Construction Law Course

Lesson 1 • Regulatory Framework for Construction

Covers licensing, permitting, zoning, and safety regulations affecting construction. Explains how compliance failures create legal exposure.

Lesson 2 • The Legal System and Construction

Introduces how civil and common law systems apply to construction disputes. Provides the baseline legal literacy needed for all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 3 • Standard Industry Contracts Overview

Surveys widely used standard form contracts and their sponsoring organizations. Establishes familiarity with contract families before detailed analysis in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Bid Process and Procurement Law

Analyzes public and private procurement rules, bid mistakes, and withdrawal rights. Connects procurement compliance to contract enforceability.

Lesson 2 • Contract Modifications and Amendments

Distinguishes formal amendments from constructive changes and oral modifications. Prepares students to manage scope evolution without losing legal protection.

Lesson 3 • Contract Documents and Hierarchy

Explains the priority of drawings, specifications, general conditions, and addenda. Teaches students to resolve conflicts between contract documents systematically.

Lesson 4 • Elements of a Valid Contract

Covers offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, and legality as applied to construction agreements. Connects formation rules to real bidding and award scenarios.

Lesson 1 • Limitation of Liability Provisions

Analyzes caps on damages, consequential damage waivers, and liquidated damages clauses. Equips students to negotiate balanced liability limits.

Lesson 2 • Indemnification and Hold Harmless Clauses

Examines broad, intermediate, and limited indemnity forms and their enforceability. Teaches drafting strategies that survive anti-indemnity statutes.

Lesson 3 • Project Delivery Methods Compared

Contrasts design-bid-build, design-build, construction management, and integrated delivery. Links delivery choice to risk exposure and contract structure.

Lesson 4 • Risk Identification and Allocation

Introduces systematic risk identification and the principle of allocating risk to the party best able to control it. Grounds later clause-by-clause analysis.

Lesson 1 • Payment Clauses and Mechanisms

Examines lump sum, unit price, cost-plus, and GMP payment structures. Connects payment terms to cash flow risk and dispute prevention.

Lesson 2 • Dispute Resolution Clauses

Covers negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation election clauses. Connects clause drafting to strategic dispute resolution planning.

Lesson 3 • Time, Schedule, and Delay Provisions

Covers contract time, notice requirements, and excusable vs. compensable delay. Builds the foundation for delay claims analysis in later chapters.

Lesson 4 • Termination Clauses

Distinguishes termination for cause from termination for convenience and their financial consequences. Prepares students to advise on termination decisions and responses.

Lesson 1 • Delay Claim Fundamentals

Defines critical path, float ownership, and concurrent delay. Establishes the analytical vocabulary needed for all delay claim work.

Lesson 2 • Quantifying Delay Damages

Teaches calculation of extended general conditions, home office overhead, and escalation costs. Connects damage quantification to claim presentation strategy.

Lesson 3 • Concurrent Delay and Apportionment

Analyzes how courts and arbitrators apportion responsibility when multiple parties cause delay. Prepares students to argue and defend apportionment positions.

Lesson 4 • Schedule Analysis Methodologies

Compares as-planned vs. as-built, collapsed as-built, and time impact analysis methods. Teaches selection of the appropriate method for each claim scenario.

Lesson 1 • Claim Preparation and Presentation

Teaches structured claim document preparation, narrative organization, and exhibit development. Connects preparation quality to settlement and adjudication outcomes.

Lesson 2 • Cost Accounting for Construction Claims

Covers direct costs, indirect costs, and markup structures used in claim preparation. Teaches students to apply cost accounting principles that withstand audit.

Lesson 3 • Extra Work and Changed Conditions Claims

Analyzes entitlement to additional compensation for owner-directed changes and unforeseen conditions. Connects factual investigation to legal theory selection.

Lesson 4 • Defective Work and Warranty Claims

Covers express and implied warranties, correction obligations, and economic loss rules. Prepares students to advise on defect claims from both sides.

Lesson 1 • Negotiation and Settlement Strategies

Applies interest-based and positional negotiation techniques to construction disputes. Teaches settlement structuring and release drafting to close disputes efficiently.

Lesson 2 • Dispute Avoidance and Early Resolution

Introduces dispute review boards, partnering, and early neutral evaluation. Connects proactive dispute management to project cost and schedule outcomes.

Lesson 3 • Mediation in Construction Disputes

Covers mediator selection, pre-mediation preparation, and session strategy. Connects mediation advocacy to claim strength and settlement value assessment.

Lesson 4 • Litigation of Construction Disputes

Covers pleading, discovery, expert witnesses, and trial strategy in construction litigation. Addresses how litigation differs from arbitration in cost and procedure.

Lesson 1 • Lien Law and Payment Security

Examines mechanics lien rights, preliminary notice requirements, and lien enforcement. Connects lien strategy to payment bond and trust fund remedies.

Lesson 2 • International Construction Contracts

Analyzes FIDIC and other international standard forms, governing law, and cross-border enforcement. Prepares students for legal challenges unique to international projects.

Lesson 3 • Strategic Legal Risk Management

Synthesizes course learning into a proactive legal risk management framework for projects. Students develop skills to advise clients on minimizing legal exposure throughout project lifecycle.

Lesson 4 • Emerging Legal Issues in Construction

Addresses BIM liability, modular construction, sustainability obligations, and data privacy. Equips students to anticipate legal risks from evolving industry practices.