Professional Liability and Risk Management
The Real Value of Pre-claims Assistance and Profitability
Disputes happen. Dissatisfied clients, construction firms with cost-recovery programs, injured third parties and other claimants often try to tap into the assets of professional service firms—and their insurers—to solve a real or perceived problem.
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Risk Management Tools for You & Your Firm
Architects confront risks daily—and the risks are real and substantial. From working with employees and maintaining an office to working with clients and contractors on job sites to regulatory requirements that frequently change—risks are ubiquitous. In its role as a free risk management resource for AIA members, the AIA Trust works with a host of important participants in the risk management arena. Often, the result of these working relationships is reports and resources on vital topics of interest to AIA Members—ranging from the annual survey of the professional liability insurance industry to white papers on vital topics of architectural practice. Read more »
Can a Design Professional Be in Absolute Compliance with the Law?
There are two kinds of clients who insist in a contract that a design professional absolutely comply with laws, regulations, codes, ordinances, standards and a plethora of other business and design constraints. First there is the client who, perhaps with strained incredulity, asks “Do you mean to tell me that you do not intend to comply with the law?” Read more »
Who Owns the Instruments of Service?
It is not uncommon for clients to request ownership of your plans and specifications. Corporate clients often assume they will somehow be of future value. Educational clients think they can create a database of project information that will help them reduce future costs. Agencies of government reason that the public, having paid for your services, has a right to “own” the result. In these situations the clients are confusing the services provided with the deliverables – what often are characterized as “instruments of professional service.” Read more »
The Changing Standard of Care
The AIA Trust released a new white paper on the changing standard of care just prior to the 2011 AIA National Convention in New Orleans in May. The author, David A. Ericksen, Esq. also presented a seminar on this topic during convention entitled Elevating the Architectural Practice to Meet the Opportunities of Technology and Sustainability. New and innovative technologies, tools, and processes represent the next step in defining and managing the standard of care relative to innovation. Read more »