Dean Thomson, Fabyanske, Westra, Hart & Thomson

Shareholder, Fabyanske, Westra, Hart & Thomson

What are the biggest challenges you currently see in construction or real estate law?

With the new administration in Washington, there is significant uncertainty in the design and construction industry about what policies federal agencies will or will not continue to enforce. It is also uncertain whether an executive order can change statutory or regulatory requirements. 

As an example, a new executive order makes it a false claim under the False Claim Act for a contractor to request payment if it has a DEI program, but many state and local public agencies that fund projects without federal funds still do require DEI programs. This creates a conflict that hopefully will be resolved, but ongoing uncertainty will unsettle the industry.

What advice would you give a business to avoid legal complications in construction or real estate?

I would advise the parties to specify in their contract that they will use Guided Choice mediation should disputes arise. The Guided Choice mediator contacts all the parties involved — and their insurers — well before any mediation session is scheduled to ensure their most important information needs are met, that all parties and their insurers are informed of other parties’ positions, and that all barriers to settlement have been identified. 

Without revealing the names of a client, what is the most interesting transaction you’ve worked on lately?

Major stadium projects continue to be designed and built and involve scores of inter-related contracts that need to be properly cross-referenced and coordinated so that the project can be delivered on time and on budget. Planning how so many different parties with different interests can achieve these common goals is always an interesting challenge, especially when public and private funding is involved turning the project into a P3 project.

How do you manage work/life balance?

You need to have a good team so that essential tasks can be managed and appropriately allocated so that all team members have a good work/life balance. Fortunately, our firm has a department of 20 attorneys dedicated to construction law matters, so we’re able to form the right teams for the many projects in which we’re involved.