The Legal Perspective On Technical Documents In The Construction Industry

A lawyer adds value to a project by applying his or her unique knowledge of legal principles and industry experience to the particular circumstances of a client’s business.

In the construction industry, the substance of an agreement between an owner and its contractor is often found in the technical specifications and detailed scopes of work that are attached to standard form terms and conditions. In practice, technical specifications and detailed scopes of work are developed by engineering and design professionals who intend that their work will be read and clearly understood by their counterparts. However, in circumstances where disagreements arise (particularly where a contractor’s right to a change order is disputed) and the parties are motivated to question the underlying (sometimes unwritten) assumptions on which the technical specifications and detailed scopes of work are based, both parties can find themselves in a tenuous legal position.