CRA Honors Stephen Phillips for Outstanding Service to the Roofing Industry
Stephen Phillips Receives the CRA Legacy Award
Conrad Kawulok (right) presents the Legacy Award to Stephen Phillips (left).
(View Stephen Phillips video here.)
The Colorado Roofing Association presented Stephen Phillips with its Legacy Award on February 22nd at their twenty-third annual Awards Dinner held at the Social Capitol Events Center in Arvada, CO. The Legacy Award is given in special recognition of an individual’s significant, invaluable, and long-lasting legacy of service, leadership, and dedication to the roofing industry. This marks the second time this honor has been awarded since the Awards Dinner's inception.
Stephen Phillips, Partner at Hendrick Phillips Salzman & Siegel, Atlanta, GA, was honored for his long standing impact on the national industry and for his support of us here locally in Colorado.
Stephen Phillips grew up outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and went to college at George Washington University in Washington, DC, where he graduated in 1971 with a background in political science and journalism and an interest in environmental issues. During the next couple of years, Steven had a brief stint in the Army, and he worked on Capitol Hill. In 1973, he left Washington, D.C., to attend law school at Emory University in Atlanta.
Upon graduation in 1976, he joined a construction law firm in Atlanta with an interest in practicing product liability law, not construction law. But his first two cases were extensively about failed roof systems, and the rest is history. Stephen has represented roofing contractors since 1976, including many in Colorado.
Stephen became friends with the principals of those firms during the first two cases, and this pattern continued for the next 45 years, which he says has made his practice so personally rewarding.
Stephen is widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities on legal issues affecting the roofing industry. He is a renowned author and speaker on construction law topics, particularly in the commercial roofing industry. He has contributed to numerous publications, including the warranty section of commercial and residential roofing materials guides, OSHA Citation Defense Manuals, and "Liabilities of Parties Engaged in Re-roofing Construction Projects." His articles cover insurance coverage, construction contracts, liquidated damages, mold claims, and more.
Phillips has presented papers and lectured on construction topics to various groups, including the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Georgia Tech Research Institute, the American Institute of Architects, the American Bar Association's Forum on the Construction Industry, and numerous construction contractor groups.
He has served as chairman and faculty of The Roofing Industry Educational Institute, lectured on asbestos-related construction, and is a member of the American Arbitration Association's Commercial Panel. He was one of the founders and provided legal counsel to the National Roofing Legal Resource Center, based in Chicago, IL.
Mr. Phillips, a fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers, has been a Georgia Super Lawyer since 2004. He has been recognized in publications like "Best Lawyers in America," The International Who's Who of Construction Lawyers, and Chambers USA America's Leading Lawyers for Business. In 2003, he was awarded the J. A. Piper Award by the National Roofing Contractors Association, the Boone Noblitt Award from the Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association of Georgia, and the Clarence J. Carr Roofing Industry Award by the North/East Roofing Contractors Association.
He has served as legal counsel for the Colorado Roofing Association, the NRCA, and other state roofing associations.
Since 2002, Stephen has been sharing his legal expertise and knowledge with members of Colorado’s roofing industry. He is an engaging speaker who uses case studies that require audience participation, and can always be counted on to share tangible amendments to include in member contracts. Many CRA members claim his seminars are "the best $25 I ever spent."
The last time the Legacy Award was awarded was in 2017 to Bill Good upon his retirement announcement from NRCA. Stephen is in good company.
Congratulations to Stephen Phillips, the 2023 CRA Legacy Award honoree.
For more information about the CRA Legacy Award, contact Debbie Hathorne, CRA Executive Director, at (303) 484-0549 or by e-mail.