Construction Law

The construction lawyers of Gibbs Giden provide legal guidance and counseling to clients at every stage of a construction project. Gibbs Giden construction lawyers have extensive experience in virtually every type of construction project, including airports, power plants, hospitals, major sports venues, office buildings, correctional facilities, retail locations, major residential projects, universities, courthouses, petrochemical plants, dams, pipelines, and wastewater and water treatment facilities. Gibbs Giden construction lawyers have represented public and private owners, design professionals, general contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers with respect to almost every conceivable circumstance that can arise before, during, and after completion of a construction project. Below is a short list of the types construction legal services our firm has provided its clients for over four decades:

Contractor License Matters

Construction lawyers counsel clients on matters relating to their contractor’s state license, including obtaining, maintaining and avoiding licensing gaps.

Contract Documents

Construction lawyers provide legal analysis and drafting of contract documents and bid packages involving project delivery relationships, and alternative systems such as design-build, construction manager/multiple prime contractors, joint ventures, partnering, and continuously evolving variations fashioned by the industry to finance, design, and construct projects.

Claim Avoidance

Construction lawyers counsel clients with respect to claims avoidance and resolution procedures, risk management, insurance, and bonding requirements.

Contract Matters

Construction lawyers counsel clients with respect to contract acquisition matters, including debarment, suspensions, bid protests, and competitive negotiations.

Project Management

Construction Lawyers provide clients with project management assistance, including contract administration and interpretation during performance, documentation of disputes, informal negotiations with project management, and project close-out.

Construction Claims

Counsel clients with respect to claims and change order documentation, preparation, and presentation.

ADR

Represent and counsel clients in alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) in a variety of forums, including administrative boards and agencies, private mediations, arbitrations, and mini-trials.

Litigation

Represent and counsel clients with respect to construction litigation before both federal and state courts and administrative agencies involving virtually every type of performance issue, including delay, impact and acceleration claims, construction defects, design errors, cost overruns, and regulatory compliance.

Complex vs. Streamlined Litigation

Not all construction issues are of equal complexity or value. Therefore, Gibbs Giden is structured to provide our clients with whatever level of service required, adding value at each level. Our lawyers have developed a streamlined practice to efficiently enforce mechanics lien, stop notice, and payment bond rights. Our lawyers are skilled in assembling a team including paralegals and consultants necessary to handle highly complex and document intensive construction disputes.

Delay and Disruption

The construction lawyers of Gibbs Giden litigate delay and disruption cases, including the construction of various Metro Rail Transit projects, the Port of Long Beach, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, San Francisco International Airport, John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, Kaiser Riverside Medical Center, Los Angeles County Central Jail Expansion Project, Southeast Resource Recovery Facility in Long Beach, the Space Shuttle launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant in Los Angeles, Coso Geothermal Plant located near China Lake, and the Aladdin and Venetian Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Bid Protests and Administrative Proceedings

The construction lawyers of Gibbs Giden successfully represent numerous public agencies and contractors in bid protests, affirmative action issues, subcontractor listing law disputes, and other administrative proceedings.

Public Contracts

Gibbs Giden construction lawyers take pride in handling all aspects of construction projects, from conception to completion. Our construction lawyers assist public agencies in planning and managing their projects to ensure that they are delivered on time and within budget. These projects include the Diamond Valley Lake constructed by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Alameda Corridor project running between the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles, and the expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center.

Consulting Relationships That Add Value

In addition to the construction lawyers and paralegals in our law firm, we have developed relationships with outside consultants with construction, architectural, engineering, and accounting expertise who assist us in the evaluation of construction claims and the preparation of technical analysis. We have found that both our expertise and reputation have facilitated the resolution of disputes on every type of project at the earliest possible time with favorable outcomes for our clients.

Client Education

To help our clients avoid legal pitfalls and develop best practices manuals and procedures, our construction lawyers provide ongoing legal education relating to following topics:

1. Prevailing Wage
2. Sexual Harassment and the Workplace
3. Alternatives to Layoffs, Layoffs, and Downsizing
4. Mechanics’ Lien/Stop Notices
5. New Indemnity Rules on Wrap-Up Insurance Programs (Commercial and Residential)
6. Economic Stimulus Funding Allocations, Infrastructure, and Sustainable Projects
7. New Technologies, Liabilities, and Risk Management Programs – What’s ahead in Construction Defect Litigation
8. Public Private Partnerships (“PPP’s”)
9. Rights and Remedies for Delayed, Suspended, or Terminated Projects
10. Change Orders in California and/or Nevada
11. Managing Construction Projects in California (select one below)
    1. Key Contract Provisions
    2. Bidding Issues on Public Contracts
    3. Essential Recordkeeping
    4. Scheduling Delays and Disruption of Work
    5. Project Closeout
    6. Construction Dispute Resolution
12. AIA & Consensus Documents
13. Practical Aspects of Depositions
14. Document Review and Privileged Log Essentials
15. Bid Protests and the Competitive Public Contract Bid

Gibbs Giden is a California Bar MCLE provider and can provide MCLE credit for our clients with in-house attorneys. Please call our Los Angeles office at 310-552-3400, our Westlake office at 805-261-1777, our Irvine office at 949-287-8044 or our Las Vegas office at 702-836-9800, or contact us online for more information on client education or to find out how to schedule a seminar.