Nick Surma, a shareholder in our Bismarck office, is a skilled litigator who focuses his practice on construction law and commercial litigation. Nick represents project owners, design professionals, general contractors, subcontractors, and material and equipment suppliers on all issues that arise before and during construction projects including bid contests, construction and design defect, change order disputes, delay claims, bond claims and liens, contract termination, and payment disputes. Nick has litigated disputes involving nearly every type of construction project including heavy highway, municipal, commercial, residential and everything in-between. Nick also reviews, drafts, and negotiates construction contracts and related documents for his clients. 

In his commercial litigation practice, Nick litigates a wide array of disputes including breach of contract, commercial real estate and lease disputes, property damage, negligence, indemnity, subrogation, partnership matters, corporate matters, disputes between owners of closely held companies, and more. Nick has also litigated and advised clients on intricate political and constitutional questions involving elections, initiated measures, and internal political party organization and governance.        

Regardless of the issue, Nick takes a collaborative approach with his clients to achieve the best possible outcome. Nick is not afraid to fight hard to advance his client’s interests, and his litigation approach and success has earned him a well-regarded reputation among lawyers and clients alike.   

Before joining Vogel Law Firm, Nick served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle of the North Dakota Supreme Court. A graduate of the University of North Dakota School of Law, Nick served as Managing Editor of the North Dakota Law Review and President of the Student Bar Association. His dedication and academic excellence earned him several scholarships and honors during law school.    

Nick lives in the Bismarck area with his wife and their two young boys. Nick is an avid waterfowl and upland bird hunter and enjoys spending fall days afield with his yellow lab, Tucker. During the summer months, Nick can be found musky fishing, shanking it on the golf course, coaching his son’s baseball team, and watching his beloved Minnesota Twins.  

Memberships

• Judge Bruce M. Van Sickle Inn of Court
• State Bar Association of North Dakota
• Big Muddy Bar Association
• American Bar Association

Publications

• Assessing the Constitutionality of Warrantless Pre-Arrest Breath Tests, North Dakota Law Review, 2018
• Overturning Quill: Why Wayfair Was Correctly Decided and What Lies Ahead, North Dakota Law Review, 2018

Admitted to Practice

• North Dakota
• Montana
• U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit

Honors and Distinctions

• Great Plains Rising Star ®, Thomson/Reuters (2022-2024)