Annual Meeting of Invited Attorneys

Risk Management Blog

Project & Firm Resources

• White Paper Series
• International Practice
• Contract Review Tools
• Practice Management
• Management Advisories
• Benchmarking & Claims Studies
• Small Firms Risk Kit

Resource Guides

• Resource Manual
• Curriculum Development Guide
• RM Savings Guide
• Interactive RM Project Matrix

Insurance Resources

• Risk Mitigation Credit
• Surveyors Risk Mitigation Credit
• Property & Casualty
• Professional Liability Coverage
• Intro to Professional Liability

Other Resources

• Landscape Architects
• Land Surveyors
• Contractors
• Interior Designers
• Construction Managers
• Environmental Practitioners

New Advisories (December 2011)

• Comments on ConsensusDOCS 420, 2011 Edition—Standard Agreement Between Design-Builder and Design Professional
• Firms Should Keep Clients' Information Confidential

Construction Phase

• Change Orders
• Construction Process
• Construction Contract Administration
• Observations or Inspection of the Work
• Selection of a Low Bidder
• Shop Drawings
• Site Safety
• Why Contractors Need Professional Liability Insurance

Contracts

• 2007 Editions of AIA Contracts
• Agreement Forms
• AIA Releases New IPD Contract Forms
• ConsensusDOCS 2011 Revisions to the Design Professional Agreements
• Considerations When Being Retained to Replace a Design Firm
• Differences Between AIA Docs, ConsensusDOCS
• EJCDC Publishes New Edition of its Owner-Engineer Agreement
• Express Warranties
• Limitation of Liability Provisions
• Oral Agreements
• Providing Services in Emergency Situations
• Purchase Orders
• Revised ALTA-ACSM Land Title Survey Requirements
• Termination, Suspension, and Abandonment
• Waiving Rights or Assuming Liabilities by Contract Can be Devastating

Design-Build

• Design-Build Claims Study
• Evaluating Projects
• Insurance
• Marketing Design-Build Services
• Subcontracting Services
• Subcontracting Risks

Employment Practices

• Checking Social Networking Sites
• EPL Claims Mistakes
• Hiring and Firing
• Leasing Professional Employees
• Obligations to Returning Soldiers
• Protection from Downsizing Litigation
• Sexual Harassment
• Staffing Up
• Third-Party Sexual Harassment
• Using Non-Competition Covenants

Green Design/Sustainability

• An Interview with a Lead Drafter of the Green Building Addendum
• Green Buildings
• Obtaining Mutual Understanding on Designing for Sustainability
• Questions to Ask on a Green Project
• Sustainable Design Practice Management Precautions

Insurance

• Additional Insured Status on Professional Liability Policies
• Additional Insured Status Under the Contractor's CGL Policy
• Deductibles and Limits
• Endorsements
• Integrated Practice Exposures
• Mergers, Acquisitions and Dissolutions
• Professional Liability Insurance Coverage
• Using Owner-Supplied Documents
• Waiver of Subrogation

International

• Going Global: Expanding your Practice Overseas
• International Building Code
• International Practice
• Managing Decennial Liability Risk
• Offshore Outsourcing
• Securing Insurance for International Practice
• Tips for Practicing Outside the U.S.

Legal

• Architect-of-Record or Site Architect
• As-Built or Record Documents
• Betterment or Added Value Defenses
• California Calderon Procedures
• Changing Practice's Structure or Staffing Has Special Considerations
• Client-Selected Consultants
• Codes and Contracts Push Sustainability Standard of Care
• Codes and Standards
• Contractual Risks on Native American Projects
• Defending and Indemnifying a Client
• Discovery Rules
• Duties of a Professional Engineer
• Electronic Signature Law
• Expert Witnesses
• Exposures Created by Recognizing Third-Party Beneficiaries
• Good Samaritan Statutes
• Indemnification Issues
• Intellectual Property Risks
• Joint and Several Liability
• Lien Rights and Lien Waivers
• Liquidated Damages Provisions
• Maintaining the Paper Trail
• Mediation
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Negligence of Others
• OSHA's Citation Policy
• Prevailing Party
• Professional Liability and Tort Reform
• Should the Architect Remain the Initial Decision Maker?
• Signing and Sealing Instruments of Service Prepared by Another Design Professional
• Standard of Care: Avoiding an Unattainable Obligation
• Statutes of Repose/Limitations
• Stepping Into Government Administrative Roles as Independent Professional Service Provider
• Strategic Alliances
• Surveyors: Certifications
• Tribal Law
• Using Additional Insured Status to Protect from Meritless Claims
• Using a Lien as a Payment Enforcement Tool
• Vicarious Liability

Management

• Avoiding Claims Through Fee Collection
• Certifications
• Check Your Financial Health
• Controlling Exposure to Risk
• Davis-Bacon Wages Prevail in Stimulus Plan
• Document Protection
• Email
• Fiduciary Duty
• Joint Venture
• Lenders: Mandated Certifications
• Lenders: Requirements for Assignments
• Managing Risks of Pandemics
• Preventing Fee Disputes
• Project Documentation: To Write or Not to Write
• Records Retention and Professional Practice
• Responding to Media Inquiries
• Schedule Concerns
• See You in Court
• Total Quality Management
• Transfer of Documents and Electronic Information

Marketing

• Podcasting and Writing
• Procurement of Professional Services
• Public-Private Partnerships
• Security Design
• You Are What You Are Perceived to Be

Mold

• Design Checklist
• Litigation and Design Professionals
• Management Oversight

Practice

• Avoid Liability Caused by In-house Processes
• BIM May Reduce Design Exposures, Create Technology Risks
• Bridging
• Business Software Piracy
• Client Expectations and Communication
• Communication Backup and Restoration
• Consultant Selection
• Design Professional's Role in Buy American Provisions of ARRA-Funded Projects
• Disaster Recovery
• Emergency Planning, Response, and Recovery
• Forms of Practice
• Identifying, Assessing, and Managing Project Risk
• Industry Developments Foster IPD
• Internet-Based Project Management Systems
• ISO 9000 Series Standards
• Leadership Continuity
• Licensing
• Placing Information in an Electronic Plan Room
• Placing Project Information on a Website
• Preparing for a Power Outage
• Professional Practice in an Economic Downturn
• Project Alliances: A Challenging Form of IPD
• Restarting a Project
• Risk and the Sealing of Drawings
• Services for Prototype Designs
• Small Firm Practice Management
• Sole Practitioners Should Anticipate Medical Contingencies
• Specifying New Products and Technologies
• Study and Report Risk Management
• Surveyor Information: Electronic Transfer
• Using Contractor-supplied Electronic Information

Residential/Condo Risks

• Condo Design Liability
• Facing Residential Claims
• Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines
• Reducing Litigation on Condo Projects
• "Relativity" of Habitability Claims
• Suggestions for Condo Design Contracts

Risk Allocation

• Arbitration
• Design or Construction Deficiencies
• General Rules for Effective Risk Allocation
• Indemnification: General Issues
• Indemnification: Subconsultants
• Limitation of Liability as an Allocation of Risk
• Limitation of Liability: Subconsultants
• Moonlighting and Providing Volunteer Professional Services
• Negotiating Indemnity Provisions
• Partnering
• Protecting Yourself Against Claims for Delays or Extras
• Providing Pro Bono Services
• "Safe Harbor" Provision
• Segregating Risk and Billings
• Serving as a Conduit for Services
• Using Independent Contractors

Risk Mitigation

• Fast-Track Project Risks
• Fee Collection
• Independent Reviews
• Interprofessional Agreements
• Preserving Cash Flow Imperative During Recession
• Protection for Asbestos Risks
• Shop Drawing Exposures

We also have Management Advisories for Contractors, Environmental Consultants, and Landscape Architects.