Construction Law
The firm provides legal services for construction projects from start to finish – from long before the first shovel hits the dirt until long after the construction is completed. This includes pre-construction services – design, site acquisition, financing, insurance, contract drafting and negotiation, land-use issues, and regulatory approvals. The firm’s involvement in construction-related matters continues into the construction itself – real-time dispute resolution, change orders, all aspects of liens, OSHA issues, government permitting and inspection issues, subcontractor, materialman, and vendor disputes. Finally, the firm handles post-construction issues – ranging from construction defects, liens, bonding, lien foreclosure, bonds and surety work, Prompt Payment Act issues, releases, final payment disputes, construction defects, warranty issues, to casualty issues.
The firm regularly advises its clients as to insurance coverages, claims, and disputes.
Because of the nature of construction disputes, the firm has conducted and participated in hundreds of mediations relating to construction projects. The firm has arbitrated construction disputes from large to small. The firm has extensive experience in the emerging field of real-time dispute resolution, including dispute resolution board.
Where We Come In
Our lawyers include the only attorney in the state of Montana elected as a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers, who is also an Adjunct Professor of the College of Engineering at Montana State University.
The firm represents owners, contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, insurance companies, lenders, and material suppliers. In order to represent this wide array of clients in the industry, the firm has experience with many different forms and custom contracts including, the AIA, EJCDC, Consensus Docs, and a variety of Master Service Agreements utilized in the energy industry.
The firm also has extensive experience in drafting contracts for our construction clients such as subcontractor agreements, design service agreements, supplier agreements, and professional service agreements.
The firm also regularly advises clients regarding issues of insurance and the numerous different insurance products in use in modern construction projects.