Lauren Rankins
Illinois
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
111 East Wacker
Suite 2600
Chicago, IL 60601-4208
Tel: (312) 836-4018
Email:
lrankins@taftlaw.com
Web:
www.taftlaw.com
Lauren Rankins is a Partner in the Chicago office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP whose practice focuses on construction law. She provides transactional and litigation counsel to construction industry clients across the United States, representing owners, construction managers, general contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers in matters involving both public and private projects.
Lauren advises clients on the preparation, review, and negotiation of construction contracts and represents them in a broad range of project-related disputes. Her experience includes bid protests, breach of contract claims, mechanic’s liens, surety bond claims, and disputes involving changes, differing site conditions, defective design, delay, disruption, acceleration, and loss of productivity.
Her construction litigation practice extends to matters in both state and federal courts. Lauren also has extensive experience resolving disputes outside the courtroom through mediation, arbitration, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution, providing clients with multiple avenues for addressing significant project and contractual issues.
By combining front-end transactional work with construction litigation and dispute resolution, Lauren advises clients across different stages of a project and handles issues ranging from contract negotiation through formal claims and disputes. Her practice serves participants throughout the construction industry and encompasses projects in both the public and private sectors.
Lauren earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. During law school, she served as a Staff Editor of The John Marshall Law Review and Presiding Barrister for the Trial Advocacy & Dispute Resolution Honors Council. She was also named to the Dean’s List, won the Dean Fred F. Herzog Moot Court Competition, and competed on Mock Trial and Alternative Dispute Resolution teams.
Lauren is actively involved in a number of construction and surety industry organizations, including the Associated General Contractors of America and its Chicagoland chapter, the Construction Financial Management Association and its Chicago chapter, the American Subcontractors Association, the Society of Construction Law of North America, Professional Women in Construction’s Chicago Chapter, and the Surety Association of Illinois. She also serves as Vice-Chair of the Fidelity and Surety Law Committee of the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS).
Taft’s Construction practice advises construction professionals, developers, and public entities throughout the lifecycle of public and private projects, from planning, financing, and contracting through completion and dispute resolution. The team represents owners, contractors, design-builders, developers, architects, subcontractors, engineers, and material suppliers, combining legal counsel with extensive knowledge of the construction industry.
The firm advises on construction and development contracts, project delivery methods, feasibility and financing, government contracting and bid protests, regulatory compliance, insurance, bonds, indemnity, and project risk management. Its attorneys also handle disputes involving delays, payment, defects, permitting, performance, and insurance coverage through negotiation, litigation, arbitration, and contract appeals proceedings.
Taft’s construction team includes former contractors, engineers, and government attorneys and works closely with the firm’s environmental, real estate, tax, finance, land use, energy, and corporate practices. The team has advised on major hospital, casino, office, stadium, military, water and wastewater, educational, residential, industrial, hospitality, and mixed-use projects, including projects valued at more than $100 million.
Founded in 1885, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP is a full-service national law firm with more than 1,250 attorneys serving businesses, public entities, nonprofit organizations, and individuals across the United States. Operating through a non-headquartered model with offices in major and growing business markets nationwide, Taft combines the resources and depth of a large firm with strong local market knowledge and multidisciplinary legal capabilities.
The firm advises clients across a broad range of areas, including corporate and transactional matters, commercial litigation, construction, real estate, labor and employment, intellectual property, finance, environmental law, government relations, private client services, and regulatory matters. Its litigation platform includes more than 350 attorneys handling disputes ranging from routine commercial matters to high-stakes litigation, while its nationally recognized construction practice advises owners, contractors, developers, design professionals, suppliers, and public entities throughout the lifecycle of public and private projects.
Taft emphasizes practical, business-focused counsel and collaboration across its offices, practices, and industries. Its attorneys work with clients from emerging businesses to major national and international companies, developing strategies designed to manage risk, resolve disputes, structure transactions, and support long-term objectives. The firm’s scale and geographic reach also enable it to coordinate representation for clients with matters extending across multiple jurisdictions and markets.
“Lauren has developed a strong profile within the construction and surety communities through both her practice and industry involvement. Her leadership roles and broad professional engagement reflect a lawyer who is deeply connected to the issues shaping construction contracting, project delivery, and dispute resolution.”