Where projects go wrong
Scope and change orders are the most common starting point, usually because work was directed verbally and priced later. Then delay, and the argument over who caused it and who absorbed it. Then defective or nonconforming work, retainage that is not released, and payment that stalls somewhere in the chain between owner, general contractor, subcontractor, and supplier. Termination disputes and claims involving the architect or engineer come up as well. The same facts look entirely different depending on where you sit in that chain, which is why we start by placing you in it rather than by reading the complaint.
The project record decides most of it
Bring the contract and everything it incorporates, which usually means general conditions, the schedule, and the specifications. Then the running record: daily reports, RFIs and the responses, submittals, the change order log, payment applications and what was actually certified, and photographs taken as the work progressed. Notices matter more than people expect, because construction contracts commonly require a specific written notice within a set process before a claim is preserved at all, and those requirements differ from project to project. Contemporaneous records carry far more weight than a narrative assembled afterward, so a memo written last month about events from last year helps less than a dated field report.
Where the dispute actually goes
Many contracts route disputes to mediation first and then to arbitration, so the forum may already be settled by a clause signed at the outset. Mechanic's lien and payment bond rights exist alongside the contract claim and they are time sensitive, with requirements that differ by state and by whether the project is public or private. A bond claim is sometimes a faster route to payment than suing the party directly above you. Public work follows its own claim procedures. In a first conversation we look at which rights are still open to you, which are about to close, and what the contract requires you to send before anything else.
