Business Counseling
Developers, Contractors, Architects, Etc.
Over the years, the Firm has represented developers, owners, architects and the like in various aspects of real estate development. The key in these matters, as is similar in other business related matters, is to clearly understand the relative roles to be played by the parties and to make sure that their needs are met.
Within the real estate development area, form contracts have been established through the BIA, AIA, GCG and the like. By and large, those agreements provide a good foundation from which to establish a business agreement. In point of fact, they are so commonly used that many parties do not feel the need to have them reviewed by legal counsel. However, whether you are an owner, contractor, architect, subcontractor or other contracting professional, such agreements will generally require at least some level of modification to (1) meet the particulars of the specific transaction and (2) ensure that your rights are adequately protected. One of the biggest areas of concern may relate to indemnity. Certainly it is appropriate that a party take responsibility for those services which it renders and provide indemnity to the other party for that. However, it is not uncommon for agreements to try and have one party assume responsibility even for services they did not perform. These provisions and insurance provisions relating to them require careful scrutiny.
Should you require additional assistance in this area, please contact Ross Schwartz or Kevin Cauley.