Construction

We pursue a nationwide government contract related construction practice staffed by experienced lawyers in the firm's D.C. and California offices.

Our Clients. Our clients include owners, contractors, sureties, design professionals, and subcontractors who are involved in a wide variety of public and private construction, including subways, waterways, wastewater treatment plants, airport extensions, military installations, public buildings, shopping malls, hospitals and community developments. We appear regularly before the federal district and appellate courts, state trial and appellate courts, federal agency boards of contract appeals, and the American Arbitration Association

Alternative Dispute Resolution. We have also been a leader in resolving government-contract related construction disputes through ADR, including dispute review boards, minitrials, and mediation. For example, we represented the contractor in the pathbreaking mini-trial with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that resolved a $45 million differing site conditions claim arising in 1984 out of construction of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.

Issues We Handle. The issues we typically press for clients in construction cases include:

• differing site conditions
• defective specifications
• constructive changes
• acceleration
• delay
• suspension
• inspection and acceptance
• terminations

Our Success. A recent example of construction representation includes representation of a public owner in action by contractors challenging default termination of two subway contracts and asserting over $40 million in claims, resulting in award to client of $16.5 million, pending further proceedings. (Mergentime Corp. v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 166 F.3d 1257 (D.C. Cir. 1999)).