Erecting a building takes more than just pointing to a location and proclaiming it your building site. It can get a lot more complicated than that. You might run into insurance issues, labor issues, even violations. The construction market in the United States was singing a tune of $1,162 billion during 2016, which heightens the need for lawyers for construction companies. However, rather than give yourself a headache sifting through building permits and state building codes, why not leave it to the hands of lawyers for construction companies?
The Need For Contracts
Try throwing down a foundation in a random open lot and you will be hit with charges. However, having a lawyer mediate the purchase of the lot and when done so, they can then research the permits and license you will need to build whichever building you wish to construct.
This even extends to practicing preventative measures that might leave the contractor in hot water, like defending rights and arbitration. More importantly, employment laws and labor laws are researched and put into play when hiring time comes.
Arbitration
Arbitration needs its own section because it is oftentimes the preferred conflict-management process that a lawyer will use between individuals or the construction companies, according to the American Arbitration Association. It is also alternatively known by its acronym “ADR,” and its median time for filing in 2015 sat around 232 days. In Texas, if an individual or company breaches a contract, claims can be filed within a time-frame of four years, however a contract can specify a time-frame of two years.
Arbitration case claims encompass varying amounts of money. The smallest case known claimed $23,000, which actually took three arbitrators to close, while the largest case was a claim to $232 million, according to the American Arbitration Association. The same organization also stated in 2015 that as many as 551 construction industry cases, all claiming $500,000 or more, were managed with the largest at $2.6 billion and the largest arbitration case was claimed at a whopping $96 million. Altogether, claims and counterclaims claimed $5.5 billion.
Lawyers for construction companies have specialized their role to understand the difficult nature of construction. Permits and licenses can be murky when it comes to borders and not everyone wielding a hammer is going to know where their hammer can strike. It is best to invest in a lawyer you can trust to guide you through the foggy nature of construction.