Construction Law

Catalog description

To be a successful real estate attorney, you need a basic understanding of construction law. Otherwise, your developer clients will not be able to maximize the return on their investments and, to make matters worse, they may unwittingly expose themselves to additional risk. This course will offer--via in-class role-playing and exercises--practical strategies and advice on how to identify and address construction-related issues between owners and their design professionals and contractors. The homework assignments--which will include reviewing contracts and pertinent caselaw--were selected to educate as to the fundamentals of construction law. The class sessions will afford the opportunity to use that core knowledge to provide valuable and practical legal advice. As a result, when a problem arises, you will be able to offer an appropriate evaluation of the risk(s) involved, the options available and, ultimately, how best to proceed to enable your client to make the appropriate business decision. Among other things, the in-class sessions will address (i) from the developer's perspective, what to focus upon when negotiating contracts with design professionals and contractors; (ii) what to do when your client's project gets liened by an unknown subcontractor or supplier; (iii) from a legal perspective, whether any bona fide guarantees exist in the construction world; (iv) the various legal nuances that come into play depending upon which delivery system the owner selects to construct its project; (v) payment and change order disputes; (vi) project delay; and (vii) choosing the best forum for construction disputes.