Semester: Spring 2023 (tentative) Fall 2022 Summer 2022 Spring 2022 Fall 2021 Summer 2021 Spring 2021 Fall 2020 Spring 2020 Fall 2019 Summer 2019 Spring 2019
Professional/Experiential Skills Courses First Year Courses Only

Construction Law (LAW-885-001)
Steven Shapiro

Notices

Description

LAW 885 is titled Construction Law, but can be more properly considered to be the Law of the Construction Industry. Like many areas in the practice of law, knowledge of the underlying topic is invaluable to becoming an effective attorney. In this class, we blend: (i) discussions of the many areas of law in construction and design; (ii) agreements and transactions important to the industry; (iii) innovations in the industry; (iv) back-of-house tours of construction sites and subcontractor operations; and (v) meetings with architects, contractors, and developers.

Construction law incorporates sophisticated legal issues with practice areas that reach across the U.S. economy. Construction matters routinely include contract law, labor relations, litigation and dispute resolution, government contracting, administrative law, and ethics. Private law firms, in house legal departments and government agencies continually hire graduates for their construction groups, yet students often have a negligible introduction to the field and are often not prepared for the nuances and scope of the work.

Among the many formidable tasks of public and private real estate development, the attorney and other professionals must effectively manage the process of design and construction. The tasks are not simply to deliver projects that are on-time and on-budget. Instead, competitive advantage and success often come to the owner able to evaluate the alternative project delivery methods and understand the details and risks of construction management. In addition, the owner must calculate the financial impact of choices in building systems and materials on rental income, operating costs, and long-term value, plus the financial penalties for failing to timely deliver a building.

We welcome you to the class and hope that you enjoy our sessions together. In the years of offering this course, we have helped to place many students in construction law associate positions, plus made many introductions for career guidance. Students routinely ask us to be advisors for their upper level writing requirement.

Textbooks and Other Materials

The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.

First Class Readings

Not available at this time.

Syllabus

Use your MyAU username and password to access the syllabus in the following format(s):

• Adobe Acrobat (PDF)