{"id":895818,"date":"2019-05-01T11:32:13","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T17:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=895818"},"modified":"2019-05-01T11:32:14","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T17:32:14","slug":"the-construction-lawyer-as-counselor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/the-construction-lawyer-as-counselor\/","title":{"rendered":"The Construction Lawyer as Counselor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Christopher G. Hill | Construction Law Musings<\/a> | April 24, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a while since I discussed the role that I believe a construction lawyer should serve.\u00a0 Back in 2013, I discussed how those of us that practice\u00a0construction law are seen as \u201cnecessary evils.\u201d\u00a0 I was thinking over the weekend about certain clients and matters (as I often do, particularly in the shower) and came to the conclusion that the best role for me as a\u00a0Virginia construction attorney\u00a0is that of counselor and sounding board for my clients.\u00a0 Sure I come from a litigation background,\u00a0enjoy working with other construction lawyers\u00a0here in the Commonwealth, and often the first contact that I have with clients is when there is a problem, but I enjoy my practice, and I believe clients are more satisfied with their interactions with me when I try and provide a more cost effective and pragmatic solution\u00a0than that which litigation or arbitration provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The six years of solo construction practice since 2013 (yes, I\u2019m close to the 9 year mark with my practice) has only served to cement the fact that construction professionals need and want the \u201ccounselor\u201d portion of \u201cattorney and counselor at law.\u201d\u00a0 Working as a sort of \u201cin house counsel\u201d to various construction companies, as opposed to simply dealing with the litigation, allows me to better understand their businesses and assist them in avoiding problems through\u00a0contract review, discussions of situations that come up short of claims, and general risk management.\u00a0 I also get to know these mostly small business owners on a more personal level (sometimes even resulting in\u00a0a fishing trip or two).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, and likely most importantly, proactive consulting with an attorney\u00a0saves my clients money\u00a0in the long run.\u00a0 Frankly, I make more money on a per matter basis if I am litigating for a client.\u00a0 However, that construction client cannot and should not be budgeting for litigation when running its business.\u00a0 It is my job as a construction attorney to do my best to help them avoid litigation and keep projects running smoothly.\u00a0 A few hours of my time helping to avoid possibly hundreds of hours in litigation time is the most efficient way to help my clients.\u00a0 Of course, it helps that\u00a0I generally like those I work with\u00a0so helping them is easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, I take my counseling role (along with my other roles as a lawyer) very seriously.  I firmly believe that I best assist my clients in this role because it helps me give pragmatic, cost effective advice that hopefully assists them in a better run, more profitable, and less risky business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christopher G. Hill | Construction Law Musings | April 24, 2019 It\u2019s been a while since I discussed the role that I believe a construction lawyer should serve.\u00a0 Back in 2013, I discussed how those of us that practice\u00a0construction law are seen as \u201cnecessary evils.\u201d\u00a0 I was thinking over the weekend about certain clients and… Continue reading The Construction Lawyer as Counselor<\/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":[172],"tags":[9895,27,10787],"class_list":["post-895818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-law-2","tag-advise-consult","tag-construction-law","tag-counselor","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Construction Lawyer as Counselor - 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