EXPERTISE

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Infrastructure projects are unique products of human innovation which provide tangible benefits to end users. Throughout my global career, I have had the privilege of supporting state-of-the-art megaprojects which innovated solutions to individual cities and the greater global populace, representing engineers and other stakeholders in the planning, negotiating, contracting, and resolving disputes for such projects.

Some projects delivered paths to spiritual fulfillment for two billion people a year from all corners of the world, such as King Abdul Aziz Road in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Some projects developed the world’s most traversed airports, such as New Doha International Airport (NDIA), JFK, and Newark Airport, that facilitate the world’s intercontinental mobility, bringing business and personal solutions to persons all over the world.

Some projects, such as Qatar Petrol Financial District, Lusail and Al Wakra stadiums, and Dubai Expo City changed the world’s narratives about the centers of wealth and business prosperity. 

Some projects, such as Dubai Metro, brought ecological transport to growing cities, while others, such as Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, brought sustainable energy solutions to showcase globally.

Some projects utilize the industry's most sophisticated alternative delivery systems. I have represented engineers and other project stakeholders throughout the drafting, negotiating, and financing of public-private partnerships (PPP), such as JFK Terminal One (New York, New York) and Prospect Lake (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), EPCM, EPC, CMAR, Design-Build (including Designer-Led Design-Build) and other innovative forms of integrated project delivery.

Large industrial, energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure projects require delivery models that balance risk, cost certainty, speed, and control. Alternative delivery and integrated delivery combine design and construction services to facilitate fast delivery by providing greater cost certainty, reduced change orders and claims, and facilities that are operationally resilient and adaptable. Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build, Progressive Design-Build; Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) and Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCM), and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP or P3) all represent fundamentally different contractual structures, risk allocations, and roles for project participants. Understanding these distinctions is critical for owners, contractors, and design professionals when selecting the most appropriate delivery strategy for a project. 

Contractual arrangements effectuate the design, construction, project management, financing, and bonding needed to proceed with infrastructure projects. Infrastructure contracts are multi-tiered transactions which ideally represent a initial collaboration between two or more parties. The more consensus is built upfront, the more likely the parties are to be able to work effectively, deliver a successful project, and avoid lengthy and disruptive disputes.

Designers and other stakeholders need legal and contractual support to protect their interests and ensure effective project delivery. Questions and challenges inevitably arise from internal and external causes. I have managed project solutions for live projects around the world, which has streamlined party interaction, accelerated projects, and cleared impediments to successful project completion. 

As Projects grow and change, so do their needs. Parties file for bankruptcy, transfer ownership, face breach and termination, or choose to walk away from performing scope, leaving gaps in contractual chains, questions as to intellectual property rights, and risks to parties transferring or assuming another’s work product. Profound changes to stakeholder participation requires counsel to address and facilitate potential rearrangement of all stakeholders within project maps, severing contractual relations with former clients, and assigning and contracting to new clients, all while protecting parties’ financial interests and liabilities.

Unfortunately, even projects with the best planning and support may end in dispute. Parties fail to pay, liens are filed, and allegations and claims arise. When claims arise, stakeholders may find themselves unfairly holding a liability disproportionate to their interest in the dispute. In addition to facing liability, stakeholder’s business operations are often significantly impeded by a dispute. Effective counsel should facilitate effective and managed paths to dispute resolution. Throughout my career, I have handled dispute resolution on multiple continents, ensuring designers and other stakeholders continue to deliver world-class projects which shape our collective destiny.