The promise of Design-Build has been shorter schedules with fewer disputes. In theory, having the contractor and designer on the same team should eliminate the bulk of construction disputes: contract interpretation, design clarifications, RFIs and coordination issues, and reduce others such as differing site conditions.
In addition, the owner should realize other benefits by having contractor input during the design stage, the elimination of the contractor selection phase and the ability to start construction before 100% design completion. Has the reality measured up? Is design-build the way to go? What are the caveats? Where are the crevasses and sinkholes? Join Mike Loulakis on June 3rd at 1:00 EPT for this exclusive webinarto get answers to these intriguing questions: Click Here for Details.
Mike Loukakis, author of Design-Build: Lessons Learned, reviews the case law landscape over the past 15 years of design-build. He will reveal his findings based upon more than 500 design-build cases to show you the way to successfully navigate a design-build project:
- How to protect your position if something goes wrong
- Key responsibilities of owners in design-build
- Specific risks and liabilities that you need to protect yourself
- Disputes specific to design-build and how to avoid them
- Types of design-build disputes: insurance, dispute resolution clauses, contract ambiguities and contract document issues
- How to manage major design-build risks, including site conditions, preliminary design, performance vs. design specs, shifting of standard of care boundaries and subcontractor issues
- Issues you can expect as design-build and IPD evolve
- And more
Michael C. Loulakis is the President and CEO of Capital Project Strategies, LLC, a specialized consulting firm that provides strategic procurement, contracting and risk management advice to clients who develop and construct capital projects. Prior to forming CPS, Mr. Loulakis practiced law for almost 30 years with the national construction law firm of Wickwire Gavin, P.C. He has extensive and diverse experience in working with public owners on major infrastructure projects, particularly those delivered through design-build or public-private partnerships. Mr. Loulakis also has a broad background in representing private sector owners in the power, petrochemical and process industries, helping them with project delivery issues, risk management and contract execution. He is currently engaged in representing the owners on the Dulles Rail project, Virginia 495 HOT Lanes project and District of Columbia Water & Sewer Authority’s CSO project.
Mr. Loulakis writes and speaks extensively on design-build and other construction-related matters, and has been the co-author of the Legal Trends column in Civil Engineering magazine since 1981. He is also the author of several books on design-build, including the Design-Build Lessons Learned series he has written since 1995. He has been an active member of DBIA since its formation in 1993, where he has served on its Board of Directors and took a lead in drafting DBIA's model design-build contracts. Mr. Loulakis holds a civil engineering degree from Tufts University and a law degree from Boston University School of Law.
