Construction

Wickwire Gavin's Construction Group represents a wide-range of public and private entities including owners, contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, sureties, and suppliers involved in the construction of projects located throughout the world. With years of actual experience in the construction and engineering industry, our attorneys are uniquely able to provide clients with definitive and practical answers to the many technical and legal questions that arise during the course of representation.

Our Construction Group provides advice from the conception to completion of a construction project. During the preconstruction stages of a project, we attempt to anticipate the types of risks that will arise and determine appropriate means of allocating or resolving these risks through the contracting process. This proactive approach enables all parties to deal with financial and technical contingencies prior to construction which will frequently result in major cost savings on the project. Some of the services that we provide in the preconstruction stages of a project include:

  • Determining the project delivery method such as design/build, construction management, etc. that will best achieve the owner's goals;
  • Providing advice on international construction projects using international contract forms such as FIDIC and ICE;
  • Drafting, reviewing and negotiating construction contracts; and
  • Counseling clients on matters of claims avoidance, risk management and scheduling issues.

During construction, issues of contract administration arise that have legal and financial overtones. Handling these issues on a "real-time" basis as they arise will generally result in a more cost-effective and amicable result than waiting until the end of the project when positions have hardened and the parties are more prepared to go to litigation or arbitration. The hands-on experience of our attorneys enables our firm to expeditiously assist clients in these contract administration issues. This may include (a) assisting our clients in documenting problems or positions, (b) providing advice on contract interpretation, (c) negotiating change orders and contract adjustments and (d) providing on-site training for personnel in contract management issues under the contract.

When problems cannot be prevented or resolved through planning or negotiation, the firm is prepared for aggressive prosecution or vigorous defense of our client's legal rights. We have the capability and experience to represent clients throughout the country in federal and state courts, administrative agencies and before arbitration panels on a variety of construction matters, including:

  • Claims resulting from delays, acceleration, changes and differing site conditions and deficiencies in design or construction;
  • Mechanic's lien and payment-performance bond actions; and
  • Claims arising out of sophisticated technical projects, such as power generation, tunneling and hospitals.

In representing a party in a construction dispute, we continue to adhere to the principles of providing the client with cost-effective and practical advice using budgets and litigation risk analysis techniques to guide our approaches to the case.