Notes from the Editor

• Pages: 4-5
• Date: 01 January 2026
• Published date: 01 January 2026
• Author: Christopher M. Burke
• Subject Matter: Administrative & Public Law

Published in The Construction Lawyer Volume 45, Number 1, ©2026 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with

permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any

means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

Forum on Construction Law The Construction Lawyer Winter 2026

4

By Christopher M. Burke

Christopher M. Burke is a senior partner at Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP, in McLean, Virginia.

Welcome to the Winter 2026 issue of The Construction Lawyer! This issue features an eclectic

mix of articles spanning topics from the importance of alignment between project participants

to how natural disasters have impacted project designs. I am conf‌ident you will f‌ind each of the

articles well worth your time.

As the Forum approaches its 50th Anniversary celebration at the Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illnois

(May 6–9, 2026), I reflect on how I began to get more involved with the Forum during my career.

Candidly, I started getting involved with the Forum a little later than some and was probably on the edge

(or maybe just over the edge) of inclusion within the Forum’s Young Lawyers Division. But I have been

consistently involved for over a decade and have had so many rewarding experiences throughout that

time.

I say this to encourage anyone reading this—younger or older—to consider adopting 2026 as the year

where you try one or two new avenues of participation within the Forum. One of the best ways I was able

to feel more involved at the outset of my more active participation was through attendance and activity

within one of the Forum’s Divisions. The Forum’s Divisions provide a chance to get involved with very

little effort at the outset—simply sign up with a Division (or Divisions!) on the Forum website and attend

one of the monthly Division calls to get a feel for the subject matter and the people from that group.

Then attend an annual meeting and make sure you participate in the Division lunch and/or Division

social event associated with that meeting—each of these opportunities allows you to connect with new

people in a sub-part of construction law where you share interest. It’s also a great entry point to learn

the mechanics of the Forum and allows you to hear on a more “local” level about writing opportunities,

webinars, and events.

After you get a feel for the workings of your Division(s) and the potential opportunities to get more

involved, the best way of doing so is also the most obvious—volunteer. The Forum is a volunteer

organization in construct and in spirit. No one is putting in his or her time in Forum leadership,

organizing a meeting, writing an article, editing a book, or speaking for compensation; each person

is dedicating his or her “own” time to better the practice of construction law. A little over 10 years

ago, I did just that: I volunteered to be a “cat herder” at what was then the Forum’s 40th Anniversary

celebration / meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a great experience (in large part thanks to my

excellent speakers for that session—Anna Oshiro and John Heuer). And from there I’ve had the pleasure

of getting more involved, ultimately co-chairing the Trial Academy (twice), returning last year as a faculty

member, and working up to Editor of The Construction Lawyer. Each of these experiences has its genesis

from the decision 10 years ago to volunteer for a single assignment. I encourage you to take a chance and

volunteer for a Forum role in 2026—no matter what station of your career you find yourself.

Turning to this issue of The Construction Lawyer, we feature four articles across a spectrum of

interests, but each of which focuses in its own way on the concept of risk. The first article, “Front-End

Alignment: The Tool for Preventing Design and Construction Claims” by Ava J. Abramowitz, draws

on a combination of personal experience and industry data to highlight the importance of alignment

among owners, contractors, and designers in determining project success. Next, Thomas S. O’Leary and

NOTES FROM THE EDITORNotes from the Editor