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Strategies that Help Clients Comply with Accessibility Requirements
Strategies that Help Clients Comply with Accessibility Requirements
Feb 26
Some of the scariest risks I have helped clients address – in terms of potential claim value, meeting exacting performance requirements, and the inability to transfer risk by contract – relate to “accessibility standards,” like Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Fair Housing Act (FHA)....
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Why Illinois Courts Often Favor Arbitration Over Litigation
Why Illinois Courts Often Favor Arbitration Over Litigation
Nov 24
The choice between arbitration and court litigation in Illinois is complicated. Arbitration is no panacea. Some disputes are definitely better suited to litigation in a court of competent jurisdiction than arbitration. However, Illinois courts and law are no longer hostile to arbitration, and recognize its...
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How Guided Choice Mediation Achieves Earlier Settlements of Design and Construction Disputes
How Guided Choice Mediation Achieves Earlier Settlements of Design and Construction Disputes
Nov 24
A version of this article first appeared in the Construction Law Newsletter, Volume 34, Number 3 (January 2018), coauthors Paul M. Lurie and Jeremy S. Baker Want to Resolve Design and Construction Disputes Quickly? Clients have spoken, and their in-house counsel, lawyers, and mediators now...
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The Hidden Benefit to Thoughtful Contract Negotiations
The Hidden Benefit to Thoughtful Contract Negotiations
Sep 30
The very act of two project participants coming together to thoughtfully negotiate a design and construction contract has a benefit unto itself – one that is separate from the piece of paper produced at the end of the contract negotiation. Why Are Good Contracts Important...
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Accessible Design Requirements: Worthy Aims, Huge Risks for Design Professionals
Accessible Design Requirements: Worthy Aims, Huge Risks for Design Professionals
Sep 30
Design professionals must comply with a variety of federal, state, and local statutes, rules, and codes, or accessible design requirements, that require certain public and commercial buildings to be designed in a manner so they are readily accessible to and usable by persons with certain...
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Design Professionals Should Not Be Afraid to Lead Design-Build Teams
Design Professionals Should Not Be Afraid to Lead Design-Build Teams
Jul 30
For years, lawyers and insurance brokers have provided limiting advice to architects and engineers. The Limiting Advice To Engineers & Architects Together, we have put architects and engineers in a tiny little box. We advise architects and engineers to stay far away from the means...
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What Is the Best Length for Design and Construction Contracts?
What Is the Best Length for Design and Construction Contracts?
Jul 28
No one specific length is best for design and construction contracts. Project participants do, however, want to avoid overly short contracts with “gray” areas. The ones which do not address the major issues which may arise in the project. This is because design and construction...
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Project Owners Should Not Over-Rely On Title Insurer Review of Payment Applications
Real estate developers and project owners should not over-rely on a title insurer's review.
Jul 20
Real estate developers and property owners sometimes make a mistake by entirely outsourcing supervision of the monthly draw process to the title insurer hired by their lenders. But I counsel people against the over-rely on title insurer strategy. One of the big risks for Illinois...
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The AIA Document B152-2019 Interior Design Agreement: Important FF&E Changes
The AIA Document B152-2019 Interior Design Agreement: Important FF&E Changes
May 28
Compared to its widely-used B152-2007 predecessor, the new B152-2019 Interior Design Agreement contains many changes. The new B152 differs more, textually, from its predecessor than most updated AIA Contract Documents I have seen recently. Take Furniture, Furnishings, and Equipment, for example. The phrase and its...
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Arbitrator-Directed Arbitration: A Proposal To Improve Construction Arbitration
Arbitrator-Directed Arbitration: A Proposal To Improve Construction Arbitration
May 27
Arbitration was once the darling of the construction industry, with parties intentionally sacrificing the safeguards of litigation, and its expensive and inefficient procedures, in favor of fair, quick, and cost-efficient dispute resolution. Many in the industry, including the authors, continue to believe that knowledgeable construction...
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Contact

Contact Jeremy S. Baker, a Chicago-based design and construction attorney who served at “big law” firms for nearly 18 years before launching Baker Law.

Phone Number (312) 621-7184

Baker Law, Design & Construction Counsel

Baker Law, Design & Construction Counsel N/a
Address Cook County Office 33 N. Dearborn,
Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60602
Office meetings by appointment only.
(312) 621-7184
Address Lake County Office 790 Estate Drive,
Suite 200
Deerfield, IL 60015
Office meetings by appointment only.
(312) 621-7184