Joseph Getz leads the Construction and Surety Law Practice Group and has focused his practice exclusively on construction and surety bond contract claims for more than 25 years. He has worked extensively in a variety of areas including contract negotiations, insurance requirements, surety bonding issues, LEED certification, CPM scheduling and delay analysis claims, change orders, defective and nonconforming work, differing site conditions, warranty issues, mechanics and materialmen’s lien claims and project close-out issues. Mr. Getz has represented a wide range of clients in the construction industry and representation experience has ranged across a variety of projects including multipurpose sports arenas, public university facilities, residential and commercial developments, government facilities, hotels, industrial and process manufacturing, design build industrial contracting and development, and distribution.

Mr. Getz has handled construction disputes at all levels of trial and appellate litigation as well as in mediation, arbitration and other ADR procedures. Mr. Getz holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been a Super Lawyer in the field of construction law for eighteen consecutive years. Mr. Getz is a member of the National Bond Claims Association.

Mr. Getz was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2024 in the fields of Construction Law and Construction Litigation for the seventeenth year. He has also been named the Best Lawyers Construction Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Memphis in 2013, 2014, 2018, 2021, and 2024, as well as the  Best Lawyers 2024 Litigation-Construction “Lawyer of the Year” in Memphis. He was chosen as a finalist in the Memphis Business Journal’s 2019 Best of the Bar Awards. Mr. Getz serves as President of Evans Petree PC.


Best Lawyers Award Badge


Best Lawyers Award Badge


Best Lawyers Award Badge


Best Lawyers Award Badge


Best Lawyers Award Badge


Best Lawyers Award Badge


Best Lawyers Award Badge

  • Mississippi Supreme Court
  • Tennessee Supreme Court/Tennessee Court of Appeals, Western Section
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court, Southern and Northern Districts of Mississippi
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits
  • U.S. Federal Court of Claims
  • American Arbitration Association
  • American Bar Association
  • Memphis Bar Association
  • Mississippi Bar Association
  • Tennessee Bar Association
  • Member, Political Action Committee
  • Member, Forum on the Construction Industry (Contract Documents Committee; Insurance, Surety & Liens Committee)
  • Member, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (ABA Vice-Chairman 1996-2000: Fidelity and Surety Law Committee)
  • Associated Builders & Contractors
  • Construction Financial Management Association
  • National Bond Claims Association
  • Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel
  • Member, Mechanics' and Materialmen's Lien Law Revision Drafting Committee
  • AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Mid-South Super Lawyers list in field of construction law, 2006-2023
  • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2024 in fields of Construction Law and Construction Litigation
  • Named the Best Lawyers 2024 Litigation-Construction "Lawyer of the Year" in Memphis
  • Named the Best Lawyers 2024 Construction Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Memphis
  • Named the Best Lawyers 2021 Construction Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Memphis
  • Named the Best Lawyers 2018 Construction Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Memphis
  • Named the Best Lawyers 2014 Construction Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Memphis
  • Named the Best Lawyers 2013 Construction Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Memphis
  • Co-presenter, Tennessee Bar Association Construction Law Forum, "The 'Gotchas' of Contracts in Construction Law". (Nashville, 2024)
  • The Construction Law Handbook/Tennessee Practice Series, Vol. 27, (West Publications, 2011 Edition)
  • The Construction Law Handbook/Tennessee Practice Series, Vol. 27, (West Publications, 2010 Edition)
  • ABC 2009 Commercial Construction Institute, (The Esplanade in Cordova, 2009)
  • AIA Contracts in Tennessee, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2008)
  • Design Law for Tennessee Architects and Engineers, Half Moon Seminars, Inc. (Memphis, 2007)
  • Proposed Tennessee Mechanic's Lien Law Revisions, Associated General Contractors Association (Memphis, 2007), Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel (2005)
  • AIA Contracts in Tennessee, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2007; 2005; 2004)
  • The Art of Arbitration— A-Z, Tennessee Bar Association (Memphis, 2007)
  • 2007 Amendments to the Tennessee Lien Law and How They Will Affect You, National Association of Credit Management, Mid-South Unit, Inc. (Memphis, 2007)
  • Proposed Tennessee Mechanic's Lien Law Revisions, Associated General Contractors Association (Memphis, 2007)
  • Co-author, Revisions to Tennessee Mechanics' and Materialmen's Lien Statute (2006)
  • Tennessee, Performance Bond Manual, Lerner & Baum, eds, American Bar Association, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (2006)
  • General Scope of Discovery, Discovery Deskbook, American Bar Association, Forum Committee on the Construction Industry (2006)
  • The Fundamentals of Construction Contracts: Understanding the Issues, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2006; 2004)
  • What To Do When Construction Projects Go Bad In Tennessee, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2006)
  • Using a Mechanic's Lien to Get Your Money, NBI, Inc. (Memphis/Nashville, 2005)
  • Construction Issues in Tennessee, Lorman Education Services (Knoxville, 2005)
  • Performance Bond Manual (Tennessee section), American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (2005)
  • Advanced Tennessee Construction Law, Professional Education Systems Institute (Memphis, 2005)
  • Understanding and Managing the Change Order Process, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2005)
  • Emerging Contractors for Minority Business, City of Memphis (Memphis, 2005)
  • Managing the Complex Construction Case, American Bar Association, Forum Committee on the Construction Industry (Scottsdale, AZ, 2004)
  • Ambiguity of Default, American Bar Association Forum Committee on the Construction Industry, 2004 Mid-Winter Meeting (San Francisco, CA, 2004)
  • Obtaining Financial Aid From Your Surety, Construction Business Handbook, Robert Cushman, ed., Aspen Law & Business (2004)
  • Tricks, Traps and Ploys Used in Scheduling, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2004)
  • Construction Law for Attorneys in Georgia, Lorman Education Services (Atlanta, 2003)
  • Tennessee Construction Liens: Bonding and Indemnity Issues, CFMA (Memphis, 2002)
  • Construction Management/Design-Build, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2002)
  • Tennessee Mechanics' Liens and Construction Claims, CFMA (Memphis, 2001)
  • Public Contract Code and Competitive Public Bidding in Tennessee, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2002)
  • Show Me the Money: Remedies and Procedures for Non-Payment, Young Sales Corporation Fall 2001 Manager's Meeting (Alabama, 2001)
  • Tennessee Construction Lien Law: Can This Job Be Saved?, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2001, 2000)
  • Tennessee Construction Lien Law, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2001, 2000, 1998, 1997)
  • Tennessee Construction Issues, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2001, 2000)
  • Construction Contracting for Public Entities in Tennessee, Lorman Education Services (Memphis 2001, 2000)
  • Construction Claims in Tennessee, Lorman Education Services (Memphis, 2000)
  • Legal, Practical and Business Issues with the Tender of Defense to the Principal's Counsel, National Bond Claims Association (Pinehurst, NC, 2000)
  • How to Preserve Your Lien Rights in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, Construction Financial Management Association (Memphis, 2000)
  • An Update of the Intricacies of the Miller Act Payment Bond, Surety Claims Institute (Hershey, PA, 2000)
  • Indemnity of the Contract Surety, Construction Law Handbook, Robert Cushman and James J. Myers, eds., Aspen Law & Business (1999)
  • Collateral: What To Take, How To Take It, and What To Do With It Once You Have It, American Bar Association, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (1998), reprinted in The Brief 28:30 (Spring, 1999)
  • The Inchoate Equitable Subrogation Rights of the Contract Bond Surety: Fact or Fiction? Myth or Reality? Chicago Surety Claims Association (Chicago, 1998); American Surety Association (Park City, UT, 1997)
  • Construction Investigations: Unraveling the Complex Issues, American Society for Industrial Security (Dallas, 1998)
  • Collateral: What to Take, How to Take It and What to Do With It Once You Have It, American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Annual Program, Fidelity & Surety Law Committee (Toronto, 1998)
  • Tennessee Construction Law: What Do You Do When ...?, National Business Institute (Memphis, 1998)
  • Advanced Construction Law in Tennessee, National Business Institute (1997)
  • Advanced Construction Law, National Claims Association (Memphis, 1996)

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