February 17 & 18, 2000
Houston, Texas

CONSTRUCTION LAW UPDATE—A review of recent case law having an impact on the construction industry.
Joe F. Canterbury, Jr., Dallas

APPLINGS AND DUMPLINGS: "IS" TO "MAY" AND "WILL" TO "MIGHT"—Lawyers can be liable to non-clients for misrepresentations says the Texas Supreme Courts. Implications and damages of this decision are enormous. Practice patterns will change subtly but significantly.
Michael Sean Quinn, Austin

JOINT CHECKS—The issuance of joint checks, either unilaterally by a general contractor or as a requirement of a supplier or lender, has become common practice on most construction projects. This presentation will cover the problems and pitfalls associated with these checks, their endorsement, and the agreements that require them.
Steven D. Nelson, Austin

DELAY DAMAGES—Can I get them? If so, what can I get and how do I prove them?
Donald 0. Pratt, Arlington

CONCURRENT MEDIATION OF INSURANCE COVERAGE AND LIABILITY CLAIMS IN THE CONSTRUCTION ARENA—Resolution of claims is often problematic when in the shadow of a coverage dispute. "Dec actions", "reservation of rights" and other evidence of uncertain insurance coverage often suggests that an ADR mechanism be set up to address both disputes simultaneously and comprehensively.
Will Pryor, Dallas

CONTRACTING FROM A MUNICIPAL ATTORNEY'S PERSPECTIVE—Inside information on public construction from a municipal attorney's perspective, including discussion of Workers Compensation, local preferences, change orders, garnishment, and prevailing wage rates.
Julian Grant, Temple

RESISTING SUBORDINATION REQUIREMENTS—Owner's and lender's requirements that project contractors waive or subordinate lien rights is contrary to protections of the Texas Property Code and jeopardizes contractor's security and right to payment. Presentation will examine how to maintain your rights and protect your interests in unchartered waters.
Michael F. Albers, Dallas

THE ULTIMATE SURVIVAL STRATEGY: THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY CLAUSE—Drafting an effective limit of your client's liability, for the day when everything else goes wrong.
Richard L. Reed, San Antonio

CONSTRUCTION LAW BANKRUPTCY CONSIDERATIONS—Hot topics and new cases in the bankruptcy arena. What if a construction project participant goes down? Executory contracts, contract balances, property of the estate, the automatic stay, and other amazingly useful issues.
Keith A. Langley, Dallas

DAUBERT/ROBINSON—Expert challenges from the perspective of the Bench and the Bar; An overview of the practical considerations of challenging your opponent's expert; When, how, why and what proof.
George E. Bowles, Dallas
Honorable John M. Marshall, Dallas

CROSS CURRENTS IN PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY—Negligence, negligent misrepresentations, breach of contract and the economic loss rule in construction litigation with design professionals.
William R. Allensworth, Austin

TERMINATION—Whether you represent Owners, General Contractors, or Subcontractors, you will eventually face the decision of whether or not to recommend the ultimate sanction of termination for default to a client. We will examine the factual, contractual and legal basis to support the decision of "whether to pull the plug".
Allison J. Snyder, Houston
William Sommers, San Antonio

FEDERAL CONTRACTING—An overview of the rules governing federal construction contracts, including bids and proposals, contractadministration, and claims presentment and prosecution.
Thomas E. Hill, Dallas
Jonathan D. Schwartz, Jr., El Paso

ETHICALLY PRACTICING IN AN MDP ENVIRONMENT —Multi-disciplinary practice is one small part of a much larger competitive challenge for law firms. Client confidentiality, conflicts of interest, fee splitting and non-lawyer ownership of law firms are a few of the issues that lawyers must consider to survive in the new competitive world.
Phil J. Shuey, Englewood, Colorado

MECHANICS' AND MATERIALMANS' LIENS—Recent changes to the Texas Property Code have made it imperative that you have the latest information on perfection of mechanic's and materialman's liens in Texas. The basics of Texas lien law and recent changes, including amendments to the Texas Constitution will be discussed.
Steven E. Kennedy, Dallas

KILLER SUBCONTRACT CLAUSES—This session is intended for practitioners who occasionally represent subcontractors, and will cover the harsh clauses commonly found in proprietary subcontract forms.
Richard Gary Thomas, Dallas

CONTESTED CASE PROCEDURES—Application of the recently passed statute governing the resolution of certain contract claims against the state with a focus on the scope of the new law, the regulations developed by the Office of the Attorney General to implement it, and recent case law that impacts its application.
George Baldwin, Austin
Patrick J. Feeney, Austin

WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOES NOT WORK IN CONSTRUCTION ARBITRATIONS—Strategies, techniques and approaches that work and those that don't work from the perspective of construction arbitrators.
William K. Andrews, Houston