![Construction Crane](/sites/default/files/styles/widescreen_16x9_576x324_1x/public/2024-08/Construction%20%28primary%29.jpg?itok=0zVK5DTy)
Construction
Sophisticated counsel for every construction and development challenge.
Public and private owners, contractors, and other industry participants benefit from our experience during all stages of design construction.
Perkins Coie’s Construction team supports clients across public and private projects by knowing the industry and understanding the challenges that can arise from project conception through design, procurement and construction.
How we help clients
- Advise on construction projects from start to finish – from project conception and funding through design, procurement and construction
- Draft and negotiate a wide range of contracts
- Compliance issues
- Claims support and resolution, including claims for construction delays, cost overruns, and insurance coverage issues
Our Team
Our construction practice provides support advising on procurement, contract negotiation, and administration, and managing claims with innovative technologies for both national and international projects.
Project Development & Procurement
At the beginning of a project, we advise on site acquisition issues, including finance, real estate, land use, zoning, and environmental concerns. Owners often turn to us for guidance on their project structuring options, including public-private partnerships (P3s), and project delivery options, such as design-bid-build, GC/CM and other forms of GC at Risk, design-build, design-build-operate-maintain, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), and other risk-allocation structures. We regularly prepare prequalification, bidding, and other "front-end" documents and otherwise assist in the selection and engagement of the project team.
We represent both owners and contractors on procurement issues and related disputes, including bid submission compliance; bid protests and bid withdrawals; and eligibility for and compliance with small, disadvantaged, and minority-owned business enterprise programs.
Contract Preparation & Negotiation
Our team drafts and negotiates a variety of contracts on a broad spectrum of projects, nationally and internationally, with a goal of preventing costly problems later in a project. Our lawyers have a strong working knowledge of American Institute of Architects (AIA); ConsensusDOCS; Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC); Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA); International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC); Infrastructure, Construction, and Engineering (ICE); and other industry forms.
Contract Administration
We help clients identify and address potential contractual performance issues as they arise during design and construction to prevent them from becoming disputes. Clients seek our help analyzing a range of problems, including design errors and omissions, delays and time extension requests, change requests, unforeseen or differing site conditions, and defective work. We also counsel clients on handling lien and bond claims, surety takeover and liquidating arrangements, and terminations for default and convenience.
In addition, we provide guidance on a variety of labor issues, including "double-breasted" operations, union certification or decertification campaigns, picket control, union trust fund audits, and Davis-Bacon and little Davis-Bacon prevailing wage compliance, as well as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Fair Housing Act, and building code requirements.
Claims & Negotiation
Our lawyers have extensive experience preparing and negotiating claims and requests for equitable adjustment in contract price and time on private and public projects. In addition to technical issues, many claims involve allegations of delay and/or inefficiency and disruption. Our experience with Critical Path Method (CPM) schedule analysis and admissible damages calculations equips us to assist clients in developing strategies to resolve claims of every variety.
Dispute Resolution & Support
We view litigation as an option of last resort and take pride in our long-term relationships with our clients—relationships built in part on our proven ability to avoid litigation. But when disputes cannot be resolved, we have broad experience in state and federal trial and appellate courts, as well as in alternative dispute resolution. We have successfully helped clients pursue and defend claims of all sizes involving construction delays and impacts, cost overruns, breaches of contract, design and architectural errors and omissions, construction defects, surety issues, termination disputes, and insurance coverage. Our lawyers have also participated in mediations, mini-trials, dispute resolution boards, and arbitration through JAMS, the American Arbitration Association, the International Chamber of Commerce, and other claim administrators.
We also employ tested and innovative technologies to support our dispute resolution efforts, including document management, cost accumulation and assessment, graphics and animation presentations.