Experience and Depth

Wright, Constable & Skeen has assembled one of the largest and most experienced construction law practice groups in the state.  With 11 seasoned attorneys in our Construction Law Group we can handle any construction related matter anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic region.  The vast majority of our construction lawyers have come from large law firms where they have developed and honed their talents and skills and earned regional and/or national reputations.  Our lawyers are recognized as Super Lawyers®, U.S. News – Best Lawyers® and are AV Preeminent peer rated by Martindale Hubbell.  Our Construction Law Group is nationally ranked in both Construction Law and Construction Litigation by U.S. News – Best Lawyers – Best Law Firms®.  Our clients include private, governmental and institutional owners, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and design professionals.  From school boards and county governments to fortune 500 companies to small family owned and start-up companies our attorneys have and continue to represent them all.

Diverse Background/Multi-Discipline Approach

Our diverse background allows us to bring a unique perspective to construction disputes.  We have a LEED certified attorney, lawyers who were Assistant Attorney Generals for the State of Maryland, an attorney who was counsel at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, lawyers who are adjunct professors at a local college and law school teaching construction law.  In addition, our group combines experts in multiple disciplines to provide “one-stop shop” representation for all of our clients’ legal needs in the construction industry.  We have government contracting and minority/disabled/disadvantaged program expertise.  In fact, Don Walsh was recently named SBA Advocate of the Year for Maryland.  We have surety law expertise.  In fact, our surety lawyers are nationally recognized.  We have intellectual property expertise, employment and labor relations expertise, and we have corporate, business, bankruptcy, real estate and zoning expertise.  We provide our multi-disciplinary approach to help our clients proactively and preemptively plan, anticipate and mitigate risks, and implement loss prevention programs throughout the entire organization to help our clients reach their business goals.

What We Do

Our attorneys negotiate, draft and review contracts; work with clients on estimating and bidding issues; address bonding issues, assist with performance and contract compliance, evaluate and prepare claims for delays, equitable adjustment, breach of contract, change orders and extra work, assist with termination issues and close-out compliance, collection and payment bond claims.  We are skilled at dispute resolution processes such as mediation, through the AAA construction mediation program or privately, settlement conferences and settlement negotiations.  If disputes cannot be resolved amicably, our attorneys have extensive experience representing clients in federal and state courts, arbitrations, as well as before administrative boards and tribunals, throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and in pursuing arbitration.

Technical Know-How

There is no substitute for experience and knowledge.  Our experience has afforded us the knowledge to understand the technical issues that can arise in the various types of construction projects.  Our Construction Law Group has extensive experience with all types of construction projects, including – high rise buildings, apartment buildings, waste water treatment plants, school construction, detention centers, sports facilities, hospitals, custom homes, marinas, nursing homes, roads, bridges, boilers, shopping centers and malls, earthen dams, parking lots, hotels, embassies, underground storage tanks, prefabricated/modular buildings, arenas, condominiums, big box stores, storm water facilities, indoor pools, and more.  Let us put our experience and technical knowledge to work for you.

Getting YOU Paid

The Wright, Constable & Skeen Construction Law Group has a specialized collection component that works with our clients to get them paid!  Our collections unit is experienced in utilizing all available tools to obtain what our clients are owed.  We actively pursue payment bond claims, mechanics liens, Prompt Pay Act violations, confessed judgments, consent judgments, litigation and arbitration.  Once a judgment is obtained we aggressively pursue all collection avenues including wage garnishments, property garnishments, discovery in aid of enforcement, debtor examinations, and body attachments.

FALSE CLAIMS ACT

False Claims Act litigation has exploded in recent years with billions of dollars in damages being recovered.  One of the primary reasons for this increase in False Claims Act litigation is the proliferation of whistleblower plaintiffs known as “relators.”  Relators need not have been injured or damaged by the alleged violation of applicable law, they only need to have information relating to the issue.  Thus, a cottage industry, spurred on by plaintiff’s attorneys and the lure of treble damages has grown.  The attorneys at the Wright, Constable & Skeen Construction Law Group have developed expertise in this growing area of the law and have represented and advised our construction industry clients regarding such claims.  In addition to representing our clients in defense of such claims, we can also advise our clients proactively on best practices and methods to avoid such claims in the first place.

BANKRUPTCY

The bankruptcy of a general contractor, owner or subcontractor on a construction project adds a whole new layer of complexity on top of the construction process.  When bankruptcy is filed by one of the parties on a project, you must seek out experienced bankruptcy counsel, but more than that, you must seek out bankruptcy counsel that also is experienced in construction law.  Protecting your rights and navigating the labyrinth of the bankruptcy code requires specialized knowledge and experience that only attorneys who are both construction lawyers and bankruptcy lawyers can provide.  The Wright, Constable & Skeen Construction Law Group includes several attorneys who have developed national reputations in representing participants in the construction process in bankruptcy.  We have authored numerous articles and book chapters on the subject of the bankruptcy and we have spoken at conferences all around the country.

Our attorneys have represented construction parties in major national/international bankruptcy matters and defended construction parties from trustees and debtor-in-possession claims and preference litigation.  We have extensive experience addressing:

• Automatic stay issues
• Financing and executory contract issues
• Reorganization plans
• Objections and confirmation hearings
• Proofs of claims
• 2004 examinations
• Litigation over contract funds, including trust funds under Section 541
• Non-dischargeability under Section 523

We also handle involuntary bankruptcy, which may become necessary as a tool to protect our client’s rights.  The Construction Law Group has the experience and staff necessary to effectively guide our clients through the bankruptcy process.

THE WRIGHT TOOLBOX NEWSLETTER