Armor Up: Fortifying Your Business Against California Litigation
July 22, 2025 —
Kathryne E. Baldwin - Wilke FleuryCalifornia is a litigious landscape; it is one of the most heavily regulated and litigious states in the country. Businesses both small and large face a complex web of employment laws, consumer protection statutes, environmental regulations, and contractual obligations -- most of which come with heavy-handed penalties for non-compliance. In this environment, the best defense is a robust offense. Businesses that invest internally in thoughtful structuring, clear internal protocols, and regular legal check-ins position themselves well to avoid litigation altogether or, at the very least, to withstand it. Facing litigation can be a reality in today’s world of catchy headlines of big-time judgments, so it is important to follow some time-tested rules to best arm your business if the day comes where it needs to defend itself.
First Rule of Litigation: Documentation -- It will not be surprising to learn the best way to protect your business against what feels like inevitable litigation, is documentation. Whether it is your time clock entries, communications with vendors or clients, clear, written documentation that complies with California law creates a record that can make or break a defense. If you do have something like an employment handbook, do not rest on the laurels of that accomplishment. Have it reviewed regularly to be sure it reflects compliance with current legal standards. Doing so means you close common loopholes that billboard and bus stop plaintiff attorneys are familiar with exploiting.
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Kathryne E. Baldwin, Wilke FleuryMs. Baldwin may be contacted at
kbaldwin@wilkefleury.com
GRSM Named #1 Fastest-Growing Am Law Firm
May 23, 2025 —
Dion N. Cominos - Gordon Rees Scully MansukhaniGordon Rees Scully Mansukhani has been recognized as the fastest-growing top-100 law firm in the country by The American Lawyer. Over the past year, GRSM rose ten spots, marking the largest jump of any firm on the Am Law list.
“This recognition reflects yet another validation of the firm’s commitment to and execution of our focused strategy on scaling the business into a national juggernaut with the capability of delivering superior legal services throughout the country wherever our clients may have needs,” noted Firmwide Managing Partner Dion Cominos. “We are very proud of this accomplishment and look forward to even greater growth and success in the years ahead.”
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Dion N. Cominos, Gordon Rees Scully MansukhaniMr. Cominos may be contacted at
dcominos@grsm.com
Nomos LLP Partner Garret Murai Recognized by Best Lawyers in America
September 02, 2025 —
Garret Murai - California Construction Law BlogNomos LLP partner Garret Murai has been recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Construction Law.
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Garret Murai, Nomos LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@nomosllp.com
Texas Legislative Update: Breaking Down the New Texas Laws Impacting Construction
September 03, 2025 —
Matthew S.C. Moore & Quinn Kuriger - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.The Texas Legislature concluded its Regular Session and quickly moved into a Special Session. While political gridlock may dominate headlines at the State Capitol, lawmakers enacted legislation with significant implications for the construction sector. This update highlights the most important legislative developments from the 89th Regular Legislative Session.
The 89th Regular Session convened from January 14th through June 2, 2025, producing several legislative reforms affecting the construction industry. Of 11,277 bills filed, the Legislature enacted 1,155 measures, with Governor Abbott vetoing 28 bills by the June 22, 2025 deadline. Although the Legislature has since entered Special Sessions, no agenda items currently under consideration are expected to directly impact the construction industry.
The following sections review key legislation from the Regular Session, focusing on those bills most relevant to the construction industry. Topics include restrictions on new rules on right to repair accrual dates, prompt payment requirements for public works projects, changes to trust fund assignment rights, lien law deadline reforms, venue provisions for construction contracts, contracting integrity in K-12 and higher education, expanded liability protections for land surveyors, municipal regulation of mixed-use and multifamily projects, bonding limitations on pipelines, updated building energy codes, LNG permitting reforms, and environmental standards for construction materials facilities.
Reprinted courtesy of
Matthew S.C. Moore, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and
Quinn Kuriger, Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Mr. Moore may be contacted at mmoore@pecklaw.com
Mr. Kuriger may be contacted at qkuriger@pecklaw.com
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Traub Lieberman Attorneys Recognized in the 2026 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®
September 03, 2025 —
Traub LiebermanTraub Lieberman is pleased to announce that five Partners have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. In addition, seven attorneys have been included in the 2026 Best Lawyers®: Ones to Watch list. These recognitions include attorneys from the firm’s Hawthorne, NY; Chicago, IL; Palm Beach Gardens, FL; and St. Petersburg, FL offices.
2026 Best Lawyers®
Hawthorne, NY
- Lisa L. Shrewsberry – Commercial Litigation
Chicago, IL
- Brian C. Bassett – Insurance Law
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
- Rina Clemens – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
St. Petersburg, FL
- Lauren S. Curtis – Insurance Law
- Scot E. Samis – Appellate Practice
2026 “Ones to Watch”
Chicago, IL
- Anthony Hatzilabrou – Insurance Law
- Adam P. Joffe – Insurance Law
- Jessica N. Kull – Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law
St. Petersburg, FL
- Heather Jones – Insurance Law
- Ashley Kellgren – Appellate Practice, Insurance Law, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
- Ryan S. Parker – Commercial Litigation
- Nicole E. Shapiro – Insurance Law
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Traub Lieberman
Stephen Henning Receives “Legend of an Era” Award
June 23, 2025 —
Wood Smith Henning & BermanWood Smith Henning & Berman proudly announces that founding partner
Stephen Henning was awarded the prestigious Legend of an Era Award at the West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar, held May 15-16, 2025, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
The Legend of an Era Award honors an individual who has achieved enduring, legendary status through remarkable contributions, leadership, and advocacy within the construction defect community. The award recognizes those who inspire, contribute, advocate, and influence for the betterment of the community. This latest recognition adds to an already distinguished history of awards from West Coast Casualty. Henning was previously the first defense attorney ever to receive the Jerrold S. Oliver Award, a high honor given for outstanding services and contributions to the construction community.
Firmwide managing partner
Stewart Reid commented, "This award is a testament to Steve's lifelong dedication to advocacy, mentorship, and leadership. He has not only exceled in the defending construction professionals throughout his career, but he has also inspired countless professionals along the way."
In addition to this distinguished honor, a donation will be made in Henning's name to the seminar's designated charity, which for 2025 is the Los Angeles Firemen's Relief Association, supporting firefighters and their families.
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Wood Smith Henning & Berman
Mercury Insurance Builds Climate Science Team to Tackle the Impact of Extreme Weather Events
June 16, 2025 —
Mercury InsuranceLOS ANGELES, Calif. (June 10, 2025) --
Mercury Insurance (NYSE: MCY), a leading provider of property and casualty insurance, has appointed Steve Bennett as its Senior Director of Climate and Catastrophe Science. In this new position, Bennett will build and lead a team dedicated to helping identify ways Mercury and its policyholders can work together to better prepare for — and be more resilient -- in the face of increasingly severe climate-driven weather events.
This move is the latest in a series of investments by Mercury to better understand and counteract forces facing insurance providers in high-risk areas. Climate change, population growth and resulting urban expansion has placed the insurance industry at a crossroads, resulting in many insurers pulling back from areas prone to wildfires, hurricanes and other catastrophic climate events. Mercury has taken a different approach to this challenge over the past year, working with homeowners, municipalities and government to create more resistant and insurable risks. The result has led to Mercury writing more policies in areas where its competitors have cancelled or non-renewed coverage for tens of thousands of consumers.
Mercury's efforts on this front have been challenged over the past year in dramatic ways. Late last year, Mercury announced that it was the first major insurer to begin writing homeowners coverage for homes in Paradise, CA, a town largely destroyed by the Camp Fire in November 2018. The move was made possible through the efforts of local and state government, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) -- and the homeowners -- who worked in lockstep to reimagine zoning, construction and many other aspects of the rebuilding process. Mercury leadership closely followed the progress in Paradise, taking numerous trips to the area to see the transformation first-hand and to use the new parameters instituted for wildfire mitigation in their assessment of risk in that area.
Following Mercury's return to Paradise, the catastrophic fires that ravaged Pacific Palisades and Altadena earlier this year once again underscored the enormity of the challenge. "Mercury continues to develop a different approach to managing catastrophic risks," said Victor Joseph, President and Chief Operating Officer of Mercury Insurance. "We look at geography, prevailing wind patterns, building methods and materials, and policy concentration and apply this knowledge to individual risks. It's not good enough to simply rule out entire zip codes. There are ways to significantly reduce risk even in the highest danger areas that would make these risks acceptable for Mercury.
Bennett joins Mercury with over three decades of leadership at the nexus of extreme weather, climate risk and effective risk management. He also serves on the adjunct faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he teaches and leads research for the Institute for Risk Management and Insurance Innovation. Previously, he was co-founder and chief scientist at Demex, where he led pioneering work on severe convective storms -- including tornadoes, hail and derechos -- helping to translate cutting-edge science into novel reinsurance solutions.
Beyond Complexity: Systems Engineering in Construction
July 08, 2025 —
Aarni Heiskanen - AEC BusinessIn
this episode of the AEC Business podcast, I sat down with Lennard van Wijk from Relatics to discuss Systems Engineering in construction; what it is and why you should use it in your next project.
Managing Complexity
Lennard van Wijk is a consultant at
Relatics, a Dutch software company that develops a platform of the same name to support Systems Engineering in construction projects. He has fifteen years of experience working in Systems Engineering, the last five as a consultant at Relatics and has assisted numerous project teams in organizing and consolidating disjointed information.
Relatics is the leading Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) software application for construction projects. Used in over 2,000 projects worldwide by more than 70,000 professionals, Relatics provides a comprehensive platform to access all project information and manage the increasing complexity and interdependencies between disciplines.
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Aarni Heiskanen, AEC BusinessMr. Heiskanen may be contacted at
aec-business@aepartners.fi
