BIO
Erik is a trial lawyer with over 20 years of experience handling complex litigation and arbitration. He also frequently serves as a mediator or arbitrator for cases handled by other lawyers and has served as a court-appointed umpire.

 

For many of Erik’s long-term clients, he serves as their general counsel, for all issues that might arise, large or small. They often hand him a lawsuit and simply say “deal with this”, which he takes as a measure of the trust he has earned with them – an understanding of their thinking, their business, and what result they need to achieve.

 

Erik’s practice is focused in:

 

• Construction Litigation (typically owner, developer or general contractor representation in large construction defects claims, subgrade and foundation failures, CPM scheduling and delay claims, and investigating and litigating building envelope failures);

• Fiduciary and Shareholder Rights Litigation (closely-held company and partnership disputes);

• Complex Commercial Litigation (particularly against large financial institutions);

• Land Use and Eminent Domain (representing owners and developers in disputes with government entities, planned community litigation, and with substantial experience against large public utilities); and

• General Business and Civil Litigation (particularly against insurance companies).

 

Erik’s clients include owners (REITs, equity funds, planned communities, private investors and developers), general contractors and design professionals. On the corporate side, Erik represents both shareholders and company officers or management in shareholders’ rights disputes, derivative suits, and fiduciary obligations litigation, as well as complex commercial contracts and business torts litigation.

 

Erik frequently presents on mediation and arbitration techniques and practice for the Mecklenburg County Bar Association.

 

Erik is consistently recognized by his peers in the “Superlawyers” and “Legal Elite” publications, appearing in one or both every year since 2008.

 

Prior to founding Rosenwood, Rose & Litwak, PLLC, Erik spent 10 years as a partner with the litigation boutique Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, PLLC, which had been formed by the litigation team at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP in 2001. Before that, Erik was an associate with the litigation team at Moore & Van Allen, PLLC, with a practice focused in large, national commercial litigation and federal white collar criminal defense. Before that, Mr. Rosenwood interned in the legal department of Virgin Atlantic Airways in their Crawley, U.K. headquarters.

EDUCATION

• Washington & Lee University School of Law, J.D. cum laude (2001)

• University of St. Andrews, Scotland, M.Litt Phil (1998)

• Whitman College, Washington State, BA Phil (1996)

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EXPERIENCE:

• Claimant’s counsel on behalf of large commercial gaming enterprise on parking deck construction defects arbitration claims. Obtained a multi-million dollar arbitration award for client.

• Plaintiff’s counsel on behalf of large private equity fund in litigation against developer over capital contributions and loans totaling over $18,000,000 litigation resulting in turnover by developer of real estate holdings and transfer of interests in other assets to satisfy debts.

• Successfully handled the first jury trial conducted in the newly created North Carolina Business Court, established for the purpose of deciding cases involving complex and significant issues of corporate and commercial law, obtaining jury verdict granting my client 100% of the amount of damages sought on our unfair and deceptive trade practices claim resulting in collection of over $4,500,000.

• Plaintiff’s counsel for large national real estate investment trust in construction defect litigation regarding $25,000,000 in construction defects claims.

• Successfully defended one of the largest general contractors in the Southeast in a multi-million dollar planned community arbitration regarding water intrusion and construction defects, limiting recovery to less than 8% of damages sought

• Successfully defended architect client on large public works project litigation brought by subcontractor. Received directed verdict on behalf of my client after 7-day jury trial.

• Successfully arbitrated on behalf of large general contractor against publicly traded development company resulting in dismissal of $4,500,000 in claims by the owner and recovery of over $1,600,000 on behalf of client.

• Local litigation counsel for multinational financial institution on multi-state litigation challenging leveraged buyout of a major media conglomerate.

• Served as trial counsel for owner against large commercial contractor on change-order litigation. Contractor sought damages of over $2,000,000 and was awarded approximately $30,000 at the conclusion of trial.

• Successfully defended a multi-state property management company client in an attempted class action lawsuit involving potentially hundreds of associations and thousands of class members in an attempt by plaintiffs to create new law extending debt collection practices act protections to dues collection and accounting practices.  We successfully had all federal statutory claims dismissed and the case thrown out of federal court, defeated the attempt to have a class certified which was upheld by North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, and successfully disposed of the sole remaining state statutory claim. Ultimately recovered 100% of our client’s costs and attorneys fees.

• Litigation counsel for private equity fund owner of a multi-use development on a multi-million dollar construction defect litigation and arbitration. The specific terms of the settlement are confidential, but we successfully recovered funds in an amount sufficient to fund the complete remediation of the defective cladding on the residential structure and the structural issues with the parking deck.

• Successfully litigated derivative suit by minority shareholders against managing partner in large family-held business to divest managing family member of control over business assets.

• Successfully handled several "business divorce" matters.

• Served as court-appointed co-counsel in the Western District of North Carolina in a highly-publicized landmark criminal trial under the Patriot Act known as “Operation Smokescreen”.

• Member of the Capital Post-Conviction roster for the North Carolina office of indigent defense services handling death-penalty appeals.

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HONORS & ACTIVITIES:

• Former Board Member, Mecklenburg County Bar Community Services Committee

• Former Board Member, Construction Professionals Network

• Former Board Member, North Carolina Bar Association, Construction Section

• Former Board Member, Mecklenburg County Bar Fee Dispute Resolution Committee

• Former Board Member, The Contemporaries, an affiliate of the McColl Center for Art & Innovation

• Board Member, Plateshare (a 501(c)(3) startup)

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PRESENTATIONS:

• Presenter/Speaker, North Carolina Bar Association Construction Law Annual Meeting, “Expect the Uninspected: Construction Defect Claims and Building Code Issues/Code Officials" (September 2018)

• Presenter/Speaker, Mecklenburg County Bar Annual Review CLE, "Negotiation Skills and Effective Advocacy During Mediations and Arbitrations" (February 2017) (Accord Mediators members, including myself, have presented on this topic annually for the Mecklenburg County Bar since 2012, as well as for the American Inns of Court)

• Presenter/Speaker, AIA Continuing Ed, "Legal Issues in Ownership Transitions", Best Risk Management Practices and Claims Trends (December 2013)

• Planner and Host/Emcee, North Carolina Bar Association Construction Section Annual Meeting (September 2013), Winter Meeting (February 2014), and Annual Meeting (September 2014)

• Presenter/Speaker, AIA North Carolina IPD and BIM Symposium, "NC Legal Aspects of IPD" (February 2013)

• Presenter/Speaker, AIA North Carolina Annual Design Conference, "8 Legal Issues with Integrated Project Delivery" (2013)

• Presenter/Speaker, UNC Charlotte School of Architecture, "Legal Issues and Risk Management" (I was a guest lecturer at the School of Architecture from 2008-2014)

• Presenter/Speaker, North Carolina Bar Association Construction Section Annual Meeting, "Damages, Beyond the Basics" (September 2012)

• Presenter/Speaker, RLI, "Contract Administration Pitfalls and Pointers" (February 2012) (webcast continuing education program)

• Presenter/Speaker, UNC Charlotte College of Architecture Guest Lecturer, "Litigation Risks and Claims Management for Architects" (April 2008)

• Presenter/Speaker, ASCE Spring Technical Seminar, "Litigation Risks and Claim Management" (2007)

• Presenter/Speaker, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, "Legal Issues and the Architect" (2007)

• Presenter/Speaker, Mecklenburg County Bar New Lawyer Association, "Litigation  Basics: Pleadings, Process and Discovery" (2006)

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STATEMENT

"I consider the practice of law to be a privilege, and not a right, and recognize the trust placed in me by a client who chooses me for their representation. I understand that every lawyer is only as good as his or her last result, and that meeting a client's needs and expectations is paramount no matter the size of the matter."

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