{"id":890662,"date":"2016-08-15T14:20:13","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T20:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=890662"},"modified":"2016-08-15T14:39:10","modified_gmt":"2016-08-15T20:39:10","slug":"looking-forward-a-workmans-view-of-the-construction-business-and-the-practice-of-construction-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/looking-forward-a-workmans-view-of-the-construction-business-and-the-practice-of-construction-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking Forward: A Workman\u2019s View of the Construction Business and the Practice of Construction Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Hausner | Construction Law Zone<\/a> | August 4, 2016<\/p>\n

A few weeks back my colleague, mentor and friend Greg Faulkner wrote a post here that looked back on his 25 years as a construction lawyer.\u00a0 It was a very thoughtful piece and frankly I think it was one of the best legal blog posts I have read.\u00a0 You an access it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As you might expect, more than a few things that Greg alluded to got me thinking about the construction business and how it\u2019s intertwined with the practice of construction law<\/a>. \u00a0As a construction lawyer who sits \u201cin the trenches\u201d, and has for some time, I feel that I can also offer a valuable perspective.<\/p>\n

One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is how often construction professionals and even other lawyers are unaware that \u201cconstruction law\u201d is a practice focus.\u00a0 Even though some feel that lawyers run the industry (http:\/\/www.enr.com\/articles\/8303-viewpoint-lawyer-as-constructor<\/a>) (let me assure you we do not) you\u2019d be surprised at how much of the industry misconstrues the nature of our practice and our role in delivering and helping to keep a project on the rails and out of the halls of justice.<\/p>\n

Probably the biggest misconception I find is that a construction stakeholder needs to call their lawyer only when a project starts to move sideways (off the schedule or over the budget) or when an impasse is reached on a claim.\u00a0 In fact, I feel that the opposite is true.\u00a0 A construction lawyer wears two distinct but related hats.\u00a0 We are certainly dispute resolution lawyers<\/a> \u2013 it is a large part of who we are and what we do.\u00a0 We help our clients identify and prosecute or defend claims.\u00a0 We mediate, we arbitrate and we try cases to a judge or jury.\u00a0 But, we are also very much transactional lawyers \u2013 we write, negotiate and facilitate the timely and appropriately timed execution of design professional, project\/program manager and contractor\/construction manager contracts.\u00a0 Our dual role as \u201clitigators\u201d and \u201ctransactional lawyers\u201d allows us a somewhat unique perspective.\u00a0 Each of us has helped clients deal with a project that has gone all the way down the tubes and ended up in front of a judge or arbitrator.\u00a0 We have battled claims and, as Sonny Coreleone once said, we have \u201cgone to the mattresses\u201d.\u00a0 \u00a0I feel that these experiences help us be more effective on the front end of a project.\u00a0 Meaning, because we have seen things go wrong, we can better identify project risks before they arise so that when things do go wrong our client is prepared.\u00a0 With that in mind, we can advise our clients, based on practical experience, how best to manage, allocate and mitigate risk.<\/p>\n

In the ideal scenario we are one of the first stops on the project continuum.\u00a0 We hope that our clients, who include owners, developers, PMs, designers, construction managers, trade contractors or other construction professionals, come to us as soon as they become involved in a project.\u00a0 As any construction practitioner will tell you, a well written, clear, concise and fairly balanced contract is the first step in delivering a successful project.<\/p>\n

Over the last few years I have witnessed a distinct shift in the industry where stakeholders have increased their focus on up-front risk identification and allocation.\u00a0 Greg alluded to this in a couple of sections in his piece (re: partnering and teaming and the industry\u2019s evolving view of dispute resolution).\u00a0 That leads me to where I see things today and where I hope things go in the future . . .<\/p>\n

I tend to work mostly with developers, owners and to a lesser, but still significant degree, with contractors\/construction managers.\u00a0 Over the last five to eight years or so my experience has been that developers, owners and construction professionals have been increasingly and more sharply focused on teaming, collaboration, risk sharing and collective goal setting.<\/p>\n

Today I often see our owner clients involving a construction professional before design commences in earnest to identify and discuss construction\/project feasibility and budget with real-world reference points.\u00a0 Likewise, I see our construction professional asking for access to the design as soon as possible.\u00a0 I continually see owners discussing the process and facilitating the collaboration of their design and construction professionals so that they can eliminate confusion, lack of clarity or constructability issues arising from a design and turn \u201cassumptions and qualifications\u201d into tight drawings, specs and reliable budget line items.\u00a0 I also see a distinct focus on open lines of communication, asking for honest and dependable information and recognizing the collective goal that all parties are in the game to make a profit \u2013 hopefully something very close to the profit that they anticipate at the project\u2019s outset.\u00a0 I also regularly see, while discussing contract terms in concept, our clients concerned with fair and balanced risk allocation in light of developing a continuing relationship with the party with whom they are negotiating.\u00a0 In short, it seems to me that more often than not stakeholders are looking to develop relationships of trust based on open and honest communications.<\/p>\n

Now, with all of that said, I and the rest of our group spend a large part of our time helping our clients prosecute and defend claims, navigate disputes during the project and, as a last resort, resolving disputes before an arbitrator or judge.\u00a0 But, one of the things that has become quite apparent is that all stakeholders have recognized the very significant costs associated with engaging counsel for the long trip from assertion of a claim to judgment.\u00a0 Rightfully so, stakeholders tend to see every dollar they spend on dispute related legal fees as a diminution in the project profit they have worked so hard to protect. As such, and in keeping with the seemingly growing atmosphere of teaming, I have seen parties adapt their contract clauses to fit this philosophy.\u00a0 Specifically, contracts now often contain mandatory mediation<\/a>, as a condition prior to arbitration or litigation.\u00a0 Stakeholders are also asking for a contractually mandated meeting between principals to attempt to reach a good faith resolution of a dispute even before moving to mediation.\u00a0 Of course, not all disputes result in settlement prior to litigation or arbitration, but taking into account the cost of legal fees and the potential for delays, many see the time and effort prior to counsel\u2019s involvement as well spent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Hausner | Construction Law Zone | August 4, 2016 A few weeks back my colleague, mentor and friend Greg Faulkner wrote a post here that looked back on his 25 years as a construction lawyer.\u00a0 It was a very thoughtful piece and frankly I think it was one of the best legal blog posts… Continue reading Looking Forward: A Workman\u2019s View of the Construction Business and the Practice of Construction Law<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,172],"tags":[12,27],"class_list":["post-890662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-2","category-construction-law-2","tag-construction","tag-construction-law","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nLooking Forward: A Workman\u2019s View of the Construction Business and the Practice of Construction Law - 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