Pia E. Riverso
Partner
Pia E. Riverso
Partner
Raised in a family of esteemed engineers, builders, and real estate developers, Pia often says the construction litigation practice chose her. She works to understand all facets of a client’s business and tenaciously pursues a legal solution to their issues. Her litigation techniques, honed throughout her decades-long career, can take her from the boardroom to the courtroom, when necessary.
Contact
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (212) 455-9557
Fax: (212) 687-9044
477 Madison Ave., Suite 410
New York, NY, 10022
Practice Groups
Bar Admission
New York
Pia E. Riverso is a commercial litigator with more than 30 years of experience litigating complex civil matters including construction disputes of every nature, business dissolutions, shareholder disputes, restrictive covenant litigation, insurance and surety issues, intellectual property litigation, and FINRA arbitrations.
Pia counsels owners, developers, architects, construction managers, and contractors on various aspects of construction law, including contract negotiation, license agreements for access to adjoining properties, payment disputes, delay claims, and performance disputes. She drafts and negotiates design and construction agreements, as well as license agreements. She has extensive experience in the resolution of construction disputes, both prior to and during litigation and as a result of arbitration or mediation.
Additionally, she represents insurers in the investigation and prosecution of affirmative litigation to recover assets lost as a product of complex fraud and kickback schemes. She has also litigated declaratory judgment actions throughout the U.S., successfully briefed and argued dispositive motions, and facilitated complex insurance settlements arising out of additional insured claims, class action bodily injury suits and product liability claims.
A frequent speaker, Pia has presented seminars including “A Practitioner’s Guide to Delay Damages” and “Surety Bonds and Construction Contracts” before the Nassau County Bar Association Construction Law Committee. She has spoken on insurance fraud at the Economic Crime Summit sponsored by the National White Collar Crime Bureau in Washington, D.C., the New York Anti-Car Theft and Fraud Association, and the Northeast Financial Services Anti-Fraud Group.
In law school, Pia was a member of the Senior Board of St. John’s Moot Court
Court Admissions
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second, Seventh and Federal Circuits
Education
St. John’s University, J.D.
Manhattan College, B.S. in Business Administration, summa cum laude
News & Publications
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54 Rivkin Radler Attorneys Named 2025 New York Metro Super Lawyers®/Rising Stars
October 30 | 2025 -
Over 25 Percent of Rivkin Radler Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers in America®
August 21 | 2025 -
56 Rivkin Radler Attorneys Named 2024 New York Metro Super Lawyers®/Rising Stars
October 24 | 2024
View All Publications
Pia is a member of the Construction Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association. She served as both chair and vice chair of the Nassau County Bar Association Construction Law Committee for multiple successive terms ending in 2017. She also was appointed and served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Community Y — a branch of the YMCA of Central and Northern Westchester — for several successive terms.
In 2020, Pia was invited to serve as a member of the Advisory Board for the Manhattan College O’Malley School of Business. The Advisory Board provides advice and counsel on issues related to programs offered by the school with the goal of preparing students to be career-ready and providing additional avenues to career opportunities.
In 2018, Pia was selected to be a Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America, an invitation-only, selective society with New York membership limited to 85 attorneys.
Pia was named to Super Lawyers for the Metro New York Area in Business Litigation for 2009 and 2010 and for Construction Litigation in 2011 and 2013-2025. Long Island Business News identified her among the 50 Most Influential Women in Business for 2011 and included her in its list of Who’s Who in Women in Professional Services in 2010 and 2013. The New York Real Estate Journal named her to its list of 2018 Women in Real Estate Professional Services. In 2019, Pia was named to the Crain’s New York Business 2020 Notable Women in Law List. Pia was recognized by Best Lawyers in America® for Construction Law from 2024 to 2026 and Litigation-Construction (2026).
The following are Pia’s representative matters:
- Represented large developer in negotiation of license agreements for access to adjoining properties involving multiple street and block developments of retail and residential space on the East Side of Manhattan.
- Represented owners of condominium in negotiation and litigation over access sought by developer during construction of large non-union project in Manhattan.
- Represented major developer in negotiation of access agreements for development of Lower East Side retail and commercial space.
- Represented various owners, construction managers and contractors in negotiation and drafting of design and construction agreements for large commercial and residential projects throughout Manhattan.
- Represented non-profit organization in resolution of construction dispute after expansion of main facilities in Manhattan.
- Represented non-profit organization in drafting of construction-related agreements for expansion of its facilities.
- Drafted master agreement to be used by construction manager in its agreements with hospitals for projects at various campus locations.
- Represented construction manager in resolution of dispute with non-profit over delay and change order claims for new campus location in Suffolk County, NY.
- Represented contractor in resolution of construction dispute involving large public school project in Suffolk County.
