The impact of supply chain issues, rising material prices, labor shortages, and stricter environmental guidance have required construction players to be savvier than ever in order to remain competitive.

With a deep understanding of construction and an appreciation for your work’s nuances, we deliver customized, client- and project-centric approaches with practical strategies and cost-effective advice.

Like you, we live and breathe construction

The Construction Department at Cole Schotz is comprised of industry-focused attorneys who share your passion for construction and engineering. From planning and design to financing and building through the completion of your project, we provide legal insights to help you remain efficient and compliant as you continue developing our country’s residential, commercial and industrial spaces, infrastructure and resources.

Legal minds, hardhats on

We are uniquely positioned to offer guidance on a wide range of processes and issues that may materialize throughout your project. Clients call upon our team for everything from drafting construction agreements and negotiating contracts to complex litigation and the most serious disputes or government interventions.

Our services for construction clients include:

• Litigation and dispute resolution
• Corporate and transactional
• Drafting and negotiating contracts
• Environmental law
• Financing
• Government investigations and prosecutions
• Guarantees, sureties and bonds
• Internal investigations
• Liens
• Labor and employment
• Tax

We represent companies, large and small, on public and private jobs, as well as matters relating to build and repair municipal infrastructure, including utilities, waterways, sewers, tunnels and bridges.

Our clients include:

• Developers
• Construction managers
• Subcontractors
• Prime contractors
• General contractors
• Engineers
• Owners
• Material suppliers
• Trade contractors
• Utility contractors
• Vendors
• Design professionals

We handle a range of Projects, including:

• Skyscrapers
• Warehouses
• Manufacturing Facilities
• Utilities
• Sewers
• Watermains
• Roads and Highways
• Bridges and Tunnels
• Ports, Piers and Waterways
• Rail and Transit
• Airports
• Water Treatment
• Waste Water Control
• Concrete Producers
• Material Suppliers
• Schools and Educational Facilities
• Multifamily Housing
• Co-op and Condominium renovation/construction
• Hotels and Hospitality
• Low Income Residential
• Office Buildings
• Big Box Stores
• Retail and Financial
• Hospitals
• Assisted Living
• Medical and Biological Research Facilities
• Cannabis Facilities

When disputes arise, we handle with care

Litigation is time consuming and expensive, and ultimately slows down project pipelines. We are dedicated to negotiating and mediating matters, if we can position our client for a settlement that aligns with their business goals.

Sometimes disputes cannot be resolved, and we draw upon our solid track record for aggressively litigating matters through trial. We have litigated (and won) some of the largest and most complex civil cases in the tri-state area and have defended our clients in high profile criminal cases brought against their construction companies and principals. With our intimate knowledge of the industry, a thorough understanding of Lien Law issues, and an appreciation for the convoluted issues that arise in construction dispute matters, we are regularly brought in by other law firms to serve as construction litigation counsel.

We have litigated (and won) some of the largest and most complex civil cases in the tri-state area, as well as successfully defended our clients in some of the highest profile criminal cases brought against construction companies and their principals.

Our portfolio of litigation work includes:

• Claims of defective design
• Claims of defective or incomplete work
• Change orders
• Project impacts
• Delays
• Actual and constructive acceleration
• Failure to pay
• Liens (both public and private)
• Performance bonds
• Membership and Shareholder Claims
• Wage, Overtime and Prevailing Wage
• Surety and Bonds
• Integrity
• Procurement
• Termination of Contracts

Drawing on our network

Our deep ties and active participation in the industry serve as a benefit to our clients. Our finger remains on the pulse of the industry and we maintain a large network of connections that can be advantageous for our clients.

Our attorneys are regularly brought in by outside law firms to serve as construction litigation counsel on complex construction matters for our deep understanding of the industry, the Lien Law and issues peculiar to construction.  We are also dedicated to resolving disputes prior to our clients incurring the time and expense of litigation and are experts at positioning construction disputes for settlement. However, our reputation is well known for our trial work, so adversaries are fully aware that if a dispute cannot be resolved, we will expertly and zealously litigate the matter through trial.

We regularly comment on construction law topics, providing insights to legal and trade publications and lecturing on such topics to industry groups.

We belong to legal and construction industry trade organizations, including:

• Construction Lawyers Society of America
• New York Building Congress
• ABA Forum on the Construction Industry
• General Contractors Association of New York
• Associated General Contractors of America
• American Institute of Architects