AUSTIN, Texas - Maynard Nexsen is pleased to announce that Benton “Ben” Wheatley has joined the firm’s Austin office as a shareholder in its Construction practice. Wheatley brings decades of experience representing clients across the construction, engineering, and real estate industries, further strengthening the firm’s award-winning construction and infrastructure capabilities in Texas and nationwide. Ben is the fourth construction attorney to join Maynard Nexsen’s Austin office in the past year.
Wheatley’s practice focuses on construction and engineering disputes and transactions, fiduciary responsibilities in private equity investments in the construction process and advising REITs and private equity firms on purchaser rights, in relation to problem construction projects. He regularly handles complex matters involving delay and impact claims, defective design and construction disputes, differing site conditions, fiduciary duty issues, and project workouts through mediation, litigation, and arbitration. He also advises clients on mitigating risk in passive limited partnership investments related to construction projects and engineering contracts.
“Ben’s depth of experience and industry perspective make him an outstanding addition to our Construction team,” said Harper Heckman, shareholder and Chair of the Construction Group at Maynard Nexsen. “He understands the business realities our clients face and brings a strategic, practical approach to resolving complex construction and engineering challenges.”
In addition to his active practice, Wheatley is a widely published authority on construction law, frequently writing and speaking on issues affecting owners, developers, lenders, and design professionals. His scholarship spans project finance, private equity, arbitration, force majeure, contractual liability, and emerging legal issues impacting the construction industry. He has authored and co‑authored numerous papers and peer-reviewed law journal articles for leading national and state publications, including the American Bar Association, The Construction Lawyer, State Bar of Texas, and The Construction Law Journal. Wheatley is Board Certified in Construction Law by the State Bar of Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and he has been recognized by Chambers USA, Martindale-Hubbell, and Best Lawyers in America, which named him “Lawyer of the Year” for Construction Law in Austin in 2024.
Prior to joining Maynard Nexsen, Wheatley was a partner at an international full‑service law firm, where he managed a broad range of sophisticated disputes and transactions. Earlier in his career, he served as Assistant General Counsel for a large international architectural and engineering firm, advising on project delivery issues across all fifty U.S. states as well as in Mexico, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina. This combination of in‑house and private practice experience enables him to navigate the full spectrum of legal and operational challenges faced by construction and engineering clients.
Wheatley earned his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.