Construction Litigation

Construction Litigation

According to OSHA, there are almost 6.5 million people in the US working at construction sites on a given day (Worker Safety Series – Construction). There are many potential hazards for construction workers. They could fall from a great height, get electrocuted, get stuck between two objects, get crushed underneath an object, and more. Anyone who has ever been to a construction site has seen the large equipment, hanging objects, and dangerous machinery.

However, in addition to all of this danger, there is the potential for disputes to arise over significant construction projects. There may be disputes about contracts, workmanship claims, negligence, defects or delays, and more. A construction litigator is either prosecuting or defending these claims. Because construction is such a huge industry in the US, there are construction attorneys who are there to help when something related to construction goes wrong. There are many stakeholders involved in construction companies, whether it is the owner, contractor, architect, insurer, or many more. Construction cases may involve huge projects and massive amounts of money, so although they don’t necessarily receive a lot of publicity, the cases are incredibly high-stake.

Note that some private contracts may contain a clause requiring arbitration instead of litigation, or there may be mandatory mediation before continuing to arbitration or litigation.

Education and Background:

Construction law involves many related areas. You must be knowledgeable about contract law, employment law, property law, worker’s compensation, and more. This is a good area to go into if you are extremely well-rounded.

The American Bar Associate has a Construction Litigation Committee for people who primarily practice construction law.

Many students volunteer in the construction industry or find a part-time job or internship to learn more about construction law before they enter the field.

Because you need to be knowledgeable about so many areas to be a construction lawyer, rather than have a certain background, the most important skill is a willingness and desire to learn and the ability to learn quickly. However, if you do have a background in construction, architecture, or engineering because of a family business or a prior job, this will be a natural transition for you.

Getting a job:

Large construction and engineering companies will often hire in-house counsel, which will benefit you if you are interested in serving just one client and helping that business develop while keeping it out of hot water.

This is also a great area of law to open up a practice in because you can help such a wide variety of clients on a variety of issues, making it very feasible to find clients.

Finally, there are plenty of opportunities available with both large and small law firms across the country. A quick Google search will reveal plenty of opportunities in this area of law. One important thing to note, however, is that construction jobs tend to be less prevalent when the economy is in a downturn. This is an area of law where money may ebb and flow, particularly if you have a solo practice or work for a very small firm. You may also want to consider geography and choose an area of the country that is rapidly developing and has a lot of construction projects. While you may not be able to find data on the employment of construction lawyers specifically, looking at state data on general construction workers will indicate where the most construction projects are taking place. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has 2017 data showing the states with the most construction workers employed:

1. California – 622,290
2. Texas – 596,630
3. Florida – 376,890
4. New York – 332,420
5. Pennsylvania – 217,180
6. Ohio – 185,480
7. Illinois – 176,110
8. North Carolina – 157,810
9. Virginia – 156,390
10. Washington – 152,150

(CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020)

Average salary:

A current search on Law Crossing revealed an average salary of $114,448. However, salaries vary widely based on location.

Would you like this practice area?

If you are looking for variety and balance in what you do, construction law might be a good area for you; many construction lawyers get to handle both litigation and transactional law. They also serve a wide variety of clients on a wide variety of issues. Overall, construction lawyers serve as problem solvers; when something goes wrong with a big project, they are there to help. If you want to be a construction lawyer, you will need strong negotiation skills, and you need to be good at working with others. Because alternative dispute resolution is often used in construction law, you must be able to see both sides of a story, but because litigation is also sometimes used, you need to be a fierce competitor in the courtroom. Overall, you must be well-rounded. Construction lawyers are specialists in one sense because they work in a specific industry, but they are also generalists because they need to be well-versed in many areas of law.

Consider whether these articles interest you:

Legally Speaking: Construction Contracts – Verbal Agreements (Stark)

“Verbal agreements and oral representations made during negotiations for an agreement, when later reduced to writing, are unenforceable. Under the law, when the agreement of the parties is later reduced to writing and verbal agreements and/or representations are not contained in the original written agreement, such omitted terms are NOT ENFORCEABLE! The Parol Evidence Rule, a rule of common law in most jurisdictions, excludes such representations made prior to the writing and/or not contained in the written agreement.” Read more

The Tenth Circuit’s Prediction: New York State Likely to Follow Trend Recognizing Damages Caused by Subcontractor’s Faulty Work is a Covered “Occurrence” (Giordano and Gomez)

“The United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit recently issued a favorable decision for policyholders finding property damage arising from a subcontractor’s faulty work arose from an accidental “occurrence” under New York law.  In Black & Veatch Corp. v. Aspen Ins. (UK) Ltd, a 2–1 Tenth Circuit panel agreed with Black & Veatch Corp. (“B&V”) that its excess policy — which contained a New York choice-of-law provision — covered claims for property damage to a third party caused by its subcontractor’s faulty work. The Tenth Circuit reversed the district court’s ruling that B&V’s subcontractor’s faulty work caused damage to only B&V’s own work and, therefore, was not a covered “occurrence.”” Read more

Resolving Construction Disputes through Baseball Arbitration (Samples)

“Professional baseball has successfully implemented a dispute-resolution procedure that has both decreased the costs of arbitration and expedited resolution of disputes.  The construction industry would benefit from the incorporation and adaptation of the “baseball arbitration” procedure in construction disputes.  This article is not theoretical; it is based on experience adapting baseball arbitration concepts to construction disputes.” Read more

Conclusion:

When there is a big project involved, something always goes wrong. If you like many different areas of law and want a wide variety of issues included in your day-to-day work, construction law may be for you.