Newsletters
Unwritten “Contracts” Cost Far More Than the Paper They Aren’t Written On
By David A. Ericksen, Severson & Werson Most people, and most professionals in particular, know what they should do. It is the stuff of aspirational New Year’s Resolutions and Twelve Step Plans. Yet even those readily acknowledged “right principles” often fall to...
The Never-Ending Challenge of Jobsite Safety
by David W. Lakamp, originally published in 1996 by Professional Practice Insurance Brokers, Inc., and updated in August, 2018 by Bruce N. Furukawa, Esq., Furukawa Buccierie LLP For decades, a/e specialist advisors have instructed design professionals to eliminate the...
Contractual Defense Protection® – A New Solution for the Old “Duty to Defend” Problem
by Stephen S. van Wert Imagine this scenario – you are retained by an owner to design a new office building. In front of the office building are stairs and a corresponding ADA-compliant ramp to the front door. Shortly after the building is opened to the public, a...
Protect your Firm by Limiting your Liability
By Mark Jackson, JCJ Insurance Contracts are important tools for your business relationships with both clients and subconsultants. The different provisions in a contract can provide protection for your design firm if a dispute should arise. One such provision that we...
Verifying Insurance for Subconsultants
By Mark Jackson and Erin Johnson, JCJ Insurance Agency When retaining subconsultants for a project, it is important for design firms to have a written contract. These contracts typically include scope of service, fees, payment provisions, and insurance requirements....
Impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 on Architect and Engineering Firms
By Dennis Boo, CPA, PARTNER - Member of Withum's Architecture and Engineering Group The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Act of 2017”) is finalized. The contents are garnering a lot of discussion, and clearly there are many changes coming in 2018. The scope of this...
“Complying with all Laws” During Design and Construction
By Eric O. Pempus, FAIA, Esq., NCARB, LEED GA Consider this situation: You have been awarded a commission to design a building for a new client. You propose using the AIA’s Standard Form of Agreement B101 as your owner-architect contract, but the client insists you...
Key Clauses of a Consulting Agreement: Design Professional to Design Professional
By Tom Owens A good risk management strategy for design professionals requires proper contracting of all firms engaged in the project. When you are the prime design consultant to the owner (client) you assume responsibility for the performance of the consultants...
AIA B101™ – 2017 Owner-Architect Agreement, What Has Changed Since 2007?
© 2017, by J. Kent Holland Introduction The American Institute of Architects (AIA), on April 27, issued the 2017 update to the AIA B101™ “Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect.” There are a number of tweaks, refinements, improvements – and even a few...
Moonlighting: What’s the Harm?
Diane Mika, Vice President, Director of Risk Management Education, Berkley Design Professional Consider this scenario: An architect in your firm wants to design a home addition plan for a family member. Or this one: an engineer wants to take on a parking-lot project...