Drafting, Reviewing & Negotiating Construction Contracts
Our Construction Service Group attorneys draft, review, and negotiate contracts for design and construction, and counsel a wide range of owners, developers, design builders and contractors about those contracts.
Both the wide range of projects on which we have consulted and our attorneys’ industry experience equip us to tackle any project our clients place before us. Our contract review experience includes both modified standardized form agreements and manuscript construction documents for private and public projects throughout the United States and internationally. The unique perspective gained from our group’s broad experience in dispute resolution and problem-solving helps us craft contracts that prevent problems for our clients.
Stites & Harbison’s Construction Service Group attorneys are regional and national leaders in developing contract documents for application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology and sustainable design and construction (LEED and otherwise). We have served in leadership roles for BIM development initiatives sponsored by AISC, the Associated General Contractors of America, and the American College of Construction Lawyers.
Stites & Harbison lawyers know how to apply emerging technology and design theory, as well as emerging legal theory and practice, to real-world construction contracts.
Representative Engagements
- Atlantic Center Plaza, Atlanta – Located in midtown Atlanta, the $100 million Atlantic Center Plaza consists of a 500,000 square-foot, 24-story office tower and an 11-story poured-in-place parking deck. The contractor for the project was The Beck Group, the developer was Pope & Land Enterprises, and the architect was Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart & Associates, Inc. Stites & Harbison construction lawyers reviewed contract documents on behalf of the contractor for the project.
- The Beck Group develops real estate, designs architecture and interiors and constructs buildings. Stites & Harbison drafts, reviews and negotiates their construction contracts.
- Design/builder Denham Blythe relies on Stites & Harbison to negotiate construction contracts.
- Gray Construction – Our construction attorneys regularly draft, review, advise and negotiate subcontracts and contracts with values of up to $60 million for this national and international company that designs and builds commercial and industrial facilities.
- Judy Construction Company of Cynthiana, Ky. is a general contractor specializing in water and wastewater treatment facilities, commercial and industrial buildings and bridge construction. The company completed a $1.77 million project on the Fayette County Courthouse Plaza in Lexington, which includes an elliptical fountain, a water wall, and a courtyard. Stites & Harbison provides legal services to Judy Construction Company.
- Lexington-Fayette Urban County Detention Facility, Lexington, Ky. – The new $55 million detention facility was designed and built in the scenic Bluegrass area of Kentucky for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. To be a good neighbor to nearby horse farms, the structure uses traditional materials and forms.
- Lin Rogers Electrical – The Construction Service Group negotiates contracts on behalf of several subcontractors and suppliers including Lin Rogers Electrical.
- Yum! Center/Louisville Basketball Arena, Louisville, Ky. – Stites & Harbison attorneys represented the construction manager of Louisville’s Yum! Center sports arena.
- Precision Walls, Inc./Biltmore Inn, Asheville, N.C. - Renovation of the historic Biltmore Inn was accomplished with the help of Precision Walls, Inc. Precision Walls is one of the largest specialty contractors in the Southeast. With a home base in Raleigh, N.C., the company has 1,200 employees and locations throughout the region.
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington, Lexington, Ky. – Our attorneys regularly negotiate and draft contracts for the design and construction of churches, schools and multi-purpose facilities for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington.
- University of Louisville Hospital, Louisville, Ky. – Our group prepared owner-architect and owner-construction manager contracts for this university-built and -operated hospital.
- Bechtel Corporation – We advised Bechtel Corporation on environmental and contract matters for new construction in Oldham County for LG&E, a Kentucky-based utility.
- We represented a major league baseball franchise in drafting and negotiating construction and design contracts for extensive renovations and improvements to one of the country’s oldest and most famous baseball parks.
- We successfully negotiated a $63 million design/build contract with a tire manufacturer in Georgia, and subsequently defeated the tire manufacturer’s $9 million claim against the design/build – in part, on the strength of the contracts.
- Our group is currently advising the owners/developers of a $3 billion gasification facility in the western United States.
Tennessee Bar Association Appoints Ross Hutchison to Construction Section’s Executive Committee
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Bar Association’s (TBA’s) Construction Law Section recently appointed Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney J. Ross Hutchison to its Executive Committee.
Stites & Harbison Attorneys Honored by 2022 Georgia Super Lawyers
ATLANTA—The 2022 edition of Georgia Super Lawyers recently honored four Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys based in the firm’s Atlanta office. Of special note, Joe Kingma was named to the Top 100 Georgia Lawyers list for the fifth time.
Rebecca Sherman Awarded 2022 ABA Forum on Construction Law Diversity Fellowship
LEXINGTON, Ky.—The American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on Construction Law has selected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Rebecca M.W. Sherman for its 2022 Diversity Fellowship. Sherman is one of six nationwide honorees to receive the three-year fellowship.
Understanding the Legal and Ethical Obligations When it Comes to Public Procurement
Last month, a jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina found a former executive of Ohio-based Contech Engineered Solutions LLC, Brent Brewbaker, guilty of conspiracy to rig bids, conspiring to commit fraud, and related charges on over 300 North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) projects. Brewbaker faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for the bid-rigging conspiracy count and 20 years for each of the other counts.
Bill Geisen Elected to American College of Construction Lawyers Board of Governors
COVINGTON, Ky.—The American College of Construction Lawyers (ACCL) has elected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Bill Geisen to its Board of Governors. He will serve a three-year term.
NASCC: The Steel Conference
Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St, Denver, CO 80202
Lexington office attorney Greg Parsons will be part of a panel speaking on Friday, March 25th at the National Association of Steel Construction Steel Conference.
Stites & Harbison Welcomes Drake Staples
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney Drake W. Staples to the firm’s Lexington, Ky., office. He joins the Construction Service Group.
Commerce Lexington Appoints Cassidy Rosenthal as Chair-Elect for 2022
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Commerce Lexington has appointed Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Cassidy Rosenthal as Chair-Elect of its Board of Directors for 2022.
Greg Parsons to be Inducted as Fellow of American College of Construction Lawyers
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Greg Parsons will be inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers (ACCL) on February 26, 2022, at the Annual Meeting in Laguna Beach, Calif. ACCL, one of the nation’s leading legal associations, only designates the top 1% of the construction bar in the U.S. with this honor.
Van Tatenhove Pauses Enforcement of Vaccine Mandate for Some Federal Contractors
On November 30, 2021, a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued an order granting a preliminary injunction curbing implementation and enforcement of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal government contractors and subcontractors.
Stites & Harbison Welcomes J. Ross Hutchison to the Nashville office
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney J. Ross Hutchison to the firm’s Nashville, Tenn., office. He joins the Construction Service Group as a Member (Partner).
Nerves of Steel Needed as Firms Face Inflation, Broken Contracts and Price-Gouging
Construction attorney Steven Henderson joins the conversation about construction pricing during Covid in this Engineering News-Record article.
Fayette County Bar Association Names Rebecca Sherman as Outstanding Young Lawyer for 2021
LEXINGTON, Ky.—The Fayette County Bar Association has recognized Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Rebecca M.W. Sherman with its Outstanding Young Lawyer Award for 2021.
Kentuckians for Better Transportation Names Steven Henderson as Chair of Executive Committee
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Kentuckians for Better Transportation (KBT) recently named Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Steven Henderson as Chair of its Executive Committee.