Professional Liability and Risk Management
Lender Assignment and Certification Requirements
In today’s economic climate, more and more, architects are being asked to address client issues relative to financing, assignment and certification. Every architect should be knowledgeable on these issues and approaches. Read more »
Protecting Your Firm When Going Green
In order to protect your firm, contractual provisions such as disclaimers and other exculpatory language need to be carefully worded. Firms should assess the risk of project-specific provisions and work with local legal counsel to craft them appropriately. This is especially true when the provisions include any waiver of claims, requirements for a legal defense, or the indemnification of costs. Read more »
To Shred or Not to Shred
Every firm has documents that should be destroyed, not simply discarded. Documents must be destroyed because firms need to maintain confidentiality when dealing with employee, client or business records that contain personal or proprietary information. Furthermore, firms need to develop a formal document destruction policy that includes a schedule that is adhered to consistently. Read more »
A Primer To International Design
Design firms are increasingly seeking opportunities internationally, expanding into foreign countries through a local client or a U.S. client with business abroad. Tapping new markets makes sense but before delving into a new arena, design firms should educate themselves to properly understand the laws, standards, and local industry practices that govern the projects on which they will be working. This education process allows design professionals to understand the new sources of risk that will allow them to develop a risk management plan tailored to the international project arena. Read more »
The AIA Commended Professional Liability Program: Looking Out For Member Interests
The AIA Board of Directors has established commendation criteria by which to select and evaluate the provider for the AIA Professional Liability Insurance Program. These criteria help to ensure that the Commended Provider offering is the best able to address critical factors for members. Read more »