Why Construction Law?

As I sit here and contemplate the almost 1 year of Construction Law Musings, I realized that I have not ever really explained why I like what I do. If you had asked me in law school if I was looking to be a construction lawyer, I likely would have looked at you as if you were from another planet.  I knew I wanted to get into court but that was about it.

The fact is, I basically fell into construction without much planning ahead.  I worked at the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia out of law school representing the Virginia Department of Corrections.  After close to 5 years of helping out the VDOC and fielding inmate law suits, I decided to take the plunge into private practice.  I worked at Meyer, Goergen & Marrs, a small firm here in Richmond, VA that represented many construction suppliers, general contractors and subcontractors.  After almost 4 years there, I moved to DurretteBradshaw, PLC and then to my present solo practice at The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC.  Here I practice almost exclusively in the area of construction law and construction risk management.

However, it was not until relatively recently when I began to participate fully in the AGC of Virginia, and the national AGC that I really began to love what I do.  I found out that I enjoy my clients.  I like hanging out with folks that are businessmen, and mostly self made.  I like to represent people I like.  I am able to fully commit to these folks because they are generally pragmatic and task oriented, much as I am.

I also like the fact that I can get into court, but at the same time temper this with risk management through contract review and doing what I can to keep my commercial construction clients out of harms way.  While the use of AIA forms is good for certain projects (and the ConsensusDOCS are another great set of forms), they are not for every situation and so I get to be creative.

In short, I enjoy what I do, and hope that you do too.

I hope that you will comment below and let me know about your law practice and what makes it enjoyable.  If you have any questions, please contact me and I will happily respond.  In the meantime, please subscribe to keep up with this and other Construction Law Musings.