Hal Hamersmith is retired from the firm and is now Of Counsel. He specialized in design and construction contracts, claims, litigation, domestic and international arbitration, construction defects and public contract law. Hal is the former Leader of the firm's Construction Practice and served as Co-Chair of TerraLex's Construction and Infrastructure Practice Group.
Construction Contracts, Claims, Litigation and Arbitration:
Hal represented public and private owners, contractors, architects and engineers in a wide range of contexts. He regularly negotiated, drafted and advised on contracts (design-build, EPC, construction, architectural and engineering services, construction management services, project control services, procurement of materials and systems, construction manager at risk, program management, etc.) for commercial, industrial, residential, hospital, school, highway/bridge, airport, railway, transit, hospitality and leisure (including hotels and casinos), power plant and other projects, including Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects.
Hal advised on public contract bidding laws and disputes, including issues of bidder responsiveness, and on stop payment notice and lien laws, contract obligations and remedies, performance and payment bonds, issues concerning termination of contracts, etc., as well as on Contractors' State License Law issues.
Hal's areas of expertise included: litigation; arbitration and mediation of disputes on public and private works involving construction defects; professional liability of architects and engineers; latent and patent defects in real property; strict products liability; extra work claims; changed conditions claims; delay, acceleration and disruption claims; defective work claims; mechanic's liens and stop payment notice claims; prompt payment penalties; surety bond claims; bid protests; equipment failures; Uniform Commercial Code rights and remedies; and issues regarding state and federal false claim laws.
Public Contract Law:
Hal had substantial experience advising contractors, designers and public agencies on a variety of public law matters, in addition to those summarized above. He provided advice regarding:
- FOIA and California Public Records Act and issues related to same;
- application of state and local building codes and ordinances;
- RFPs for engineering and related services and state laws pertaining to competitive procurement for same;
- conflict of interest laws and policies applicable to officials and employees;
- various dispute resolution alternatives, including arbitration, mediation, required meetings of principals, dispute review boards, project neutrals and other mid-contract mechanisms;
- California local-agency dispute resolution statutes;
- insurance programs and coverages, including general liability, professional errors and omissions, builder's risk, owner's protective professional indemnity, owner-controlled insurance wrap programs, etc.
- DBE/MBE/WBE and equal employment opportunity laws, regulations, issues and contract provisions; and
- federal laws and regulations applicable to grantees of federal funding, including FTA third-party contracting guidelines, Buy America laws and regulations, Davis-Bacon, F.A.R. requirements on cost and pricing data, etc.
Real Estate Litigation:
Hal handled a variety of real estate-related litigation, including lease disputes, purchase-sale agreement disputes (including issues regarding required disclosures) and broker/realtor issues.