The roles of designers and contractors are being combined for more and more construction projects, an approach that comes with both benefits and risks. Several methods of project delivery are commonly in use, none of which is entirely exclusive — different projects may include different and overlapping roles for owner, designer and contractor. In my latest column for the Daily Journal of Commerce I compare three methods of project delivery — “design-bid-build,” construction manager” or “CM,” and “design-build” — and outline some advantages, and risks, inherent to each as well as means of protection against the risks. Read the full article here.

Originally published as an Op-Ed by the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce on March 18, 2021.

Photo of Karl Oles Karl Oles

Karl Oles, a partner of the firm practicing in the Construction and Design group, has for more than 30 years helped owners, architects, engineers, and contractors solve complex legal problems through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and trial. Karl has also drafted, negotiated, and…

Karl Oles, a partner of the firm practicing in the Construction and Design group, has for more than 30 years helped owners, architects, engineers, and contractors solve complex legal problems through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and trial. Karl has also drafted, negotiated, and analyzed multimillion-dollar design and construction contracts on a wide variety of construction projects. He has served as an arbitrator on the American Arbitration Association’s construction panel. He is coauthor of the current standard treatise on Washington lien law (available for free by following this link). He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Litigation-Construction from 2013 to the present.

Click here for Karl Oles’ full bio.