August 2013 – Construction Law

Attributes of a Good Construction Contract

Aug 20 2013

By Richard Paciaroni, K&L Gates, Pittsburgh

In April, I participated as a panelist for a program titled Failure is an Option, which addressed best practices for developing a construction project. Being the only lawyer on the panel among seasoned construction professionals, I was prepared to tackle the topic from a lawyer’s perspective. I was told to expect the following questions: 1) Is there such a thing as a “good” construction contract?; 2) Can a “good” contract increase the likelihood of success?; and 3) What are the attributes of a “good” construction contract?

After nearly 30 years of handling construction claims and disputes, I felt that I was qualified to address these points. Specifically, my answers to the first two questions were “yes.” A good analogy that I can offer is that a “good” construction contract is like a well-constructed ship—it will get you safely through rough water. Conversely, a “bad” construction contract is analogous to a poorly constructed ship—in rough water, it is likely to capsize, resulting in disaster.

To read the full article, click here.

This article was originally published in the Summer, 2013 edition of The Voice—The Official Magazine of the Construction Users Roundtable.

Welcome to the 23rd Edition of K&L Gates’ Arbitration World

Aug 16 2013

Welcome to the 23rd edition of Arbitration World, a publication from K&L Gates’ International Arbitration Group that highlights significant developments and issues in international and domestic arbitration for executives and in-house counsel with responsibility for dispute resolution.

To view Arbitration World, click here.

To download a printable PDF of the publication, open the link above and click on the far right icon in the magazine toolbar at the top of the page.

We are delighted to be able to include in this edition a guest contribution from Wieger Wielinga of Omni Bridgeway, funder and manager of cross border claim recoveries. In his article, Wieger offers his insights and practical tips for the enforcement of arbitral awards against sovereign states and entities under their control, advising that parties overlook at their peril the potential risks and pitfalls of enforcement of awards.

We also include in this edition our usual update on developments from around the globe in international arbitration and investment treaty arbitration, along with specific articles covering some of those developments, along with other topics of interest in more detail, authored by members of K&L Gates’ International Arbitration Group.

We hope you find this edition of Arbitration World of interest, and we welcome any feedback (email ian.meredith@klgates.com or peter.morton@klgates.com).

Legal and Insurance Lessons Learned From Major Catastrophic Events and Construction Claims (Live Event)

Aug 14 2013

Sponsors: Marsh and K&L Gates

September 10, 2013

TKP Conference Center
109 West 39th Street
(Between 6th and Broadway)
New York, NY

Join Marsh and K&L Gates for a complimentary one-day seminar at the TKP New York Conference Center on Tuesday, September 10, 2013, at 8 a.m.

During this seminar, our experts will discuss important topics from both a legal and risk management perspective to better prepare you for managing the risks associated with catastrophic events.

We will cover:

Lessons learned from Superstorm Sandy and the World Trade Center Disaster.
Contractor default insurance and claim management techniques.
Optimizing post-disaster claim recovery.
Project risk management techniques to reduce the likelihood and impact of cost overruns and schedule delays.

Registration and Continental Breakfast begin at 8:00 a.m.
Sessions 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Cocktail Reception 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

We look forward to seeing you on September 10th!

*Important Note — Due to construction taking place next to the TKP New York Conference Center, the entrance to 109 West 39th Street is not easily visible. An alternate entrance is 104 West 40th Street (between 6th & Broadway). Once inside the main lobby, take the elevators to the 2nd floor. Registration check-in will be to your right.

To RSVP, please register or contact Ale Muzika.

The Projects and Construction Review, Chapter 22 “Italy”

Aug 07 2013

Third Edition, Law Business Research Ltd.

Chapter 22 by: Francesco Sanna, Anna Amprimo and Carolina Teresa Arroyo, K&L Gates, Milan

I INTRODUCTION

The current state of Italian project finance is the result of a trend initiated more than 20 years ago, when public resources started to become scarce and the construction or infrastructure needed private funds to be carried out.

First came the realisation of energy plants – especially the renewables sector with the CIP6 regulation, which started in 1992 – where project finance started to be used in Italy on the basis of the UK experience. Such project finance schemes were initially purely private and fostered by public subsidies in the sale of green energy to the state. In the light of the success of such structures, the Italian state in the late 1990s passed a specific regulation to use project finance schemes to finance, build and operate public infrastructures in the context of European framework legislation on public works. The procedure, in brief, provided that private sponsors could submit autonomously to the authorities’ projects to finance, build and operate public infrastructure.

In the case of ‘cold’ infrastructure, public grants are available to subsidise business plans; public subsidies, however, need to comply with Eurostat rules and need only cover a minority part of the investment. This procedure has passed through many legislative changes in the past decade and is now regulated under Article 153 et seq. of the Italian Act for Public Works, which provides a specific procedure for selecting sponsors in public PFI schemes. Such schemes are extensively utilised in a wide range of infrastructures in Italy, with particular focus on hospitals and roads. Purely private PFI schemes are still used in the energy sector, with a specific focus on renewable and photovoltaic projects.

These schemes are financed by major Italian banks, and their development has been helped by the setting up of regional public agencies that direct and manage all the major public PFI schemes dealing with infrastructure, but also urban regeneration programmes that involve the disposal of public assets.

(Footnotes omitted.)

To read the full chapter, click here.

Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd.
This article was first published in The Projects and Construction Review, 3rd edition (published in July 2013 – editor Júlio César Bueno).
For further information please email Adam.Sargent@lbresearch.com

Archive:August 2013