Bar Fellowship
of the American Bar Foundation. He is a Fellow and has served on the Board of Governors of the American College of Construction Lawyers, and in 2014 was awarded the Past Presidents' Award for exemplary service to the College over a period spanning nearly the entire 25-year history of the College's existence. David was the Founder and first Chair of the Kentucky Bar Association Section on Construction and Public Contract Law. In March 2012, The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) named a new college scholarship after Mr. Ratterman called the David B. Ratterman Fast Start AISC Scholarship Program. The scholarship provides special consideration to the college age children of the steel industry's blue and white-collar families. On June 15, 2012, David received the 2012 Distinguished Service Award from the UK Alumni Association which recognizes those who have provided extraordinary service to the university and the association. He is President-Elect for the UK Alumni Association and a former Treasurer (2013-14).
A prolific author and speaker on a wide variety of construction law topics, David has presented or published in excess of 50 research papers, technical papers and articles. He has participated in or moderated numerous panel discussions on construction law topics at a wide variety of domestic and international academic symposia.
What Clients Say
. . . rare ability to balance a deep and broad range of knowledge and experience in construction issues . . . roles of an attorney and counselor . . .
- Best Lawyers, 2012
. . . where to devote resources to solve problems created efficient, effective outcomes.
- Best Lawyers, 2012
David is an expert in matters involving Structural Steel Construction.
- Best Lawyers, 2010
Recent Articles and Speaking Engagements
•Sustainability, Society, and the Law As Applied to the Built Environment,Measurement Science for Sustainable Construction and Manufacturing Conference, Washington, D.C., June 12-13, 2014
•Domestic and Local Preference in Selection of Construction Contractors and Material,American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry 2013 Annual Meeting, Dana Point, Calif., April 26, 2013
•What employers should know about welding fumes,Stites & Harbison Client Alert, January 30, 2013
•Building Information Modeling (BMI),Stites & Harbison, PLLC, November 2012
•Collapse of the World Trade Center brings modifications to high rise building and fire codes,Stites & Harbison, PLLC, Client Alert, September 12, 2011
•Federal Dollars for Women-Owned Small Businesses, with Angela R. Stephens, Stites & Harbison, PLLC, Client Alert, April 1, 2011
•Preparing your company for life after recovery,Stites & Harbison, PLLC, Client Alert, October 7, 2010
•Sustainability & Steel: New Laws & Green Codes that Give Steel an Edge, with Angela R. Stephens, Steel Day Free Webinar, Stites & Harbison, PLLC, September 24, 2010
•Could you be held responsible for consequential damages?,Stites & Harbison, PLLC, January 23, 2007
Professional Accolades
Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated
Best Lawyers in America, Construction Law and Construction Litigation for 2013 (2003-14)
Best Lawyers in America, Louisville Area Lawyer of the Year in Construction Litigation (2013)
Best Lawyers in America, Louisville Area Lawyer of the Year in Construction Law (2011)
Kentucky Super Lawyers (2007-14)
Kentucky Super Lawyers, Top 50 Lawyers in the state
Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers in Business, Corporate/M&A: Construction (2010-14)
Who's Who in American Law
Service Above Self, awarded by The Rotary Club of Louisville (2013)
American College of Construction Attorneys, Past Presidents' Award (2014)
Louisville Magazine Top Lawyer (2014)
Community Involvement
Downtown Louisville Rotary Club, Member and Service Above Self Award recipient
University of Kentucky, National Alumni Association, Treasurer (2013-14), Board of Directors
News
Chambers USA honors Stites & Harbison attorneys for 2014
American College of Construction Lawyers honor three Stites & Harbison attorneys
Rotary Club honors attorney David Ratterman with Service Above Self Award
Super Lawyers honors Stites & Harbison's Kentucky attorneys for 2013-14
Eighty-nine Stites & Harbison attorneys honored by Best Lawyers in America for 2014
New scholarship program named for Stites & Harbison construction attorney
Seventy-five Stites & Harbison attorneys honored in Best Lawyers in America
Thirty-five Stites & Harbison attorneys selected for inclusion on Kentucky Super Lawyers for 2001
Chambers USA honors 31 Stites & Harbison attorneys with inclusion in the 2011 guide
Best Lawyers names Stites & Harbison attorneys as 2011 Lawyers of the Year
Chambers USA honors 32 Stites & Harbison attorneys with inclusion in the 2010 guide
Seventy-two Stites & Harbison attorneys honored in Best Lawyers in America Member: Memberships
American College of Construction Lawyers
American Bar Association
American Bar Foundation, Fellow
Kentucky Bar Association
Louisville Bar Association
Downtown Louisville Rotary Club
Louisville Committee on Foreign Relations
American Institute of Steel Construction
Society of Construction Law, United Kingdom, Member since 2008