Thomas M. Keranen
Thomas Keranen Clark HillDetroit


Thomas M. Keranen
Senior Counsel
Thomas Keranen provides legal support, counseling, risk management, dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration and litigation services on behalf of owners, designers and contractors on a wide variety of construction projects.
Tom provides advice and consultation during project planning and design development and provides support during the construction process to identify and manage risks, in order to avoid or mitigate disputes. Tom’s education and experience in engineering and construction, combined with his legal training, allows him to provide well rounded support over a wide range of issues and projects to serve our client’s interests.
Tom is authorized to practice in various state and federal courts, including the United States Court of Federal Claims, tribal courts, courts of appeal, and Board of Contract Appeals. Tom has also served as mediator or arbitrator on a wide variety of design and construction disputes.
Tom supports continuing education in the industry by frequently serving as a presenter for industry programs; service on industry associations such as the Associated General Contractors, American Council of Engineering Companies, American Society of Civil Engineers, and others.
Tom served on the Construction Arbitration and Mediation Panels of the American Arbitration Association for many years, and often serves as an arbitrator or mediator on disputes involving design and construction claims under the Association’s Large Complex Case Rules. He also previously served as a voting delegate on the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee responsible for the EJCDC contract documents from 1998 to 2007. Tom continues to serve on the Associated General Contractors “Contracts Committee” and is active with the drafting of the ConsensusDOCS contract documents
He also served as an adjunct faculty at Lawrence Technological University from 1993 – 2003, teaching “Law for Architects” in the School of Architecture and is currently adjunct faculty at Eastern Michigan University, teaching “Construction Law” in the University’s Construction Management Program.