Since design-builders carry both design and construction responsibility, they embrace both the opportunity and the risk that contractors, architects, and engineers must each individually manage. Success depends on careful planning and structure both within their organizations and on individual projects, clear contracts, careful allocation of risk, a commitment to keeping insurable risks insured – and early, cost-efficient resolution when disputes arise.
We support design-builders on a wide variety of matters ranging from preparing repeatable templates, contract documents for deployment on projects nationwide, to negotiating project specific agreements for design and construction, to resolving disputes through mediation, arbitration, and litigation, and using mechanics liens to secure payment. Our experience representing design professionals, constructors, and owners positions us perfectly to help design-builders – profitably – navigate the challenges of both design and construction.
Experience Across High-Value Projects
In recent years, we have represented design-builders on projects exceeding $160 million in construction value, spanning healthcare facilities, multifamily and modular housing, industrial plants, condominiums, hospitality properties, and retail buildouts. These projects account for hundreds of thousands of square feet of development and involve compensation structures ranging from stipulated sum agreements to cost-plus with guaranteed maximum price (GMP), for construction, and a wide variety of payment arrangements for design. The numbers reflect the volume of our work and the diversity of the design-build delivery model in practice.
Our firm has assisted a Chicago-based commercial design-builder with well over 50 projects and matters across the country, each encompassing tiers of upstream and downstream design and construction contracts. We helped it to navigate opportunity and challenges on hundreds of issues which arise on everything from hospitals to hotels, to senior living, to multifamily mixed projects, through mechanics liens, mediation and, when necessary, litigation. We developed its entire contracting strategy, for owners, architects, engineers, and subcontractors.
Guiding Projects of All Sizes
We have guided design-builders through projects of many types and scales. In this body of work, we have assisted with matters as complex as a $35 million assembly line for an electric vehicle manufacturing facility and as modest as a $200,000 mechanics lien. Between lie dozens of other projects and matters: a $30 million hospital renovation, a $15 million medical building conversion, a $9.75 million modular residential project, and seven-figure claims resolved through creative settlements. Jeremy has particular experience representing the engineering, fabrication, and construction companies responsible for the complex design, engineering, manufacturing, and installation of high-performance skyscraper curtain wall systems.
Full Range of Legal Services for Design-Builders
Our representation of design-builders extends across the full range of legal services we provide. We routinely negotiate and draft design-build agreements, downstream subcontracts, and lender-required consents, aligning project delivery with capital and schedule demands. We build scalable template systems that let design-build firms deploy hundreds of contracts efficiently, while preserving the ability to negotiate complex matters ourselves.
We act as outside general counsel, answering daily operational questions, advising on insurance strategy, and guiding business decisions with legal consequences. When disputes surface, we lean on negotiation and mediation first, focusing on preserving relationships and keeping projects on track. If necessary, we prosecute and defend claims decisively, recording and foreclosing mechanics liens, pursuing arbitration, or litigating in state and federal courts.
Experience with AIA Contract Documents
Our work with design-builders is also distinguished by the breadth of American Institute of Architects (AIA) Contract Documents we use in practice.
We often negotiate project specific contracts for our design build clients on forms such as AIA Document A141–2014, Agreement Between Owner and Design-Builder, and its companion agreements, such as AIA Document B143–2014, Agreement Between Design-Builder and Architect, and AIA Document A142–2014, Agreement Between Design-Builder and Contractor.
We regularly tailor and deploy AIA Document A201–2017, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction, as well as the full suite of Owner–Contractor agreements, including:
For modular projects, we negotiate AIA Document A145–2015, Agreement Between Owner and Design-Builder for a One or Two Family Residential Project, while also using AIA Document A421–2018, Master Agreement Between Contractor and Subcontractor where Work is provided under multiple Work Orders.
Each contract form, whether AIA or non-AIA, is adapted to the realities of design-build delivery of the project at hand, with custom edits and riders to address the preferences and risk tolerance of our client and to project-specific risks, including government, lender or labor concerns, or various financing structures, and the eventual design-build contract amendments to lock price and schedule after the design is sufficiently complete to do so.
Proven Results for Design-Builders
Our results for design-builders reflect this breadth. We recorded and foreclosed mechanics liens to secure millions in overdue payments, including a $7.7 million lien claim tied to a hospital renovation. We achieved a 97% recovery for a design-builder in a multifamily redevelopment dispute by structuring a creative two-tier settlement that preserved refinancing and future collaboration. We resolved over $2.5 million in outstanding receivables across four healthcare projects in less than 70 days through strategic negotiation. We negotiated modular housing agreements that protected design-builders’ upfront investment in procurement and fabrication while balancing owner expectations on delivery, performance, and financing. We defended design-builders in mediation, guided them through disputes with subsidiaries, and advised on lender consents, intellectual property rights, and risk management in personal injury litigation.
Why Design-Builders Trust Us
Design-builders rely on us because we combine industry knowledge with practical solutions. We know the pressures of delivering projects on time and on budget, and we understand the risks that can derail that goal when you are responsible for architecture, engineering, construction, and overall project execution. Our role is to help design-builders anticipate and manage those risks, draft and negotiate agreements that reflect commercial realities, and resolve disputes with speed and precision – so they can keep designing and building, profitably.
Contact us today to learn how we can help your design-build projects succeed.
