Thoughts on construction law from Christopher G. Hill, Virginia construction lawyer, LEED AP, mediator, and member of the Virginia Legal Elite in Construction Law

Category Archives: Construction Law

Keep Your Construction Claims Alive in Crazy Economic Times

Originally posted 2020-04-06 09:00:29. Coronavirus is dominating the news.  Construction in Virginia is facing what is at best an uncertain future and at worst a series of large scale shutdowns due to COVID-19.  The number of cases seem to grow almost exponentially on a daily basis while states and the federal government try and patch

Maybe Close Enough Still Counts with Mechanic’s Liens?

Originally posted 2020-05-05 14:01:50. Remember that case where “substantial compliance” was enough for the proper enforcement of your mechanic’s lien rights?  Remember how I said maybe it was an outlier?  Remember how the Virginia General Assembly modified the statute and the statutory forms to account for the ambiguity discussed in the Desai case? Remember how

PSA: Virginia House Passes Pay-if-Paid Ban for Construction Contracts (UPDATED)

In a move that was much anticipated, the Virginia senate recently passed legislation barring straight pay-if-paid clauses in construction contracts between General Contractors and Subcontractors.  SB550 effectively nullifies, for both private and public construction contracts, the “condition precedent” pay-if-paid clauses that are sometimes the bane of a subcontractor’s existence.  The Virginia House of Delegates passed

Construction Lawyers Should Be Problem Solvers

Originally posted 2017-06-08 11:43:50. No one wants to call a construction attorney.  Those of us that practice construction law and advise contractors, subcontractors and suppliers in the construction industry know this.  We are associated with problems.  We are seen as necessary evils when folks in construction feel the need to call us.  I get it

I Still Learn From Teaching

This past Thursday and Friday, I taught another course at the AGC of Virginia Richmond District headquarters.  This time it was the “Contract Documents” module of the Supervisor Training Course.  While similar to prior training I have given, the focus of the training was on field supervision and how best to run a construction project