Construction

Saul Ewing LLP's construction experience spans from Boston's Big Dig and representing the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority in a $700 million dollar expansion to infrastructure projects in Alaska, Alberta, Taiwan and Iceland.

We represent clients at every stage of the development and construction process, including litigation. To advance projects through legal and regulatory hurdles to success, we advise on traditional contractual arrangements and transactions and provide assertive counsel in disputes related to complex construction agreements. We are equally conversant on new approaches to project delivery, fast-track projects and public-private partnerships.

Saul Ewing inserts a risk management perspective into its counsel - whether we are issue-spotting routine contracts or defending multimillion defective construction claims – in order to protect the interests of our construction industry clients.

Construction clients

From developers to government entities and contractors and subcontractors, our construction clients come from the public and private sectors, and range from small entrepreneurs to large institutions including:

• Architecture firms
• Construction management firms
• Counties, cities, municipalities and authorities
• Engineering and design firms
• General contractors
• Government contractors
• Insurers
• Manufacturers
• Public and private owners
• School districts
• Subcontractors
• Suppliers

Construction projects

We have extensive experience managing the multiple contractual arrangements and business structures common in public-private partnerships in construction projects in numerous industries. Our experience includes:

• Green construction projects and sustainable design
• Healthcare, hospitals and skilled nursing facilities
• Heavy highway public works projects
• Multifamily construction
• Power, airport, ports and marine facilities
• Prison construction
• Schools and universities
• Solid waste programs
• Subway station tunneling, construction and track work
• Technology procurement
• Vertical construction
• Water and wastewater facilities

Construction practice approach

Saul Ewing's construction experience is vast and varied. We understand that our clients want to deliver a project on time, on budget and with minimal disruptions. We represent clients through the lifecycle of a development project, including in:

• Initial land acquisition, zoning and permitting
• Environmental compliance and green building counsel from LEED-credentialed attorneys
• Planning and design, including ADA-related issues
• Preparation of bid documents and specifications
• Bidding and bid protests
• Contract negotiations
• Construction
• Default terminations
• Accounting issues and audits
• Labor issues and loss of productivity
• Claim resolution
• Project closeout and final payment

Construction litigation practice

Construction litigation is a significant practice strength. We have litigated cases in the federal and state trial and appellate courts located in more than 20 states and in several international forums. We regularly practice before the Agency Boards of Contract Appeals, and in various forms of alternative dispute resolution. We have prosecuted and defended GAO, GSBCA, EPA and DOT protests, as well as Small Business Administration Size Appeals, and a variety of labor matters. Our conflict resolution experience includes representations in:

• Allegations of defective pricing
• Alleged false claims
• Bid challenges
• Breach of contract
• Defective design and construction
• Delay and inefficiency claims and time extensions
• Demands for equitable adjustment
• Differing site conditions
• Insurance issues
• International construction disputes, including matters pending before the International Chamber of Commerce
• Mechanic's lien claims
• Payment and performance bond sureties claims
• Termination challenges

Construction practice leadership

Our attorneys are named in The Best Lawyers in America in construction law. The co-chair of our Practice, prior to entering law, worked on the construction of the Trans-Alaska pipeline. Our attorneys include one of the first 10 Maryland attorneys to become a LEED Accredited Professional, a former in-house executive at a top-ranked construction and engineering firm, and the former chief counsel in the Pennsylvania Department of General Services responsible for the legal aspects of the Commonwealth's building construction, commodity procurement and leasing programs. We are active in construction-industry affiliated organizations and serve on boards and committees of the Associated General Contractors of America/AGC, ACEC/Hazardous Waste Action Coalition and the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation. In addition, we lecture and write on construction law for legal and trade publications and groups, including on the topic of sustainable and green building.