September 2023 – Sustainable Design: Practice and Risk Management Implications for Design Professionals
In today’s digital landscape, the protection of your work and business against cyber threats is paramount. Building upon the success of our previous seminar, “Cybersecurity for the Design Professional: Mitigating Risks in Today’s Digital World,” we are delving deeper into the critical area of cyber insurance.
Join us Thursday, September 28th, for our roundtable Cybersecurity Insights: A Guide to Insurance Coverage for Design Professionals as we host a panel of seasoned Professional Liability brokers and underwriters who will provide invaluable insights to help you secure the best coverage for your firm.
Read MoreJune 2023 – Sustainable Design: Practice and Risk Management Implications for Design Professionals
Join us Thursday, June 22nd, for our June Roundtable Sustainable Design: Practice and Risk Management Implications for Design Professionals. At this roundtable, we will answer the following questions:
- How do Sustainable Design Concerns Impact the Design Professional’s Standard of Care?
- What are some of the important Risk Management Considerations for Sustainable Design?
- Can a Design Professional be held liable for failing to recommend Sustainable Design initiatives to their client?
David Hatem Receives Band 1 Chambers Ranking in Construction
Boston, June 1, 2023 – Donovan Hatem LLP is pleased to announce that David J. Hatem, founding partner and Chair of the firm’s Professional Practices, has earned top ranking in the 2023 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. For the second year, Chambers selected David as a leading practitioner awarding him Band One recognition in the Construction category.
Throughout his career, David has excelled at the representation of and strategic guidance to architects and engineers,
Read MoreMay 2023 Roundtable – Cybersecurity for the Design Professional: Mitigating Risks in Today’s Digital World
Join us Wednesday, May 17th, for our May Roundtable Cybersecurity for the Design Professional: Mitigating Risks in Today’s Digital World as we address cybersecurity and its importance to your business. Over the last couple of years, there has been a significant increase in data breaches and scams. The need for digital protection is greater now than ever. In this roundtable, we will discuss the necessary steps to secure your data, provide real-life case studies and address the legalities of it all.
Read MoreMarch 2023 Roundtable – 15 Most Controversial Contract Provisions: What You Need to Know
Join us as we discuss the most controversial contract provisions to assist design professionals in avoiding and managing professional liability risks.
At this roundtable, you will learn:
- the recommended contract approaches design professionals should use
- key contractual provisions and principles
- risk management through contracts and some pitfalls to avoid
- how to descend risks to Sub-Consultants
Speaker:
Gwen P. Weisberg, Partner, Donovan Hatem LLP
David Hatem Quoted in Engineer News-Record Article
David Hatem was recently featured in Engineer News-Record. The article “Will Claims by Contractors on Big Design-Build Projects Ever End?”, written by Richard Korman, discusses the major trend in fixed-price design-build project disputes that have resulted in significant financial and profit losses for some of the largest U.S. contractors over the last decade.
Some of David’s quotes include:
“Attorney David Hatem, who represents engineers, says the trouble with that is there is not much established legal precedent of the standard of care for design work done for an infrastructure design-build proposal.”
Read MoreJanuary 2023 Roundtable – What’s New: A Review of 2022 and Recent Cases Involving Design Professionals
Join us Thursday, January 27, 2022, for our first Roundtable of 2023 – a timely case study presentation focused on common legal issues faced by design professionals
Speakers:
Thomas Fay, Partner, Donovan Hatem LLP
Stephen Willig, Partner, Donovan Hatem LLP
Barry Rothschild, Of Counsel, Donovan Hatem LLP
The concept 2022-2023 with steps,
November 2022 Roundtable – Designing for Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency (“CCSR”) – Challenges and Concerns
Join us Thursday, November 17th, for our November Roundtable Designing for Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency (“CCSR”) – Challenges and Concerns
Questions that will be addressed:
- How do CCSR Concerns Impact the Design Professional’s Standard of Care?
- What are some of the important Risk Management Considerations for CCSR?
- What are some of the challenges in designing for CCSR?
- Can a Design Professional be held liable for failing to anticipate Climate Change?
Article: Recalibrating and Improving Design-Build on Public Infrastructure Projects*
Introduction
By all accounts, Design-Build (“DB”) has become the delivery method of choice for most owners of public infrastructure projects (“PIPs”) such as highways, rails, bridges, tunnels, airports and other projects. While DB delivery of PIPs is, beyond doubt, here to stay, contractors and consulting engineers (and other design professionals) involved in PIPs have experienced substantial financial losses and unacceptable levels of imbalanced risk transfer and liability exposures on a prevalent basis.
Read MoreSeptember 2022 Roundtable – Design Assist, Design Delegation, Design-Build: What are the Differences?
Join us Tuesday, September 27th, when David Hatem will present the Roles, Responsibilities and Risk Allocation for Design Professionals in the context of various Project Delivery Approaches including a discussion of the increased utilization of collaborative approaches to Project Design, and issues associated with design delegation and design assist, CM/GC and Progressive Design-Build.
Questions that will be addressed:
- What are the essential differences between Design Delegation and Design-Assist?
- Who has responsibility for design risk and design adequacy in Design-Assist?
Steve Willig to Speak at DBIA NE Friday Forum
Steve Willig, a partner in the firm, will be speaking at the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) New England’s September Friday Forum via Zoom to be held on Friday, September 9, 2022.
His presentation, “Design-Build – Smart Ways to Maintain a Productive Designer-Contractor Relationship,” will discuss techniques to develop at the outset, as well as to maintain throughout the project, that help cement a good working relationship between designer and contractor — ways to make sure you keep the project moving and avoid road bumps.
Read MoreDonovan Hatem LLP Elevates James Worden to Partner
Boston, MA (August 2022) – Donovan Hatem LLP is pleased to announce that James N. Worden is now a partner of the Firm.
James joined the Firm’s Litigation group in 2021 as Of Counsel, bringing significant experience in Construction Litigation, Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build project delivery and specializes in handling contract negotiation, claim presentation, and litigation of both public and private construction project disputes.
Since joining Donovan Hatem LLP, James has exhibited leadership and expertise in addressing the issues of concern facing the Firm’s clients,
Read MoreDesign-Build University for Consulting Engineers
Join Donovan Hatem and ACEC/MA at Design-Build for Consulting Engineers
2 Sessions: July 14 + July 20: (Register for 1 or Both Sessions)7:30 AM: Registration, Hot Breakfast | 8 – 10:30 AM ProgramMHA Conference Center, 500 District Ave, Burlington, MA (with Zoom option)
Please contact marketing@donovanhatem.com for more information and the form to register
July 14: Design/Build: Professional Liability Risk For Consulting Engineers
• David J. Hatem, PC,
Read MoreArticle: Washington State Department of Transportation v. Seattle Tunnel Partners: Appellate Court Affirms Denial of DSC Claim
In a June 14, 2022 Unpublished Opinion, the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington in Washington State Department of Transportation v. Seattle Tunnel Partners, No. 54425-3-11, 2022 WL 2132780, (Wash. Ct. App. 2022), (“WSDOT-STP”) affirmed a Trial Court judgment denying entitlement of a Design-Builder’s differing site condition (“DSC”) claim.
The WSDOT – STP litigation arose out of the Alaskan Way Viaduct project,
Read MoreDavid Hatem Receives Band 1 Chambers Ranking in Construction
Boston, June 15, 2022 – Donovan Hatem LLP is pleased to announce that David J. Hatem, one of the Firm’s founding Partners, has earned top ranking in the 2022 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. This year, Chambers selected David as a leading practitioner awarding him Band One recognition in the Construction category.
Throughout his career, David has excelled at the representation of and strategic guidance to architects and engineers,
Read MoreDavid Hatem to Present at 2022 ACEC Executive Forum
David Hatem will be a presenter at the ACEC Executive Forum to be held on June 14, 2022 in Toronto, CA.
David will discuss Design-Build and Public-Private Partnership Projects: Professional Liability Risk and Professional Indemnity Insurance Implications.
Read MoreDavid Hatem to Speak at the 2022 North American Tunneling Conference
David Hatem will be a panelist at the Underground Construction Association’s 2022 North American Tunneling Conference to be held June 19 – 22, 2022 in Philadelphia, PA.
David’s topic, “The State of DRBs in the Tunnel Industry” will take place on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 and explore Dispute Review Boards. In a joint effort between the UCA of SME and the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF), the authors embarked on an informal assessment of the state of the DRB practice in the tunnel industry from the point of view of the Contractor,
Read MoreAvailable Now! Project-Specific Professional Liability Insurance on Design-Build and Public-Private Partnership Projects in North America White Paper
In January 2022 Donovan Hatem LLP established a Task Force consisting of professional liability insurance underwriters, brokers, engineers and architects, and lawyers knowledgeable and experienced in various aspects of Project-Specific Professional Liability Insurance (“PSPL”) on Design-Build (“DB”) and Public-Private Partnership (“P3”) projects in North America.
The mission of the Task Force was to gather information and knowledgeable input on certain critical issues on DB and P3 projects in North America regarding the impact of (a) procurement and contractual practices,
Read MoreSteve Willig to Speak at DBIA NE Friday Forum
Steve Willig, a partner in the firm, will be speaking at DBIA New England’s May Friday Forum via Zoom to be held on Friday, May 6, 2022.
His presentation, “Design-Build – What Are The Tells That Spell Trouble,” will explore what the “telltale” signs of trouble are on a design-build project and focus on the design perspective to inform all team members to recognize trouble spots and how to avoid them.
Registration is not required,
Read MoreMay 2022 Roundtable – Climate Change and Design: Integrating Mitigation and Adaptation into your Practice
Infrastructure design is evolving in response to new net-zero laws and policies focused on resilience. On Thursday, May 19, 2022, Patricia B. Gary, Esq. will moderate a panel of two leading experts in the areas of mitigation and adaptation:
- Molly Dee-Ramasamy, Head of Deep Carbon Reduction at Jaros, Baum & Bolles in New York City, will speak about her work with low-carbon design strategies and electrification technologies to achieve decarbonization, and compliance with New York City’s trailblazing climate legislation,
