Sean A. Mickley is a Partner at WhiteBird, PLLC. He is board-certified by the Florida Bar in Construction Law and represents all players in construction and real estate disputes through each stage, including state and federal court litigation, arbitration, dispute review boards, and administrative hearings. Over the course of his career, Sean has represented owners, developers, contractors, designers, and subcontractors across various markets, including commercial and residential construction, mixed-use projects, condominium and multi-family, transportation and infrastructure, railways, bridges, and large site development projects.

Sean has litigated and arbitrated numerous types of real property and construction matters, including breach of contract claims, business tort claims, insurance coverage disputes, delay claims, defect claims, joint venture disputes, non-compete claims, negligence and professional liability claims, construction lien and bond claims, and bid protests.

In addition to dispute resolution, Sean routinely drafts and negotiates real estate development and construction contracts in his transactional work, including design-build, progressive design-build, program management, construction management, design professional agreements, joint venture agreements, and master subcontracts on public and private construction projects.

Sean also serves as project counsel for contractors during ongoing projects, offering immediate legal guidance on day-to-day issues. In this aspect, he provides his clients a distinct advantage by swiftly addressing legal concerns, mitigating risks, and positioning his clients for success in future claims.

In an industry that is technical and specialized, Sean excels at piecing together intricate fact patterns and distilling them down in an easy-to-understand way. He is a well-published attorney and has been recognized by several prestigious organizations and publications for his legal achievements, including being named a SuperLawyer in Construction Litigation and achieving an AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell®.

Sean became an attorney through the influence of his grandfather, a distinguished patent attorney for U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh, PA. His formative years, marked by being the eldest of three boys, instilled in him a sense of responsibility and appreciation for a challenge.

Outside of work, Sean can be found spending time with his wife and their three children, enjoying outdoor activities and endurance sports, and cheering on his beloved Florida Gators.

  • Board Certified in Construction Law by The Florida Board of Legal Specialization and Education, 2019-Present

  • Super Lawyer in Construction Litigation, 2023 – 2024
  • Rising Star in Construction Litigation, 2015, 2017 – 2022
  • Rising Star Award Winner, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section’s Construction Law Committee, 2022
  • AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®

  • “Bids, Bid Disputes, and Competitive Negotiations Involving Public Entities,” with April Atkins, Florida Bar’s Florida Construction Law and Practice Manual, 7th – 9th Ed.
  • “The Five Most Troublesome Contract Provisions on Private Construction Projects,” Florida Bar RPPTL’s ActionLine Publication, Fall 2014
  • “Jax Utilities v. Hancock Bank: Equitable Remedies No More?,” Florida Bar RPPTL’s ActionLine Publication, Winter 2015
  • “Sebo v American Home Assurance Company: The Florida Supreme Court Confirms Application of the Concurrent Cause Doctrine When a Loss is Caused by Multiple Independent Perils,” Florida Bar Real Property, Probate and Trust Law ActionLine Publication, Spring 2017

  • “2023 Legislative Update,” Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Construction Law Committee, 2023
  • Annual Construction Law Institute Presenter – Case Law Update

  • Southeastern Concrete Constructors, LLC v. Western Surety, 331 So. 3d 763 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021)

  • Assisted ENR Top 50 contractor in managing, preparing, and mitigating Bet-The-Company-sized claims and losses on a railway construction project in Boston, MA.
  • Served as outside project counsel to contractor addressing claims and legal issues in real-time on a $500 million civil works project.
  • Defended a large heavy civil contractor in a $30 million delay and impact claim arbitration brought by a subcontractor on a public construction project.
  • Represented a large general contractor in a $30 million business tort claim against a fellow joint-venture partner.
  • Represented a lending institution against a defunct general contractor to recoup potential losses on a multi-million dollar construction loan and land acquisition loans.
  • Represented a private developer against the prime contractor in a delay and contract breach claim in excess of $10 million of total claims.
  • Defended a general contractor against several claims by the same subcontractor in various courts throughout Florida and prosecuted counter-claims for fraud.
  • Represented a private project owner in a lawsuit against design professionals for defective design, delay damages, and professional negligence.
  • Litigated numerous construction defect claims on behalf of developers and in defense of contractors, including disputes revolving around insurance coverage issues on commercial general liability and professional liability insurance policies for purposes of securing insurance coverage.
  • Represented a local municipality in negotiating a design-build agreement for the addition of a new airport terminal.
  • Represented a local municipality in re-writing all design/build bid documents and associated contracts, as well as the design, bid, and build of front-end bid documents and associated contracts.
  • Drafted and negotiated a cost plus with GMP contract for developer on a $33 million apartment complex project in Sarasota, Florida.
  • Revised and negotiated heavily modified AIA A 101-2017 prime contract and associated subcontracts for several large certified general contractors.
  • Drafted and negotiated a prime contract between a hotel developer and certified general contractor for a $12 million hotel project in Tampa, Florida.
  • Drafted and negotiated modified AIA A102-2017 and A201-2017 on behalf of a certified general contractor for a $6 million self-storage facility