Bidding

• Handle public bidding issues under the State Finance Law and General Municipal Law, including lowest responsible bidder determinations and project labor agreements
• Advise on compliance with bid documents related to prequalification of bidders, prevailing wage rate and Wicks Law issues, accepting and awarding bids, illegal bids and contracts, bid withdrawal, exceptions to bidding rules, challenges to bid awards and obtaining relief from bid mistakes

Contracts and Change Orders

• Draft and negotiate construction documents and agreements with project architects, construction managers and contractors
• Draw upon experience negotiating American Institute of Architects (AIA) family of contract documents to help resolve construction problems and disputes
• Advise on maximizing contractual value and avoiding disputes when engaging services of architects, engineers and construction managers
• Ensure appropriate indemnification and contribution language in contracts to insulate clients from unwarranted litigation
• Advise on matters involving subsurface conditions, latent above-ground conditions, contractual “changed condition” clauses, disclaimers and exculpatory clause
• Review with architects, engineers and consultants the origins of change orders to determine financial responsibility
• Counsel on scope of work issues, deduct changes, the issuance of change orders, oral versus written change orders, the contractor’s duty to proceed with disputed work, the contractor’s duty to seek clarifications, defective specifications, performance specifications, rules of contract interpretation applicable to scope of work disputes, notice, protest and record keeping requirements
• Advise on methods for pricing change order work, including pricing change related costs, unit prices, cost reimbursement contracts and impact costs

Diversity Compliance

• Provide informed counsel on Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) procurements, supplier diversity initiatives and diversity compliance to help maximize opportunities in New York state

Environmental

• Assist with navigating environmental and land use issues related to development and redevelopment, including State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR), National Environmental Policy Act, New York City Environmental Quality Review Act and New York Uniform Land use Review Procedures
• Litigate claims related to SEQRA compliance, including Article 78 actions relating to zoning and sewer fee issues
• Identify and optimize sustainable energy-related economic development incentives offered by entities such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
• Counsel on addressing regulatory requirements for project developers
• Provide guidance on brownfield construction and projects on previously contaminated land

Financing

• Maintain standing as nationally recognized bond counsel firm serving most New York state issuers and numerous industrial development agencies (IDAs) throughout the state
• Counsel underwriters, borrowers and entities providing credit enhancement and/or liquidity on all types of public finance transactions
• Handle transactions involving FHA-insured mortgage revenue bonds, letter of credit secured financings, bond insured financings and unrated issues
• Manage projects financed through state agencies, projects financed through local industrial development agencies and housing authorities, and a variety of projects that are 63-20 financings
• Handle both commercial and corporate loans and financing for construction projects

First Response Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Team

Government Compliance and Investigations

• Assist and defend employers in connection with government audits and investigations for labor and union-related matters
• Defend construction clients against OSHA violations
• Counsel on regulatory requirements to manage risk and prevent fines
• Represent clients in the event of investigations, including waste management and environmental issues

Litigation and Disputes

• Represent clients in litigation relating to liability for poor design, faulty testing, inaccurate cost estimates, lack of supervision and inspection, lack of scheduling and coordination, and certification of progress payments
• Represent clients in litigation relating to liability for poor design, faulty testing, inaccurate cost estimates, lack of supervision and inspection, lack of scheduling and coordination, and certification of progress payments
• Defend companies against alleged violations in the event of an incident
• Coordinate with Harris Beach statewide First Response, Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Team for rapid response to the scene of an accident to collect and preserve evidence
• Counsel clients in determining delay, scheduling procedures/progress schedules, delay and disruption clauses in contracts, excusable delay, acts of God, force majeure, strikes and labor disputes
• Take note of statutory and contractual notice requirements as pre-condition for pursuing a claim in mediation, arbitration and/or litigation
• Counsel clients on “no damages for delay” clauses in contractor agreements and issues arising from owner’s damages for delay
• Represent clients in enforcing contractual rights of public owners to obtain project objectives free from defective workmanship or other default situations; or to obtain compensation for such defaults
• Counsel public sector and municipal clients in defects and failure in construction, including defects, faulty or improper materials, improper installation, and warranty clauses including implied and express warranties
• Counsel clients on public improvement liens and litigation resulting from lien foreclosure actions, including owner’s rights in the face of liens
• Handle matters involving claims of negligence, breach of contract and warranty, contribution and indemnity in multi-million dollar claims regarding water intrusion, pecuniary losses, lost revenue and payments to tenants, scheduling delays, repair and remediation, re-design and renovation costs
• Counsel on matters alleging physical damage, cracked ceilings and walls, water infiltration and mold, design flaws, structural defects, damage to neighboring properties and defective building materials causing property damage and economic damages.
• Address construction defect matters concerning diverse issues impacting liability, damages, the economic loss doctrine, apportionment and coverage involving architectural design, engineering, framing, waterproofing, masonry, excavation, HVAC, foundations, sheet-rocking, plumbing, electrical work, window and skylight installation and materials manufacture
• Represent clients in claims of engineering and architectural malpractice

Personnel Matters

Labor and Employment

• Represent owners and employers across public and private sectors in labor and union-related matters, including labor negotiations, arising from construction projects across New York state
• Represent companies in matters involving OSHA issues, charges and hearings, including inspections, investigations and adjudication
• Counsel on compliance with laws and regulations governing workplace safety and health and DOL Wage and Hour
• Counsel in all matters concerning project labor agreements, prevailing wage issues, DOL investigations, strikes, boycotts, picketing and labor disturbances and attendant disruptions at the work site
• Represent clients in workers compensation matters arising from construction accidents and owner’s liability under Labor Law Sections 240 and 241

Immigration

• Assist employers in navigating through government regulation to secure foreign labor through the H-2B seasonal visa program, as well as permanent foreign labor programs
• Counsel on compliance with laws and regulations governing workplace safety and health, I-9 and DOL Wage and Hour

Surety Law Services

• Work with sureties in investigating and defending claims and in pursuing principals and indemnitors
• Counsel on coverage issues, surety defense and issues related to cardinal change orders
• Counsel sureties and both public and private owners in all aspects of performance and payment bond claims and litigation
• Secure coverage under performance bonds which guarantee that contractors will fully and faithfully perform project work
• Counsel owner clients in making and litigating claims under performance bonds for cost of completion, liquidated and delay damages, incidental and consequential damages, attorneys’ fees, punitive damage and interest
• Review required payment bonds to prevent subcontractors and supplies from being unpaid by contractors on the job
• Counsel and represent sureties of insolvent principals before bankruptcy tribunals

Owner’s Representation

Harris Beach recognizes that client solutions often involve more than just legal needs. That’s why we offer a unique, comprehensive approach to meeting our clients’ pressing non-legal challenges through our professional consulting subsidiary HB Cornerstone LLC.

HB Cornerstone is a full-service owner representation consulting firm that helps organizations with real property development and management. The professionals in this group have considerable experience in owner representation, planning and design, facilities consulting and move management, which provides a complete solution for clients seeking to build, expand or move. HB Cornerstone takes responsibility for project communications, coordination, scheduling budgets and overall project management. By exclusively representing the owner, they are not restricted or conflicted by other construction roles, tasks or responsibilities. This helps to ensure that the clients’ best interests are represented.