CONSTRUCTION
The Howard Law Firm llc has more than a decade of experience representing owners, developers, architects, engineers, design-build entities, general contractors and subcontractors at the highest levels in all manner of design and construction related transactional and contested matters. As a result, we are intimately familiar with all phases of the the design and construction process as well as the unique issues and law that apply. Our construction practice is divided into the following areas:
- Drafting and negotiating design and construction contracts;
- Providing real-time project counseling on issues as they arise;
- Perfecting, prosecuting and defending mechanics lien claims; and
- Mediating, arbitrating and litigating all manner of design and construction related disputes.
We have drafted and negotiated design and construction contracts on projects that include single-family homes, multi-million dollar celebrity mansions, high-rise condominium buildings valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars and power plants and other industrial facilities valued in the billions of dollars.
We have counseled numerous clients on major construction projects to provide real-time counseling on issues as they arise, including providing advice when construction workers are injured, when constructed elements fail to perform as anticipated and when financial or other influences interfere with the construction process.
We have perfected, prosecuted and defended mechanics lien claims on private property, lien claims on public funds on federal, state, city and municipal projects, and the bond claims that are almost inevitably associated with the same. Our efforts have involved liens on high profile projects in Chicago, Illinois and elsewhere.
We have also mediated, arbitrated and litigated all manner of design and construction related disputes, including:
- Successfully defending architects and engineers in litigated design-professional malpractice claims valued in the tens of millions of dollars, including several such cases that arose out of highly technical and complex issues, such as the design and construction of a semi-conductor fabrication laboratory;
- Successfully prosecuting design and construction defect claims valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars for catastrophic failures, such as when a high-pressure steam line in a cogeneration plant exploded and caused massive property damage during pre-commissioning testing that further delayed completion of the project;
- Successfully arbitrating multiple, complex design and construction defect claims arising out of the engineering, procurement and construction of a cogeneration facility valued in the tens of millions of dollars;
- Successfully mediating multi-million dollar design and construction defect claims involving a condominium conversion project; and
- Successfully litigating and mediating multi-million dollar mechanics lien claims.
These are but a limited few examples that describe our substantial experience in transactional and contested matters involving design and construction. In fact, we have represented all participants in the design and construction process in numerous, varied transactional and contested matters.
As a result of our deep experience in all phases of design and construction, we understand in practical terms the unique issues pertinent to design and construction as well as how those issues are addressed during the drafting and negotiation of contracts, as well as how they are resolved throughout the dispute resolution process. As a result, The Howard Law Firm llc is uniquely situated when it comes to representing clients in design and construction related maters. Most transactional lawyers are not litigators and, consequently, do not regularly resolve contested matters. Similarly, most litigators are not typically involved in transactional matters and, as such, do not regularly draft and negotiate business contracts. At The Howard Law Firm llc, we know that the ability to successfully draft and negotiate a contract comes from understanding the risks clients confront, and that those risks are most commonly identified through the dispute resolution process. Similarly, we understand that the ability to successfully resolve a contested matter requires a deep understanding of the parties’ respective roles, contractual rights, the manner in which those rights interrelate and the manner in which the law treats those rights, which understanding not only comes from the dispute resolution process, but from the transactional process. Clients who engage The Howard Law Firm llc benefit from our reciprocal knowledge and experience drafting and negotiating such contracts as well as resolving disputes that arise out of them.
We invite you to learn more about our experience by visiting the additional design and construction related pages in our website. Whether you require the drafting and negotiation of a design or construction contract, counseling on your rights and responsibilities for an ongoing design or construction project, or are involved in a dispute concerning design or construction, The Howard Law Firm llc can help you. Please contact us for a free consultation.