“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...

Using Personal Vehicles While at Work – What are the Risks?

By Mark Jackson and Erin Kelley, JCJ Insurance Agency Whether your company owns vehicles or not, chances are you have employees who use their personal vehicles for business purposes. Most design firms are aware that they need proper coverage for automobiles they own,...

Electronic Communication – A Blessing or a Curse?

Co-authored By Mark Jackson and Erin Johnson, JCJ Insurance Agency With advances in technology, methods of communication for design firms are quickly evolving. What would have been detailed in a formal letter, transmittal or submittal in the past is now frequently...