Construction Law Blog

Virginia contractors are aware that licensure is required for any construction work. In this post we identify five nuances of licensure that contractors should consider.

President Donald Trump recently signed Executive Order No. 13858, entitled Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects. It is intended to encourage companies that receive federal financial assistance for infrastructure projects to use certain products manufactured in the United States. This Order expands the types of projects previously covered to now include many energy projects, and greatly increases the types of American products that contractors are encouraged to incorporate.

The Order, signed on January 31, 2019, directs the heads of ...

Providing construction labor or materials to the federal government raises a host of issues that are not present in private or state projects. Prime contracts with the federal government subject companies to numerous federal regulations. While subcontractors and suppliers have less direct obligations to the federal government, there still are several laws to consider. In this blog we discuss five significant considerations all subcontractors or suppliers on federal projects should keep in mind during a project.

1. Rights to Payment. Subcontractors and suppliers can utilize ...

Most design and construction contracts contain “dispute resolution” provisions that require mediation, arbitration, or litigation. In this post we provide a reference chart identifying some of the differences, pros and cons among these three options. 

Courtney Paulk, one of our blog authors and recently elected president of Hirschler, has been invited to participate in an unscripted, hour-long interview with the Robins School of Business's Dr. Richard Coughlan. The discussion will focus on leadership, decision-making, strategy, and other areas that contribute to Hirschler's success.

C-Suite Conversations are designed to highlight the challenges, opportunities, and decision-making processes of leaders in an engaging and educational format. Students, faculty, fellow business leaders and other guests are given a chance ...

As the 2019 Virginia General Assembly Session starts today, there will be a handful of bills that could greatly affect the construction industry. We recommend construction industry participants watch three particular bills closely this session.

2018 was a strong year for the construction industry. Despite a labor shortage and some uncertainty regarding material costs, construction professionals remain optimistic that the trend of growth will continue in 2019. Below we identify eight trends we expect to carry forward into the new year. 

Contracting without a license (or the proper classification) can be catastrophic to a contractor’s ability to recover payment on projects or maintain its business. In this blog we discuss the general requirements for contracting in Virginia. 

Our recent blog post explained the importance of indemnification provisions in construction contracts. A 2018 federal case has clarified just how carefully they must be drafted in order to have any meaning.

For background, section 11-4.1 of the Virginia Code is sometimes known as the “Anti-Indemnity Statute.” Under 11-4.1, any indemnification provision in a construction contract that obligates the contractor to indemnify another party to the contract for that other party’s negligence is unenforceable.

In the recent case, Travelers Indem. Co. v. Lessard Design, Inc.

A 2018 federal case shows just how costly a flow-down indemnification provision can be, and highlights just how carefully contracts should be read before signing.