About Larry
Larry Watkins built his career at the intersection of heavy construction work and the law. He began on job sites and in project offices before moving into litigation and contract work. The result is an attorney who draws on years of hands-on construction experience when he advises clients.
He earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later studied law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he received his J.D. He also pursued graduate study in construction engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, with an expected completion date of 2018.
Watkins entered the construction industry in 1999. Over the next decade he held roles such as senior contracts manager, project manager and project engineer for large contractors including Turner Construction, Fluor Corporation, Skanska USA and Nordex USA. Those years on complex projects exposed him to procurement, contract negotiation, change management and construction safety.
He moved into legal practice in 2012, taking on construction law matters in Arkansas and Missouri. His legal work has covered contracts, disputes, regulatory questions and public-private partnership arrangements. He has served as an attorney handling both transactional and contentious matters that flow from construction projects, and he presents regularly on topics that connect public policy and project delivery.
On the academic side, Watkins serves as an adjunct professor of construction law at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Little Rock. He holds an OSHA 30 certification for construction safety and has been active on the legislative committee of the Associated General Contractors of Arkansas. Since 2017 he has participated in the Design-Build Institute of America and has presented on public-private partnerships in Arkansas. He is also a member of the Construction Industry Forum of the American Bar Association and maintains membership in the State Bar of Arkansas.
He practices out of the Little Rock office of Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard. His background in field engineering and project controls informs how he approaches contract drafting, claims analysis and dispute resolution. Watkins currently concentrates his practice on construction contracts, project disputes, regulatory matters and P3 arrangements.
