Construction
The Construction Practice Group represents clients involved in all aspects of construction, including general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, developers, owners, architects, and engineers, and in all types of disputes. Although we serve clients primarily in eastern North Carolina and the Triangle area, our reach extends throughout the United States. As a full-service law firm, we have the resources to go beyond construction issues to meet all of our clients' requirements.
Attorneys in the Construction Practice Group routinely handle the following matters:
- Negotiating construction contracts (including AIA contracts, EJCDC documents, and other standard documents)
- Bond and lien claims
- Miller Act and Little Miller Act claims
- Contractor licensing issues
- OSHA matters
- Scheduling, delay, payment, and project administration claims
- Defective design and construction claims
- Public bidding and construction laws
- Prompt Pay Act claims
- Mediation and arbitration
- Employee discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, and other employment-related claims
- Insurance coverage disputes
- Corporate structure, governance, and taxation issues
- Copyright, trademark, and patent matters
- Governmental takings/condemnations
Our attorneys have the experience, knowledge, and resources to resolve disputes favorably. Avoiding costly disputes and litigation and determining the quickest and least expensive manner in which to resolve claims and disputes are top priorities.
In complex cases, we have the support staff and technology to image, index, and catalog correspondence, invoices, drawings, photographs, and other documents. This enables our attorneys to locate and retrieve these items electronically, resulting in clear and concise presentations at mediation, arbitration, and trial. Our attorneys litigate disputes in state and federal courts and before arbitration panels, including the American Arbitration Association.
Our attorneys also appear before governmental regulatory boards (including the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors) to deal with building code, environmental, and licensing issues, and to defend general contractors against claims by the U.S. Department of Justice of violations of the federal fair housing law.
In addition to standard services, attorneys in the Construction Practice Group offer seminars for established clients, often meeting at clients' businesses with executives, managers, and supervisors to discuss construction issues and to answer clients' questions. Periodically, the Group invites prospective clients and existing clients to larger seminars. Our attorneys also submit articles on timely topics for publication in the Ward and Smith newsletter and prepare bulletins on industry‑specific issues to keep our clients informed.
Construction Practice Group attorneys work with attorneys in other Practice Groups to ensure that clients avail themselves of the range of experience throughout our Firm, including assistance with business, tax, employment, and environmental issues.