Alexandra C. Colby

Attorney | New Jersey/New York

Biography

Alexandra is an Attorney in the New Jersey office of Cokinos | Young.  She mainly represents owners, general contractors, and subcontractors in private and public contract disputes.

Alexandra spent her undergraduate career focusing on international economic development policy, traveling to twelve countries in four years.  While working for Grameen Australia Philippines in Quezon City, she found a passion for development contract work and decided to attend law school.

She continued working toward a career in development contracts by spending a summer serving as a Law Clerk to the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Acquisition and Assistance team in the Office of General Counsel, where she worked on disputes arising under the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Foreign Assistance Act. She then attended LUISS Guido Carli in Rome for an LL.M. in International, Comparative, and E.U. law, where she focused her studies on international business law.

Alexandra began her post-graduate career by serving as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Mary C. Jacobson, A.J.S.C. (ret.) for a one-year term.  During her clerkship term, she worked on land use matters, bid protests on state and local contract projects, Open Public Records Act disputes, and various civil procedure and criminal matters. Alexandra then joined a construction litigation boutique firm, where she represented owners, general contractors, subcontractors, hotel owners, and hospitality management companies in transactional and litigation work, from pre-trial to the highest levels of appeals.  Alexandra worked on matters in state and federal court in eight states, and those in private mediations and arbitrations.

For generations, Alexandra’s family has been in the trucking industry. Her grandfather started his first route in 1945 at 13 years old, and her father first took his 18-wheeler from New York to Chicago at 15 years old. By the 1990’s the business grew to become national, with several hundred routes. Through their trucking business, her family instilled in her that dedicated work produces the best results and a legacy to be proud of. As a result, she approaches each client matter with a strong work ethic and commitment to the client’s holistic success.

Alexandra is a native of the Jersey shore and spends her free time with her family.  She enjoys finding unique mom and pop shops to celebrate and meeting new people. Alexandra loves the beach, traveling, black coffee, all animals, and books or documentaries about space, which she finds terrifying. She dedicates time to representing animal rights groups in pro bono matters in New Jersey and the District of Columbia.

Education

  • LUISS Guido Carli – LL.M. in International, Comparative, and E.U. Law, 2020
  • American University Washington College of Law – J.D., 2020
    – Certification in International Commercial Arbitration
    – European Law Association, President
    – Moot Court Honor Society, Finance Director
    – VIS International Commercial Arbitration Moot Team Member
    Sustainable Development Law & Policy Publication, Editor
  • Washington College – B.A., International Studies, Hispanic Studies, and Economics, cum laude, 2017
    – International Studies Award recipient
    – Model United Nations Team, Head Delegate & President
    – Alpha Chi Omega, Beta Pi chapter, VP Facilities Operations
    – Omicron Delta Epsilon, President
    – Omicron Delta Kappa
    – Pi Sigma Alpha
    – Sigma Alpha Pi
    – Sigma Delta Pi
  • Universidad Católica Argentina – PEL Certificate, 2015

Judicial Experience

  • Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Robert T. Lougy, A.J.S.C., 2021
  • Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Mary C. Jacobson, A.J.S.C. (ret.), (2020 – 2021)

Representative Experience

  • Primary author on successful briefing that led to the favorable outcome in Ernest Bock, LLC v. Paul Steelman, et al., 76 F.4th 827 (9th Cir. 2023), cert. denied, Paul Steelman et al. v. Ernest Bock, LLC, No. 23-308 (U.S. Jan. 8, 2024).
  • Successfully briefed opposition to motion to dismiss RICO counts against corporate and professional defendants in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada
  • Successfully briefed opposition to motion to amend pleadings that would have included new fraud and RICO counts in New Jersey state court action
  • Obtained merits sanctions in New Jersey state court action, along with attorneys’ fees and costs
  • Successfully briefed motion for summary judgment on property line survey error dispute worth several million dollars
  • Obtained full costs incurred by client on admiralty dispute in Philadelphia in a settlement agreement that ended the litigation
  • Obtained client-subcontractor’s full costs in a Type II differing site condition dispute in a settlement agreement that ended the litigation
  • Obtained favorable settlement on claims by, and against, client-general contractor on construction defect work on a vertical construction project in Washington state
  • Obtained favorable settlement on a claim against client-general contractor under Florida’s Local Government Prompt Payment Act
  • Successfully enforced judgment and writ of execution, obtaining full debt owed to client-creditor, including fees and costs
  • Successfully recorded and enforced construction liens in Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania
  • Successfully briefed several bid protests under New Jersey law
  • Represented hotel owner and hotel management company in dispute about a hotel operating agreement in arbitration matter
  • Drafted contracts for school district project requests for bids
  • Drafted operating agreements, transfers of shares, wills, and trusts

Publications

  • “The Farts Heard ‘Round the World: Where Cow-Tapping Falls on the International Agenda of Sustainable Development,” Sustainable Development Law & Policy Publication, Fall 2017 Issue
  • “Raised on Promises: How the Sustainability Goals of the Urban Housing and Development Act of the Philippines Falls Short,” Sustainable Development Law & Policy Publication, Spring 2018 Issue

Community Involvement

  • Building for Good
  • Pro bono work for animal rights groups in New Jersey and the District of Columbia

Memberships & Affiliations

  • National Italian American Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
    – Young Lawyers Division
    – Forum on Construction Law
    – International Law Section
    – Section of Public Contract Law
  • New Jersey State Bar Association
    – Young Lawyers Division
    – Construction Law Section
  • Atlantic County Bar Association
  • Ocean County Bar Association – Past Member
  • Mercer County Bar Association – Past Member

Admissions

  • State Bar of New Jersey
  • Bar of the District of Columbia
  • United States District Court: District of New Jersey

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By using our site, you provide your consent.

Read More