Comments from the Chair

• Author: By Arlan D. Lewis
• Pages: 4-4

THE CONSTRUCTION LAWYER4 Volume 42 Issue 1 2022

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The Construction Lawyer

, Volume 41, Number 4. © 2022 American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not

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COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIR

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

denes a “tribe” as “a group of

persons having a common char-

acter, occupation, or interest.” I

don’t know that I’d previously

thought of the Forum as a tribe,

but as I considered the concept

more carefully and reected on

my own personal Forum jour-

ney, I realized that it is a tting description. In fact, I’ve

found the Forum to be the right tribe at different stages

of my career as a construction lawyer.

The tribal concept came to mind recently when a

Forum leader recounted a comment made by an in-

house counsel rst-time attendee at the Forum’s 2022

Annual Meeting in New York City. In effect, the attendee

said, “I’m involved with several other in-house counsel

groups, but I felt a void in the construction realm—now

I’ve found my tribe!” Of course, this was music to my

ears! Given that our Annual Meeting attracted more

than 100 rst-time attendees (many of whom are in-

house counsel), I hope that each one of them feels that

they have found their tribe in the Forum.

As I’ve repeatedly noted during my term as Chair, the

Forum is keenly focused on (1) increasing the value of

the Forum to our in-house counsel members, (2) attract-

ing new in-house counsel to Forum membership and

participation, and (3) helping in-house counsel gain

support from their executive team for Forum involve-

ment. As such, I’ve addressed the signicant benet to

in-house counsel of access to a wide variety of quality

Forum resources through our programs and publications,

as well as the value of a unique worldwide network of

construction lawyers and consultants. In this column,

I’ll discuss why there is a particular need for in-house

lawyers involved in construction to nd their tribe and

why the Forum is uniquely positioned to ll this need.

There are many in-house counsel organizations, and

each of them provides valuable support to its constit-

uents. Given the variety of issues in-house counsel

must often address and the assortment of perspectives

involved, it is unlikely that a single organization can

provide everything to every in-house counsel. Gov-

ernment counsel, whether federal, state, or local, have

unique needs that must be fullled in order to serve their

respective agencies. Likewise, in-house counsel needs for

publicly traded entities vary substantially from those of

entities that are privately held.

The Forum actively continues to develop material of

particular importance to construction in-house coun-

sel as their roles evolve and as needs are identied. All

the programming for the Forum’s rst-ever In-House

Counsel Summit was developed specically to be viewed

through the lens of construction in-house counsel to pro-

vide practical advice, recommendations, and resources

to them. For example, the Forum offered a primer for

new in-house counsel taught by a panel of experienced

construction in-house counsel wherein, among other

things, they provided insight into how to balance com-

pliance and risk management obligations with building

a partnership with the executive team. Likewise, the pro-

gram featured a panel of construction industry CEOs

discussing their expectations for in-house counsel and

how counsel adds value to the project team. Such practi-

cal sessions are benecial for both in-house counsel and

the organizations they serve, as they provide understand-

ing about how to bridge the delicate tension between

the counsel’s role and the executive team’s business

objectives.

Even for nonconstruction issues, the Forum’s people

can be an amazing resource. Is your construction com-

pany going through a merger or acquisition? Is your

entity implementing a new compliance program, chang-

ing their corporate structure, or signicantly revising

their employment benet packages? Although none

of these circumstances are “construction law” issues,

there are likely fellow Forum in-house counsel mem

-

bers whose companies have done something similar, and

they can point you in the right direction. They can likely

also suggest outside counsel and consultants with the

appropriate expertise. Most importantly, their advice

and recommendations include the unique considerations

relevant to construction industry stakeholders. Building

the best construction lawyers often involves more than

just construction law, especially as regards our in-house

counsel colleagues.

If you are a construction lawyer, and particularly, if

you are an in-house attorney in the construction indus-

try, we encourage you to enthusiastically consider the

Forum on Construction Law. We are certain that this

is the right tribe for you!

Arlan D. Lewis is a partner with Blueprint Construction Counsel, LLP.

He is Chair of the ABA’s Forum on Construction Law and is based in

Birmingham, Alabama..

Arlan D. Lewis

By Arlan D. Lewis

In-House Counsel: You’ve Found Your

Construction Law Tribe in the Forum!