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.
Caroline Augenstein Joins Stites & Harbison in Lexington
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney Caroline A. Augenstein to the firm’s Lexington, Ky., office. She joins the Construction Service Group.
Dig Down Deep Spring 2023
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Construction attorneys Steven Henderson and Ross Hutchison will be featured speakers at this NUCA of Middle Tennessee's breakfast and networking event.
Strengthening Buy America Requirements
In his recent State of the Union speech, President Biden highlighted an intention to increase enforcement of Buy America requirements for federally funded infrastructure projects. The next day, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a proposed rule and notice of proposed guidance aimed at standardizing the implementation of the Build America, Buy America provision of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA or Act) enacted in November 2021. This proposed guidance is intended to clarify and strengthen enforcement of the Buy America requirements. Contractors pursuing and working on infrastructure projects funded by the Act need to be aware of these requirements summarized below.
Stites & Harbison Attorneys Honored by 2023 Georgia Super Lawyers
ATLANTA—The 2023 edition of Georgia Super Lawyers recently honored three Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys based in the firm’s Atlanta office. The attorneys named on this years list are Dan Douglass, Joe Kingma and Billy Newcomb.
Commerce Lexington Appoints Cassidy Rosenthal as Board Chair for 2023
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Commerce Lexington has appointed Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Cassidy Rosenthal as Chair of its Board of Directors for 2023. Rosenthal previously served as Chair-Elect, a member of the Board of Directors and as the organization’s General Counsel.
Construction Law Institute 2022
Time: 7:45 a.m. - 4:05 p.m.
Embassy Suites, 1801 Newtown Pike, Lexington, Kentucky
Construction attorney Bill Geisen is the Planning Committee Chair and Steven Henderson is a speaker at the 2022 Construction Law Institute to be held October 20, 2022 in Lexington, Kentucky.
Stites & Harbison Welcomes Ann Murphy to the Nashville Office
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney Ann H. Murphy to the firm’s Nashville, Tenn., office. She joins the Business Litigation and Construction Service Groups.
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.