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Construction Law vs. Contract Administration: How to Protect Your Firm featured image

Construction Law vs. Contract Administration: How to Protect Your Firm

The construction industry has a lot of laws and regulations regarding how companies can operate. Unfortunately, there is no overriding continuum of laws that govern the entire industry and make everything uniform. That would make the construction industry much easier to navigate, but our system of government has a different idea of how it should work. Instead, construction law is a patchwork of laws that affect the different companies involved in the industry in different ways. Navigating this collection of laws and regulations can be difficult without legal help from a Nashville OSHA defense attorney

There are two major areas where you should focus your company’s legal efforts. Construction law is the overall collection of laws related to construction, and your company needs to have a strong grasp of it in order to operate responsibly and safely. Contract administration, on the other hand, focuses on the planning and development of contracts. Understanding both areas is crucial to keeping your company safe while operating in the construction industry. In this editorial, we discuss how to protect your firm from legal problems by focusing on construction law vs. contract administration. 

Related: Basic Contract Law

Construction Law

The construction industry is not one unified industry. Instead, it is a collection of other industries that participate in construction projects. For example, you need architects, builders of many varieties, sales teams, resource managers, project managers, business developers, and many more types of professionals and businesses. All of these options work in different fields and in separate industries in many cases.

Bringing all of these industry professionals together means that they have to find a way to work together even though they have a lot of laws governing their individual industries. This can make it difficult to cover all of the applicable laws if your company employs teams from different industries. This is where a focus on construction laws is important. 

Construction law encompasses all of the laws related to construction, regardless of which segment of the construction industry they come from. Your business needs to have a firm understanding of all of these different applicable laws. Otherwise, you risk legal issues and may need a Nashville construction arbitration lawyer to help you defend your company in court. 

Contract Administration

Before any work begins on a project, your company needs to have a signed contract detailing the specifics of your agreement. The scope of the work, a description of the work to be done, payment agreements, and many more aspects of every deal need to be determined. This is where contract administration happens. 

Contract administration is the process of preparing and getting contracts signed. Most construction companies have someone on staff that can help with this process, while other companies hire a Nashville construction arbitration lawyer to develop their projects for them. If your company has strong contract administration practices, then it will not be at such a high risk of having problems with projects. You also can negotiate better positions in projects so that you are protected from many of the possible problems that you can encounter. 

Focus on Contract Administration

If you are trying to determine which area your company needs to focus on more, opt for contract administration. While it is crucial that you invest in resources for both, contract administration may be more important in terms of protecting your firm. If you can develop strong contract administration practices, your company can alleviate many of its potential problems with an effective contract. 

Contract administration is where you establish your contracts, which is where you can set up specific protections for potential problems that you may face in a project. With a basic knowledge of construction law alongside a detailed understanding of your company’s strengths, you may be able to create a contract that offers you better protection. However, it’s important to note that your contract administration processes may suffer if you do not have the construction law resources that you need. Fortunately, you can achieve both from a Nashville construction litigation attorney who can advise your company about law practices and help you develop contracts. 

Related: Simple Tips to Increase Contract Enforceability

Recruit Help for Construction Law

Construction law is a vast topic, and all of it may not apply to your company. If this is the case, then you may need the help of a lawyer who has a strong enough understanding of construction law to operate safely. There are many laws that impact the construction industry, making it difficult for any one company to be well-versed in all of it. In most cases, companies only focus on developing the resources that they need to address laws that impact them. 

While this is an effective way of handling it, it also leaves you exposed to problems from legal issues in another part of the industry and makes it harder for you to expand your business into different areas. 

The simplest solution is to have a lawyer who understands different parts of construction law. By having such a resource available, you can consult the lawyer before you run into problems with specific laws. A lawyer can assist with your contract administration as well. Strengthening both areas will provide you the kind of protection that you are hoping for. 

Construction law changes regularly, no matter where you are. It can make it even more difficult to stay up-to-date about specific laws and things that you need to be aware of in the industry. If you have questions about construction law and contract administration, contact a Nashville OSHA defense lawyer from Cotney Attorneys & Consultants.

If you would like to speak with a Nashville OSHA defense lawyer, please contact us today.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.