Organization
Matthew DeVries
Best Practices Construction Law is a legal blog authored by Matthew J. DeVries, a shareholder at Buchalter, a full-service business law firm with offices across several U.S. states. The blog focuses on legal issues and best practices within the construction industry, covering topics such as risk assessment, claims management, contract drafting, project management, technology in construction, alternative dispute resolution, and legal trends. It provides analysis and commentary relevant to contractors, developers, owners, and other stakeholders involved in construction projects, including public infrastructure and commercial developments. The content aims to address practical problems and solutions encountered in construction law and project execution.
482 published works
Best Practices Construction Law
Revised AAA Construction Rules Take Effect July 1, 2015
The past week has been one of sweeping changes. (...no comment...) But one set of non-controversial changes is the Revised Construction Industry Arbitration and Mediation Procedures released by the American…
Best Practices Construction Law
Happy Birthday AAA Supplementary Construction Rules for Fixed Time and Cost
Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday Dear AAA Supplementary Rules! Happy Birthday to you! [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyZdCuLtbgI[/embed] One year ago, the American Arbitration Association implemented new rules to…
Best Practices Construction Law
The Real Lemon in the Bunch: Understanding Pay-If-Paid Clauses
As you may be aware, one of the greatest risks on a construction project involves the payment process. Just like my kids expect to be paid for the lemonade they…
Best Practices Construction Law
Discover an Underground Storage Tank During Construction? What Next?
HQ Construction, the Tennessee Department of Transportation's new monthly newsletter, recently highlighted in its June 2015 issue an instance when a road builder discovered what appeared to be an underground…
Best Practices Construction Law
“New” Means “New” When the Construction Contract Says “New”
There's "new." And there's "new to you." And there's "refurbished new." And there's "open box special new." And there's "floor display model new." But when it comes to contract specifications…
Best Practices Construction Law
Government Contractors: Threatening to File a Claim is Not the Same as Filing a Claim
Words matter. Grammar matters. Even punctuation matters: Let's eat, Grandma! Let's eat Grandma! For one government contractor, its claim was recently rejected by the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals because…
Best Practices Construction Law
Contractor Submits “Penny Bid” for Rock Removal and Loses in the End
In our house of seven children, a penny found on the ground brings laughter and excitement. You can imagine the opposite reaction when a contractor bids a penny for rock…
Best Practices Construction Law
Change Directive v. Change Order v. Construction Change
In the legal world, words have meaning. Not to say that words have any less meaning in the non-legal world, but sometimes you can get tricked up in your correspondence,…
Best Practices Construction Law
Bidders: Pay Attention to Your Clocks, Fax Machines and Email Servers
Yesterday was daylight savings day, which means that you are probably running about your job this morning a little more groggy because you lost an hour of sleep. As I…
Best Practices Construction Law
Construction Contract Tip: Pay Attention to “Coordination and Cooperation ” Clauses
Busy, busy, busy! I have reviewed five new construction contracts in the past two weeks. If you are a contractor, there are a number of key provisions that you will…