Mr. James W. Orband | Managing Partner

James W. Orband is Hinman, Howard & Kattell’s Managing Partner. He maintains an active legal practice focusing on financial institutions, construction law, and mergers and acquisitions, with participation in other areas of business law.

Jim represents companies in a variety of industries, including insurance, manufacturing , construction, and financial services. His corporate practice encompasses a wide variety of corporate matters for both public and private companies, with a focus on merger and acquisition transactions, joint ventures and strategic collaborations, other complex commercial agreements, corporate law and governance counseling.

Jim works closely with in-house legal departments and members of senior management of companies with respect to ongoing corporate matters, including drafting and negotiation of complex commercial agreements.
Jim advises clients with regard to all aspects of construction projects. He has assisted clients in obtaining financing and bonding and negotiated and drafted design and construction contracts and conditions for private and public entities. This includes all procurement methods (for example, Design Bid Build, Design Build, Construction Manager as Advisor, Construction Manager at Risk, Guaranteed Maximum Price). His early involvement with clients’ construction projects allows him to provide counsel regarding selection procedures and integration of the many agreements necessary in a construction project.

Jim is experienced in successfully resolving construction disputes which often involve management of voluminous documents and analysis of complex issues. He assists in construction phase problem solving to resolve issues as they arise. Jim has represented clients with respect to issues including, breach of contract, construction contract interpretation, mechanics liens, change orders/extras, delay claims, professional liability, insurance, payment and performance bonding, default, termination, bid protest, AAA Arbitration, architectural/engineering conflicts, stop work orders, and field directives.

Jim is a Director of Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, and a frequent lecturer on law office management. He previously served as the Chair of the New York State Bar Association Business Law Section and Banking Law Committee.

A native of New York’s Southern Tier, Jim serves as a Member of the Governing Council of Binghamton University and a Trustee of Broome Community College. He also sits on a number of Boards of Directors, including Southern Tier Economic Partnership; Newman House @ Binghamton University; Binghamton University Foundation; BU Housing Corp; Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital, Inc.; Lourdes Hospital Foundation; Broome County Historical Society and Southern Tier High Technology Incubator, Inc. He is also a Director of various charitable foundations.