By Andrew Mendelson, FAIA Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Management Officer, Berkley Design Professional Scope creep is the bane of profitability for design firms if not properly managed from the outset of contract negotiations. Once the actual project begins, it’s...
By Lee J. Sacket, Esq. The construction industry has traditionally been slow on change. Despite meteoric advances in technology, many construction project files are still paper based and disorganized, leading to inefficiencies, redundancies and sometimes, mistakes in...
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...
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....
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...
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...
