PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Sara H. Kornblatt is a partner whose practice is concentrated in both the development and management of construction projects as well as handling claims and complex litigation matters. She is skilled in drafting and negotiating bid and contract documents for owners, contractors, and subcontractors, and handling bid protest and subcontractor substitution issues for both public entity owners and bidders. She represents clients in both litigation and arbitration, and has successfully advocated for her clients a number of times before the California Court of Appeal, including the published opinion Lydig Construction, Inc. v. Martinez Steel Corporation, which was a matter of first impression regarding writs of attachment.  She has served as second chair trial counsel in two multi-million dollar construction disputes, representing a national construction firm and a public entity.

Ms. Kornblatt’s unique experience in both contract drafting and litigation is an advantage for clients at all stages of a project. She drafts and negotiates bidding documents, requests for proposals, prime contracts, design-build contracts, subcontracts, consultant agreements, and master subcontract and supply agreements. She also advises clients regarding change orders and project close-out requirements, and handles claims both during projects and after completion. She manages litigation matters from inception through disposition, including strategy development, drafting and responding to discovery, taking and defending depositions, preparing expert witnesses, drafting and arguing motions, negotiating settlements, and preparing for and participating in mediation, arbitration, and trial. She was recognized as a Southern California Rising Star by Super Lawyers® and Los Angeles Magazine from 2014 to 2018, and as Southern California Super Lawyer in 2021, and 2022, and recognized in Chambers USA in 2022 and 2023, as a Next Generation Partner and Recommended Attorney by The Legal 500 in 2019-2023, and listed in the Los Angeles Business Journal’s, Women of Influence: Construction, Architecture and Engineering, 2022-2024.

Ms. Kornblatt is active in the ABA Forum on Construction Law, currently serving on the Steering Committee of Division 9 (Subcontractors and Suppliers), the Membership Committee, and the Publications Committee.  She is a Session Coordinator for an upcoming Forum national meeting for a plenary on contract negotiations, a Site Coordinator for the Forum’s Fall 2021 Regional Program on Fundamentals of Construction Law in Los Angeles, and Co-Chair of the Forum’s Fall 2022 Regional Programs on construction contracts in six cities across the country.  Ms. Kornblatt is also on the inaugural Steering Committee of the Construction Law Practice Area Committee of the California Lawyers Association.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Ms. Kornblatt worked in real estate development and acquisitions, which provides additional depth and dimension to her understanding of the business and construction issues her clients face. Ms. Kornblatt also conducts seminars for clients regarding contract drafting and negotiation and statutory payment remedies.