Construction Law

Schwartz Cooper attorneys represent developers, owners, contractors, design professionals, construction managers, material suppliers, and tenants with respect to all aspects of construction law, including contract preparation and negotiation, construction and mechanics' lien claims, and claim avoidance, design liability, labor and employment and construction litigation.

Our approach is that of consultant and adviser to developers, lenders, design professionals, owners and contractors throughout the development, construction and close-out process, including guidance with obtaining regulatory approvals, regulatory interpretation and preparation of design and construction contracts. We have prepared and negotiated hundreds of complex design and construction contracts, including general contractor agreements, design professional agreements, design-build agreements, construction management, property management, and facility management and maintenance agreements, tenant build-out agreements, subcontracting agreements, consulting engineer agreements and supplier agreements. We have represented clients in a wide variety of private and public projects, including hotel, office, industrial, hospital, airport, government, commercial, retail and residential development projects.

In addition, years of experience with local regulations and procedures allow us to provide fast, high quality results for our clients in the zoning, planning, licensing, entitlement and site plan approval process. Our long-term relationships with a diverse group of architects, engineers, contractors, construction, program and project managers, real estate brokers, surveyors and other service providers not only assist us in facilitating negotiations on behalf of our clients, but afford us an opportunity to offer our clients a wide base of additional resources and referrals.

Our trial lawyers have substantial experience both prosecuting and defending construction and construction-related claims, in administrative hearings, arbitrations, mediations and in state and federal courts. We have handled claims for developers, commercial landlords, tenants and single owners-users, general contractors, subcontractors, environmental firms and design professionals. The types of matters we have handled include construction defect claims, delay-related claims, warranty claims, mechanics' lien claims, design liability and claims against government entities with respect to land use, zoning, and constitutional issues, as well as basic contract disputes. We also help clients avoid litigation through alternative dispute resolution techniques.

One of the additional resources we offer is training. Schwartz Cooper is pleased to extend to our clients in-house training on a variety of legal issues including construction law, construction contracts, negotiation techniques, design liabity and other related topics.

Our recent experience includes the following:

Representation of an electrical contractor in connection with the expansion of McCormick Place; the “People Mover” project at O’Hare Airport; the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Building; and 777 West Wacker Drive; all in Chicago, Illinois
Representation of general contractor in connection with the construction of Deerfield Commons in Deerfield, Illinois and the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois
Representation of developer in connection with the construction of district energy systems in Windsor, Ontario and the Aladdin Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
Representation of curtain wall and architectural glass manufacturer in construction negotiations and construction-related disputes
Represented the developer of a 150 unit new construction condominium and retail project in a Chicago suburb, which included the negotiation of a TIF Redevelopment Agreement
Represented the purchaser of the newly developed retail portion of a major multi-use redevelopment project in the downtown area of a Chicago suburb; less than a year earlier we had represented the municipality in its negotiations and agreements with the developer of the project from initial concept to completion of the project
Represented a division of an Illinois municipal corporation involving the purchase of land in the Village of Orland Park which is being developed as a commuter rail parking facility
Represented the developer in the acquisition, development and sale of 450 acres of residential property and 50 acres of commercial property in South Barrington
Represented two national banks and a public telecom company in their identification, negotiation and purchase of new corporate headquarters facilities in the Chicago area, and a third national bank in the land acquisition and development of its headquarters facility in the Chicago suburbs
Represented the developer of a $100,000,000 mixed-use condominium, retail and garage development in Chicago
Represented the owners and developers in negotiating and drafting construction documents for numerous retail strip centers in Chicago
Represented the electrical subcontractor in connection with a $100,000,000 project in downtown Chicago
Successfully litigated on behalf of a developer against the Village of South Barrington, Illinois involving a dispute in which the Village rescinded an ordinance permitting the developer to construct residences valued at approximately $250 million
Successfully represented our client in a matter tried before three arbitrators in which the client claimed that a contractor breached an agreement to construct a high-rise residential building
Prevailed in an arbitration matter, and subsequent trial and appellate court challenge, involving the disbursement of an escrow fund valued at over $6 million relating to the construction of a reservoir for the Deep Tunnel Project
Achieved a reversal of a trial court judgment against our client in an amount in excess of $1 million; and prevailed in the resulting retrial of issues remanded to the trial court in a matter relating to the construction of a commercial bakery
Successfully represented our client in a bench trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County, and the subsequent appeal, in a matter relating to the enforcement of over $1 million in contracts on behalf of a real estate developer
Prevailed in upholding on appeal a judgment in favor of our client which was obtained after a bench trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County in a matter involving an alleged breach of a construction contract
Brought suit against a suburban Chicago municipality, contesting the validity of a Tax Increment Financing District, with the result that a development and refurbishing project proposed by our client, a shopping center owner, was approved by the municipality