Biography

Charles Eric Bearden, Esq. ("Eric"), is a Senior Partner in the Jacksonville office. His practice focuses on construction litigation and construction defect defense. He is Board Certified by the Florida Bar as an Expert in Construction Law. Eric is also licensed by the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board as a Certified General Contractor and a Certified Roofing Contractor. Drawing on his distinctive combination of legal training and hands-on construction industry experience, Eric represents general contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers, material suppliers, and design professionals in complex construction disputes and defect claims.

Eric’s has more than three decades of experience in the construction and roofing industries. Before transitioning to the practice of law, he worked as a superintendent, estimator and project manager for regional construction contractors, a technical investigator for a global building materials manufacturer, and as a roofing analyst, managing projects and evaluating building envelope and roofing system failures throughout the eastern United States. Eric has personal experience in all types of commercial and industrial roofing, erection of structural steel and placement of structural concrete, wood framing, marine construction, and all phases of the building envelope.

Prior to joining the firm's Construction Practice Group, Eric worked for a boutique South Florida firm, where he focused on construction-related litigation and contractor representation, including licensing and regulatory matters before Florida’s Construction Industry Licensing Board. He also served as a judicial intern to United States Magistrate Judge Patrick A. White in the Southern District of Florida.

Eric earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He obtained a Juris Doctor, graduating magna cum laude, from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center. While in law school, Eric served on the Nova Law Review editorial board and received multiple academic honors, including Book Awards in Contracts and Real Property.

Eric is admitted in Florida (2015).

Practice Areas

Practice Areas

• Construction Defect

Experience

Awards & Honors

• Florida DBPR Certified General Contractor
• Florida DBPR Certified Roofing Contractor
• Merit Scholar; Krastin Scholar; Book Awards - Contracts; Real Property
• Nova Law Review - Vol. 38; Associate; Vol. 39: Editorial Board

Accreditations

• Florida Bar Board Certified Construction Law Specialist

Bar/Court Admission

• 2015, Florida.
• 2016, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida.

Education

• Georgia Institute of Technology, B.S., 1989.
• Nova Southeastern University, J.D., magna cum laude,2015.

Industries Represented

Verdicts

Verdicts

Presentations

Presentations and Speaking Engagements

Publications

Articles