Peckar & Abramson, P.C. (P&A) is pleased to announce that attorney Levi W. Barrett, Senior Counsel in the firm’s New York office, presented to a standing room only group at the 100th Annual Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) Convention on April 2, 2019 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Barrett presented with Ms. Alicia Lopez, Design Management Director at Flatiron Construction Corp., on “Delegated Design, Design-Assist, and the Erosion of the Spearin Doctrine: Risks and Opportunities for Builders.”

Mr. Barrett focuses his practice on construction law and counsels clients on all aspects of public and private construction contracts. He works with general contractors and construction managers to effectively assess and mitigate risk, and to evaluate and negotiate prime contracts, subcontracts, and purchase orders. Mr. Barrett has extensive experience representing general contractors and subcontractors in complex disputes involving construction inefficiencies, delays, differing site conditions, constructive changes, extra-work, and default claims. Mr. Barrett is admitted to practice in the State of New York, the State of New Jersey, and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. He received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from San Francisco State University, and his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law.

As the industry moves more and more towards collaboration between constructors and design professionals for project design, the risk of constructors assuming design liability continues to rise. The traditional protection of the Spearin Doctrine is being chipped away as new techniques such as, Design-Assist, Lean Construction, and delegated design, are employed more frequently on construction projects. Careful risk planning and contractual risk allocation are important strategies for constructors who participate in the collaborative design process. The presentation armed construction professionals with the tools to understand, recognize, and mitigate design liability and to avoid assuming overbroad or unfair risks. In addition, ConsensusDocs 541, the Addendum to Agreements Between Owner and Construction Manager and Between Owner and Design Professional for Design-Assist Services, was examined.

About the 100th Annual AGC Convention
For more than 100 years, the AGC Annual Convention has been THE event successful contractors around the country count on for practical knowledge and industry-leading information to guide business decisions,
improve operations and shape the industry. From the job site to the back-office to the halls of government, the AGC Annual Convention provides business-critical insights into the issues that commercial contractors
are facing and the actionable strategies needed to deal with them.

With more than 15 education breakout sessions, keynote presentations from superstars of the industry, and cutting-edge solutions from more than 125 companies in the AGC Equipment, Technology & Construction Solutions Expo, the AGC Annual Convention is the place for construction superintendents, project managers and senior executives to hone their knowledge while making connections that open doors to new opportunities.