Originally posted 2019-04-24 10:56:09.
The six years of solo construction practice since 2013 (yes, I’m close to the 9 year mark with my practice) has only served to cement the fact that construction professionals need and want the “counselor” portion of “attorney and counselor at law.” Working as a sort of “in house counsel” to various construction companies, as opposed to simply dealing with the litigation, allows me to better understand their businesses and assist them in avoiding problems through contract review, discussions of situations that come up short of claims, and general risk management. I also get to know these mostly small business owners on a more personal level (sometimes even resulting in a fishing trip or two).
Finally, and likely most importantly, proactive consulting with an attorney saves my clients money in the long run. Frankly, I make more money on a per matter basis if I am litigating for a client. However, that construction client cannot and should not be budgeting for litigation when running its business. It is my job as a construction attorney to do my best to help them avoid litigation and keep projects running smoothly. A few hours of my time helping to avoid possibly hundreds of hours in litigation time is the most efficient way to help my clients. Of course, it helps that I generally like those I work with so helping them is easy.
In short, I take my counseling role (along with my other roles as a lawyer) very seriously. I firmly believe that I best assist my clients in this role because it helps me give pragmatic, cost effective advice that hopefully assists them in a better run, more profitable, and less risky business.
As always, I welcome your comments below. Please subscribe to keep up with this and other Construction Law Musings.
Chris–I couldn’t agree more. Serving is general counsel to construction companies allows us to be a business partner to help our client’s achieve success. Although litigation is a necessary evil, it should never be the goal or the basis for a relationship with a client.
Thanks as always for checking in Craig. I always enjoy hearing from other construction attorneys.