With over 25 years of experience with construction law, Mark Cobb is proud to be an author of the newest construction publication of the American Bar Associations’ Forum on Construction Law. It’s entitled Construction Checklists, Second Edition: A Guide To Frequently Encountered Construction Issues, it is edited by fellow construction attorneys Carrie L. Okizaki, Terrence L Brookie, Eric A. Berg, and Misty Hubbard Gutierrez.
The book is a compendium of checklists intended to be used by contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers as well as attorneys, accountants, and design professionals when approaching a legal matter. Each chapter includes an introduction for its purpose and a checklist of important considerations on that particular topic. Mark’s participation in the book centered around two particular chapters of the book.
Mark authored a new chapter for the second edition of this book dealing with a general contractors considerations in subcontract agreements; it includes a very detailed list of points a prime contractor should think about when engaging a subcontract (and drafting the contract). This chapter is further described in the preamble to the chapter as follows:
Subcontracts between subcontractors and contractors are frequently meant to be interpreted in conjunction with the prime contract. This checklist focuses on drafting the terms of the subcontract and provides guidance as to issues for contractors to address or consider in subcontracts, along with tips on tailoring a subcontract to meet the contractor’s needs.
The Construction Checklist books is a brand new edition of a previous publication originally issued in 2008; thus, in addition to the new content, all of the original content has been thoroughly revised and updated by nationally recognized construction attorneys who are active in the forum. Thus, in addition to Mark’s contribution of the new content on general contractors and their subcontracts, Mark also updated and revised a chapter from the previous Construction Checklist book entitled “Payment Security for the Contractor” which addresses another important topic for anyone involved in a construction project:
The following considerations apply to anyone providing labor or materials to a construction project, whether the prime contractor, subcontractors (of any tier), or suppliers. Because the contractor’s right to payment is measured by its performance, a contractor must consider carefully the criteria that it must satisfy before the owner has the obligation to make payment. Generally speaking, it is in the con-tractor’s interest to reduce or, if possible, eliminate the conditions it must satisfy before it is entitled to receive payment.
This wonderful new book is intended to address a wide variety of legal issues from very common issues to rarer, project-specific issues which occasionally occur. Checklists are invaluable to construction lawyers as they provide a quick reference tool for drafting and negotiating construction contracts, preparing for litigation, and advising clients. The Forum on the Construction Industry is a group of some of the countries top construction attorneys, and this book reflects the expertise of this esteemed membership. This new edition contains more than 70 checklists including more than 25 new additions since the 2008 previous edition. Each checklist has been developed to solve a practical need. Checklist topics include the following:
- Design
- Prime Contracts
- Subcontracts
- Construction Insurance
- Surety law
- Payment Issues
- International transactions
- Contract administration
- Labor and employment law
- Government contracting
- Bankruptcy
- Litigation issues, including discovery, opening statements and closing arguments
- False claims
Copies of this book may be purchased by visiting the American Bar Association’s website by clicking here.