May 10, 2022
1-2 pm
Construction- Secrets and Strategies to Successful Public Construction Projects
Description: Successful projects – meeting quality, time, budget requirements – can happen if the public owner and the municipal attorney take the proper steps to prepare for design and construction. Without the necessary planning and strategy, public works construction may experience unwanted delays, claims and cost overruns. This session will discuss the underlying causes that threaten successful project outcomes. Specific recommendations (“secrets”) will be presented regarding critical issues during the design phase including designer selection and professional services agreement, the public owner’s project management approach, and key construction contract provisions. Since unexpected issues are common in construction, a corresponding claims management strategy that focuses on avoidance, mitigation and resolution of claims and disputes will be presented.
Speakers: Joe Seibold and Christopher J. Petrini
Joe Seibold, PE, FCMAA is an Executive Vice President and leader of Arcadis’ Contract Solutions group in the Western United States. Throughout his 40 years of experience, he has served as a construction manager and construction disputes expert. His combined years of leadership and experience in construction management and claims allow him unique insight into each project. He has provided expert testimony on behalf of owners, designers, contractors and construction managers including testimony regarding entitlement, damages and the standard of care for construction management practices. His experience includes the evaluation and calculation of construction-related delay and disruption damages on more than 100 projects. He is a Fellow and the past National President of Construction Management Association of America and chaired CMAA’s Standards of Practice, Contract Administration Committee.
CHRISTOPHER J. PETRINI is founding principal of Petrini & Associates, PC (P&A), a municipal law firm in Framingham. Mr. Petrini has served as Town Counsel (and since 2018, City Solicitor) for the City of Framingham since 2001. P&A also serves as full Town Counsel to the Towns of Blackstone, Leicester, Sherborn and West Brookfield. In addition to its regular Town Counsel work, P&A has been appointed to serve as special counsel to represent local government entities throughout the state in public construction and infrastructure litigation, having represented over 60 cities, towns, school districts and public agencies in recent years.
Mr. Petrini is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University (A.B.), and a high honor graduate of Duke University School of Law (J.D.), where he also earned his master’s degree in philosophy. After law school, Mr. Petrini served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Hon. Theodore M. McMillian of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis. Several of the opinions that Mr. Petrini worked on for Judge McMillian received national attention. Mr. Petrini is a Past President of the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association and serves on its Executive Board. Since 2012, Mr. Petrini has served as a Regional Vice President for the International Municipal Lawyers Association, representing the First Circuit. Mr. Petrini has been recognized as a New England Super Lawyer on 10 occasions (2009, 2010, 2014-2021). The publisher, Thomson-Reuters, selects only 5% of the practicing lawyers in New England for this honor. In addition, Mr. Petrini has been recognized as a Top 100 Lawyers in New England on three occasions (2016-18), which selects the top 100 lawyers in New England from the Super Lawyer honorees for that year.
Mr. Petrini has chaired or served as a panelist on over 60 continuing legal education seminars addressing public construction issues over the course of his career, and has authored or co-authored over 20 legal articles or chapter submissions within areas of his expertise. Mr. Petrini is founder and moderator of the MMLA Annual Public Construction and Infrastructure Update Conference, which has been held for 11 consecutive years since 2011. Mr. Petrini’s cases or comments have been featured in more than 35 front page articles of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly since 2003.