Construction Law Ed.

This highly selective list includes articles I sometimes assign, in whole or in part, in my courses or that I find especially useful as supplementary reading for students interested in specific topics. To keep the list to a manageable length, I include here only articles published since 2014.  Instructors can find many other articles useful as teaching resources in the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law’s journal, The Construction Lawyer, and in the American College of Construction Lawyers Journal, both of which are available on Westlaw.

Christian C. Trevino, Robert J. MacPherson, I Know What I Know-Really Reminds Me of Money, 43 Constr. Law., at 9 (Spring 2024).

James J. Hartnett, Construction Contract Dispute Resolution—A Practical Guide, 17 No. 1 Am. Coll. Constr. Laws. J., at 2 (2023).

Dean Thomson & Julia Douglass, Comparing Theory and Practice: Survey Results of What Attorneys and Arbitrators Want in Construction Mediation and Arbitration, 42 No. 3 Constr. Law. 27 (2023). 

John P. Ahlers, Cameron Sheldon, & Hanna Lee Blake, Management of Contract Terminations from Multiple Perspectives, 42 Constr. Law., at 23 (Summer 2022).

Philip L. Bruner, Construction Law: Its Historical Origins and Its Twentieth Century Emergence As A Major Field of Modern American and International Legal Practice, 75 Ark. L. Rev. 207 (2022).

Carl J. Circo, Construction Law Apologetics, 75 Ark. L. Rev. 319 (2022).

Jean M Terry, E. Mitchell Swann & Carmela Mastrianni, Managing Integrated Project Delivery, 42 Constr. Law., at 5 (Summer 2022).

Daniel G. Quackenbush & Kenneth A. Slavens, Concurrent Delays and Pacing in Construction Contractor Delay Claims, 41 Constr. Law., at 15 (Summer 2021).

Charles Sink, Drafting Disputes and Damages Clauses to Avoid Both, 15 No. 1 Am. Coll. Constr. Laws. J., at 5 (2021).

Ava J. Abramowitz, How Collaborative Negotiators Settle Without Upending The Table, 14 No. 2 Am. Coll. Constr. Laws. J., at 3 (2020).

Marion T. Hack & G. William Quatman, Is there a Doctrine in the House?, 40 Constr. Law. at 5 (Summer 2020).

Judah Lifschitz, Laura Fraher, & Denise Martini, Effective Presentation of the Forensic Schedule Analysis, 36 Constr. Law., at 19 (Winter 2016).

Justin L. Weisberg & Raymond M. Krauze, Opening Communication Lines: Evolving Project Delivery Methods to Promote Collaboration, 38 Constr. Law., at 14 (Spring 2018).

Neale T. Johnson & Kristen Rectenwald Wang, Anticipating and Allocating Risks in the 2017 AIA Owner-Contractor Agreement, 39 Constr. Law., at 35 (Fall 2019).

Shiva S. Hamidinia, The Misadventures of Shared Design Risk in the New Design-Build World: Managing Design Risk and Responsibility on Federal Design-Build Projects, 38 Constr. Law., at 7 (Spring 2018).

Joel D. Heusinger, Ambiguity Breeds Conflict: The Importance of Defining “Design-Assist” in the Construction Industry, 11 No.1 Am. Coll. Constr. Laws. J., at 4 (Winter 2017).

Justin L. Weisberg & Raymond M. Krauze, Opening Communication Lines: Evolving Project Delivery Methods to Promote Collaboration, 38 Constr. Law., at 14 (Spring 2018).

Patricia D. Galloway, The Art of Allocating Risk in an EPC Contract to Minimize Disputes, 38 Constr. Law., at 26 (Fall 2018).

James S. Schenck, IV & Kelli E. Goss, Liability for Construction Defects That Result from Multiple Causes, 9 No.1 Am. Coll. Constr. Laws. J., at 2 (2015).

Howard W. Ashcraft Jr., The Transformation of Project Delivery, 34 Constr. Law., at 35 (Fall 2014).

James Duffy O’Connor, It’s a Matter of Time: Delay and Change, 8 No.1 Am. Coll. Constr. Laws. J., at 1 (2014).

Casey Halsey & William Quatman, Design-Build Contracts: Revisited, 25 Years Later, 34 Constr. Law., at 5 (Spring 20214).

Thomas J. Stipanowich, Managing Construction Conflict: Unfinished Revolution, Continuing Evolution, 34 Constr. Law., at 13 (Fall 2014).

Construction Law Apologetics, 75 Ark. L. Rev. 319 (2022)

This article challenges the legal academy’s perceptions and offers an alternative assessment of the relationship between the construction industry and law. Part 1 reviews practical reasons for teaching construction law to students. In brief, part 1 first demonstrates how a construction law course pairs advanced instruction in several topics introduced in the core curriculum, such as contracts, torts, civil procedure, evidence, remedies, and dispute resolution, with lessons on adapting legal knowledge to the specialized construction industry. Then, part 2 makes the case for greater scholarly engagement with the legal aspects of the built environment, exploring some especially promising contract and tort topics in detail before briefly suggesting other potential research projects. Lastly, part 3 concludes by proposing an ongoing dialogue between construction lawyers and the legal academy.

Contract Law in the Construction Industry Context (2020, Routledge)

This book chronicles how contract cases from the construction industry have influenced, solidified, refined, and particularized U.S. contract law. The book’s central claim is that the construction industry experience has helped to contextualized U.S. contract law and, therefore, has encouraged the common law to be more receptive to flexible legal standards and practices and less constrained by the relatively rigid rules that often characterize contract law. This book serves as a foundational resource for legal scholars, construction law and contract law specialists, and those interested in how the construction industry has helped shape the U.S. legal system.

Statutory Adjudication: Reflections from a U.S. Academic, 18 J. Am. Coll. Constr. Lawyers 1 (2024)

The Construction Industry in the U.S. Supreme Court: Part 1, Contract Law, The Construction Lawyer, Spring 2021, at 6

The Construction Industry in the U.S. Supreme Court: Part 2, Constitutional and Statutory Cases, The Construction Lawyer, Summer 2021, at 5

Observations from Teaching Global Construction Law and Practice, Under Construction, Spring 2019 (online edition)

Selected Construction Contract Clauses: From the Routine to the Cutting Edge, 2015 Ark. L. Notes 1800

A Case Study in Collaborative Technology and the Intentionally Relational Contract: Building Information Modeling and Construction Industry Contracts, 67 Ark. L. Rev. 873 (2014)

Land Use Impact Fees: Does Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District Echo an Arkansas Philosophy of Property Rights?, 2014 Ark. L. Notes 1626

Using Development Financing Tools to Help Cover Costs of Adapting to Climate Change in Tornado Alley and Beyond, 47 John Marshall L. Rev. 609 (2013)

The Evolving Role of Relational Contract in Construction Law, The Construction Lawyer,” Fall 2012, at 16

Will Green Building Contracts Transform Construction and Design Law?, 43 Urb. Law. 483 (2011)

Does Sustainability Require a New Theory of Property Rights?, 58 Kan. L. Rev. 91 (2009)

Should Owners and Developers of Low-Performance Buildings Pay Impact or Mitigation Fees to Finance Green Building Incentive Programs and Other Sustainable Development Initiatives?, 34 Wm & Mary Envtl L. & Pol’y Rev. 55 (2009)

Using Mandates and Incentives to Promote Sustainable Construction and Green Building Projects in the Private Sector: A Call for More State Land Use Policy Initiatives, 112 Penn. St. L. Rev. 731 (2008)

Put the Arkansas Construction Lien Notice Statute Out of Its Misery, 2008 Ark. L. Notes 3

Placing the Commercial and Economic Loss Problem in the Construction Industry Context, 41 J. Marshall L. Rev. 39 (2007)

Contract Theory and Contract Practice: Allocating Design Responsibility in the Construction Industry, 58 Fla. L. Rev. 561 (2006)

When Specialty Designs Cause Building Disasters: Responsibility for Shared Architectural and Engineering Services, 84 Neb. L. Rev. 162 (2005)

Crafting a License to Use Architectural Plans, Am. C. Real Est. Law. News, May 2005, at 15 (co-authored with Penny Slicer)

Building a Better Construction and Design Contract, Prac. Law., July 2000, at 21

Small Construction Contracts: Big Issues, Prob. & Prop., Nov. — Dec. 1997, at 32

The Role of Lender’s Counsel in the Design and Construction Process: Contract Review, Conditional Assignments of Contracts, and Related Due Diligence, 24 Real Prop., Prob. & Tr. J. 557 (1990) (co-author and primary editor)