“The only thing that is constant is change.” This quote, attributed to Heraclitus of Ephesus from the fifth century BC, characterizes the construction industry as well. Our industry evolves, in technology, in project delivery, in risk management, and in many other ways. Throughout this evolution, Construction Law Handbook has been a stalwart reference source for the industry.
We hope you will take advantage of the current changes catalogued by our many authors, all experts in their topics. Construction Law Handbook is designed to address the current state of the business of construction and construction law.
Written as usual by a variety of distinguished construction professionals, including architects, engineers, accountants, lawyers, and consultants, in “plain English,” this new edition will help you keep up with this constant change.
The Fourth Edition includes new and revised materials on a number of topics:
- A discussion on the construction labor market—before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Revised and updated industry practices and standards arising in the context of mergers and acquisitions in the construction industry
- New contract forms for sustainable design and construction published by the American Institute of Architects
- Updated state-by-state recap of pertinent statutes and case law on project wrap-up insurance
- The chapter on subcontractor rights and remedies has been substantially rewritten, and subcontractors and their counsel will appreciate the fresh look and discussion
- The state-by-state treatment of exceptions to no-damage-for-delay clauses has been one of the strengths of Chapter 24, and that chapter has been updated with recent case law in a number of states.
- New discussion on President Trump’s impact on federal contracting regulations, including Executive Order (EO) 13881, “Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials,” that the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Supplement add more stringent “Buy American” preferences, and the major changes to cybersecurity under the January 31, 2020 Department of Defense (DOD) final Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requirements for all DOD contractors to be phased in over the next few years
- Analysis of the newly enacted United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, known as the Singapore Convention on Mediation
- Discussion on neutral evaluation, an emerging additional Alternative Dispute Resolution technique that combines elements from both expert determination and mini-trials
- Discussion of the United States Supreme Court’s unanimous decision where the Court, in resolving a split among federal circuit courts, held that the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention) does not conflict with domestic equitable estoppel doctrines that permit the enforcement of arbitration agreements by nonsignatories
- Discussion of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ landmark decision where the court, rejecting an application for discovery, ruled that 28 U.S.C. § 1782 does not permit discovery for use in private commercial international arbitrations and concluded that an arbitration before the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission is “best categorized as a private commercial arbitration for which § 1782 assistance is unavailable”
