Introduction:
As
a contractor,
design professional or owner about to be or already involved in a
project, you understand
the construction process as one of the most difficult endeavors you can
undertake. Every construction project involves an incredibly complex
assembly
of materials and products, custom-designed and -built in good weather
and bad
on an unpredictable piece of earth, by a staggering array of
individuals and organizations,
each with unique and often conflicting objectives.
These relationships, ever-changing circumstances, and the
contractual parameters of fixed cost and schedule create one of the
most fertile environments for legal disputes. Attorneys often remark that if you don’t have the facts argue the law. In construction, however, factual nuances are at the heart of almost every dispute and if not understood and resolved quickly, damages can escalate exponentially as they begin to affect the schedule and draw in an increasing amount of other claimants. Even a simple mechanic’s lien for non-payment likely implicates claims and counterclaims for delay, defects, interference, acceleration, or some other breach. A mere understanding of legal doctrine or procedural law just won’t do. With over 20 years in the industry as general contractor, architect, and developer, Clifford W. Bedar has the technical knowledge and analytical skills to get to the heart of your construction law issue quickly and efficiently.
Professional Profile:
Mr.
Bedar’s practice focuses on all transactional and dispute resolution
aspects of
design and construction for contractors, owners, and design
professionals
including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contracts and
amendments; zoning and permitting,; procurement and project
administration consulting; and prosecution and defense
of claims, including contract breach, payment issues, delay and
acceleration,
construction defects, mechanic’s liens, and design errors and omissions.Mr. Bedar has extensive hands-on experience with legal issues arising from the design and construction of projects large and small in many private and public markets, including education, justice, municipal, institutional, commercial, multi-family, and hospitality. For 15 years, he successfully managed construction in roles ranging from construction operations manager to project manager to on-site superintendent in traditional, CM, and at-risk design-build deliveries. For 6 years, Mr. Bedar worked with owner/developer organizations where he provided zoning and building permit services, and hired and managed architects and contractors for large mixed-use developments in
Recognized for his expertise in the procurement and execution of alternative project delivery systems, Mr. Bedar has also published several articles and has lectured to local and national ownership, professional, and educational organizations on the subject of design-build.
- Pinch
Me, I Must Be Teaming, 4 LICENSED ARCHITECT
26 (No. 4, 2000).
- Dialogue;
Speak Out, 187 ARCHITECTURAL REC.
22 (No. 2, Feb. 1999).
- Ethics
Schmethics, 2 ILL.
COUNCIL OF AMER.
REGISTERED ARCHITECTS 25
(No. 3 1998).
- Too
Many Ironies in the Fire, 2 Ill. Council of Amer. Registered Architects 8 (No. 2, 1998).
- Liability In
Design/Build, 2 Ill. Council of Amer. Registered Architects
38 (No. 1, 1998).
- Design-Build:
Ethics and Liability for the Small Design Firm,
Seminar for BKA Architects,
- Alternative
Project Deliveries, Seminar for the
- Design-Build
Strategies, Seminar for The Staubach Company,
- Design-Led
Design-Build, Lecture for Professional Architectural
Practice Course No. 220, University of
- Design-Build:
Federal Bureau of Prisons, Seminar for the Doing
Justice to Design-Build Conference,
- Design
Build Institute of
- Engineer-Led
Design-Build Teams, Panel Member for Engineering
into the 21st Century, Structural Engineers Association of
- Design-Build, Seminar for the
- Raising
Kane: A Case Study, Seminar for the Design Build Institute
of
- Design-Build at HDR, Seminars for HDR Architecture, Inc.,
- Public
Sector Design-Build, Presentation for
the
- Design-Build, Seminar for the City of
- Design-Build, Seminar for the
- Alternative
Delivery Systems, Seminar for the
- Design-Build
for the Rest of Us, Plenary Speech and Roundtable Panel
Member for the Design Build
- Design-Build
Project Delivery, Seminar for CNA Schinnerer at the
American Institute of Architects National Conference,
- Designer-Led
Design-Build, Seminar for the Board of Directors of
HDR, Inc.,
- Hey,
Wait A Minute - An Architect’s Perspective, Seminar for
Professional Services Management Journal and
the Design Build Institute of
- Team
Design-Build for Public Schools, A Case Study, Seminar
for the
Illinois
State Bar AssociationAmerican Bar Association
American Institute of Architects
Association of Licensed Architects