To Do When...? National Business Institute (1988 and 1992)
Co-authored Fifty State Public Construction Contracting (Mississippi chapter), Wiley Law Publications (1996)
Co-authored Mississippi Construction Law (1993)
Construction Lawyers Society of America - Barrister, Order of Equitas, Trial Law Institute and Diversity Law Institute
General Counsel for Mississippi Chapter of Associated General Contractors
Former Member of the Board of Directors for the Mississippi Construction Education Foundation
Arbitrator for American Arbitration Association (Construction Panel)
Certified Mediator (Mississippi Supreme Court)
The Mississippi Bar
Capital Area Bar Association
American Bar Association, Public Contract Law Section
Hemphill Constr. Co. v. City of Clarksdale, 2018 Miss. LEXIS 356; 2018 WL 3913255 (Miss. 2018)
D.W. Caldwell, Inc. v. W.G. Yates & Sons Constr. Co.; 242 So.3d 92 (Miss. 2018)
Residential Advantage Dev., LLC v. Ross, 136 So.3d 476 (Miss. Ct. App. 2014)
Rod Cooke Constr. Co. v. Lamar County Sch. Bd.; 135 So.3d 902 (Miss. Ct. App. 2013)
Moran Hauling Inc. v. Dep’t of Fin. & Admin.; 105 So.3d 1126 (Miss. Ct. App. 2012)
Nelson v. City of Horn Lake, 968 So.2d 938 (Miss. 2007)
Younge Mech., Inc. v. Max Foote Constr. Co.; 869 So.2d 1079 (Miss. Ct. App. 2004)
Scott Addison Constr. v. Lauderdale County Sch. Sys.; 789 So.2d 771 (Miss. 2001)
Le Bleu v. Jim Murphy & Assoc., Inc.; 557 So. 2d 526 (Miss. 1990)
United States use of T. L. Wallace Constr., Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co.; 790 F.Supp. 680 (S.D. Miss. 1992)
JSI Communs. V. Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of Am.; 807 F.3d 725 (5th Cir. 2015)
PYCA Indus., Inc. v. Harrison County Waste Water Mgmt. Dist.; 177 F.3d 351 (5th Cir. 1999)
Common Wealth of Kentucky, Education Cabinet, Department of the Blind v. United States, 62 Fed. Cl. 445 (Fed. Cl. 2004)
N.C. Div. of Servs. for the Blind v. United States, 53 Fed. Cl. 147 (Fed. Cl. 2002)
McMaster Constr., Inc. v. United States, 23 Cl. Ct. 679 (Cl. Ct. 1991)
Commonwealth of Kentucky v. United States, 434 F.3d 1222 (Fed. Cir. 2005)