GRSM Marks Seventh Anniversary as First and Only Full-Service Law Firm in All 50 States, Climbs to #70 on Am Law 100
April 20, 2026 —
Gordon Rees Scully MansukhaniGordon Rees Scully Mansukhani proudly celebrates the seventh anniversary of its becoming the first and only full-service law firm with offices and attorneys in all 50 states. Since launching its innovative 50-state platform in April 2019, GRSM has experienced extraordinary growth across markets, practices, and client relationships.
In the past seven years, GRSM has expanded its footprint with 20 new offices in both major and secondary markets and doubled its attorney headcount, growing from 940 to more than 2000 lawyers. This growth has propelled GRSM from the 40th to the 11th largest law firm in the United States, according to Law360, while also driving a significant rise on the Am Law 100 rankings, from #103 in 2019 to #70 in 2026. GRSM has served nearly half of the Fortune 500, a testament to its deep bench of lawyers and national capabilities.
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Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Late Notice Bars Insured’s Claim for Wind Damage
June 29, 2026 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiThe court found that a six-month delay in reporting damage from wind did not comply with the policy’s notice requirements. Touchmark Hotel Group, LLC v. Mt. Hawley Ins. Co., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61910 (S.D. N. Y. March 24, 2026).
A storm caused damage to Touchstone’s hotel on January 4, 2023. Touchstone’s corporate representative, Rohit Patel, testified that he was not at the property on the day of the storm. In a telephone call the next day, the manager of the property reported to Patel that he observed detached shingles from the roof the hotel in the parking lot. Patel testified that he did not file a claim at that time because Touchmark’s employees did not detect any water leakage in the building and because he did not believe that the cost of the damage from the storm would exceed the policy’s deductible.
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Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Modern Building-Sundt $17M Claim Is Stranded by Hospital Bankruptcy
April 27, 2026 —
Richard Korman - Engineering News-RecordA $16.9-million claim for work on a hospital addition by a joint venture of contractors Modern Building Co. and Sundt Construction is stuck and delayed indefinitely following the California hospital's December bankruptcy filing.
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Richard Korman, Engineering News-RecordMr. Korman may be contacted at
kormanr@enr.com
The Best Lawyers in America® - Ball Janik Attorneys Earn Multiple Recognitions
September 01, 2026 —
Ball Janik LLPOrlando, FL, August 20, 2026 – Ball Janik LLP is pleased to announce that 24 of its attorneys have been recognized in the 2027 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America. The 33rd Best Lawyers edition recognitions are based on peer review and highlight attorneys across a range of practice areas. This recognition underscores the broad experience Ball Janik's attorneys bring to the firm's construction defect practice.
"We're proud to be recognized by Best Lawyers again this year," said James C. Prichard, Managing Partner of Ball Janik LLP. "These honors reflect the expertise and depth of our team, our continued growth across Florida, and our commitment to providing strong counsel to clients in complex construction, insurance recovery, and litigation matters."
Ball Janik attorneys recognized in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® include:
Keegan A. Berry — Construction Law
Brian T. Crevasse — Construction Law; Litigation - Construction
Todd Demetriades — Litigation - Construction
Joseph R. Fitos — Construction Law; Litigation - Construction
Megan A. Picataggio — Construction Law
Jon E. Lemole — Construction Law; Litigation - Construction
Salvatore G. Scro — Construction Law
Nicholas B. Vargo — Construction Law; Litigation - Construction
Kelly M. Corcoran — Construction Law
Gabriel Z. Coelho — Construction Law
Evan J. Small — Construction Law; Litigation - Construction
Franchesco Soto — Construction Law; Litigation - Construction
Phillip E. Joseph — Litigation - Construction; Real Estate Law
James C. Prichard — Construction Law
Ball Janik attorneys recognized in the 2027 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America include:
Nicholas Passantino — Litigation - Construction
Amanda L. Gonzalez — Construction Law; Litigation - Construction
Morgan N. Lester — Litigation - Construction
Chris S. Tribbey — Construction Law
Kyle Bugden — Construction Law; Litigation - Construction
Brian Tannenbaum — Construction Law
Kayla Mosquera — Insurance Law
Natasha L. Biela — Commercial Litigation
Elijah C. Waring, Jr. — Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Greg K. Demers — Construction Law
About Ball Janik LLP
Ball Janik LLP is a Florida-based law firm offering construction defect, construction law, insurance recovery, and commercial litigation counsel, to its local and national clients. The firm was founded in 1982 and has expanded its capabilities, professionals, and geographic footprint. What started as a small firm focused on real property, land use, and litigation (known then as Ball Janik & Novack) has grown to a team of 70-plus attorneys and paralegals in five offices in Florida, with centuries of combined experience and capabilities. The firm has been recognized by Chambers USA, including for its construction law capabilities in Florida, U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers®, The Best Lawyers in America©, Super Lawyers, and Corporate International. Read more at www.balljanik.com.
Turning Expert Services into Products
July 20, 2026 —
Aarni Heiskanen - AEC BusinessA Finnish engineering, architecture, and project consulting company, AINS Group, recently opened an online store to purchase fixed-price services. The store presents specialist work in a product-like format, with fixed service names, defined scopes, and visible prices, such as a building history report, a zoning plan cost analysis, and a technical preliminary survey for a property transaction.
Is this productization a smart move or a sign that expert services are being commoditized?
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Aarni Heiskanen, AEC BusinessMr. Heiskanen may be contacted at
aec-business@aepartners.fi
Modular Construction’s Big Boom: New Risks Outpacing Standard Contracts in Industrial Projects
March 24, 2026 —
Chad Theriot & Jack Mayo - Construction ExecutiveModular construction is revolutionizing the construction industry, tackling labor shortages, sustainability goals and supply-chain challenges, with the global market for modular and prefabricated construction projected to reach over $200 billion by 2030. While residential builders have embraced modular’s speed and affordability, the greatest risks—and opportunities—are emerging in the industrial sector, where project scale and complexity demand new legal strategies.
In 2023, Chad Theriot explored industrial and infrastructure applications of modular construction, addressing risks like offsite fabrication and integration complexities in his article, “
The Rise of Modular Construction—Impacts for Consideration.” Since that time, modular construction has continued to experience significant advancements and has been increasingly adopted by contractors across a broad spectrum of industrial and commercial projects. As modular construction continues to reshape the industrial landscape, contractors and owners alike must be mindful of the legal implications associated with its use, specifically as it relates to liability and risk allocation, regulatory compliance, quality control and upstream factors such as transportation and intellectual property concerns.
Reprinted courtesy of
Chad Theriot and Jack Mayo, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
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Research Illuminates Pollution Problem in Tijuana River Valley
June 29, 2026 —
Jeff Yoders - Engineering News-RecordThe Tijuana River watershed between southern California and northern Mexico has been the epicenter of an environmental and public health crisis for more than two decades. Since October 2023 alone, more than 31 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted water have flowed into the U.S. and, eventually, the Pacific Ocean.
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Jeff Yoders, Engineering News-RecordMr. Yoders may be contacted at
yodersj@enr.com
Four Families Now Live in the Season Six Rock the Block Homes in Grantsville, Utah
April 20, 2026 —
Hamlet HomesSALT LAKE CITY, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The premier of Rock the Block season seven aired last Monday and is set in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rock The Block is HGTV's highest rated show. Last year, season six was set in Utah and had HGTV's highest rating yet, with over 14 million viewers. All episodes of season six were filmed in the Worthington Ranch community in Grantsville, Utah. The four homes on the show were built by Utah builder Hamlet Homes. During the show, the location of the four Rock The Block homes had to be kept secret and were surrounded by a locked gate. After over a year of being inaccessible, the Utah public was invited in May 2025 to tour the homes and help raise money together for charity. On May 30-31, 2025, Hamlet hosted a 'Rock The Block Party' where the public was able to walk through the homes made famous by the show.
Hamlet Owner, VP of Marketing & Design Tami Ostmark shares stories from the show and her perspective of what it's like to be the builder on a national show like this. Ostmark was on set almost the entire time. "As expected, there were times when there was tension on the set. All four designers were super competitive with each other. It's amazing that the production team was able to produce the show as well as they did. I'm very impressed," said Ostmark.
Another interesting point related to the show is how much work the local builder is responsible for. Some nights as many as 30 Hamlet team members worked through the night to keep up with the pace of production. "Each designer provided their own trusted carpenters to do finishing work. In two of the cases, designers' flew their favorite carpenters in to carry out their visions. Given the quick turnaround, it's not always practical for finishing work to be permanent. Sometimes, it just needs to look appealing on camera," said Ostmark. This is frequently referred to as 'TV Magic'. "When the show was over, Hamlet re-did any areas that required extra attention". The show really does shoot in only 7 weeks as depicted. This creates a fast pace that was very exciting to be a part of", continued Ostmark. All four of the homes featured on the show have since been purchased; four Utah families currently call them home.
ABOUT HAMLET HOMES
Hamlet Homes (www.hamlethomes.com) crafts quality customer-oriented townhomes and single-family homes located in attractively designed communities in Utah and Idaho. Since the company's founding in 1995, Hamlet has built over 5,000 homes in 80 communities. The company is a proud recipient of many awards on Sustainable Business & Design, Quality Builder Awards; recognized both locally and nationally. Named by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce as the 'Veteran Owned Small Business of the Year, in 2019'. Hamlet has since been named several times to the Professional Builder's Housing Giants List and annual HOME AWARDS Best Customer Experience. Most recently in 2026, Hamlet was named Utah's 'Best of State for Real Estate Development and Utah Businesses 'Best Companies to Work For' for the 6th consecutive year.
