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In the construction business, where Murphy’s Law predominates, effective contract negotiation is the key to guarding against the consequences of sudden change.

BakerHostetler’s Construction practice stands apart for its ability to help clients anticipate, navigate, and when necessary, litigate in the face of the unexpected. Our construction lawyers have worked on some of the largest and most complex construction projects in the world. As former developers, engineers, contractors, estimators, and project managers, we are equally adept at representing any and all of the different players—combining litigation skills with an in-depth transactional knowledge of the construction business.


  • Represented a major integrated oil company in litigation brought by contractor alleging cost overruns arising out of construction of facility to remove sulfur from CO2 and de-bottle-neck a refiner in West Texas.
  • Represented major integrated oil companies and brewer in personal injury actions brought by employees of a construction company on refinery and brewery construction projects.
  • Represented a client in arbitration of a matter for an international engineering company involving damages against a subcontractor on the construction of an ethylene plant.
  • Represented a client on a claim arising from construction of a major Gulf Coast petrochemical plant project.
  • Represented a major U.S. construction firm in resolving claims of liquidated damages, penalties, and change order claims of millions of dollars.
  • Represented a 5-star resort/casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in claims for defective work and substantial delay in completion of a $350 million hotel-casino project. We were able to recover more than $62 million for the project owners.
  • Represented a major U.S. energy contractor on issues involving the construction of an offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • Represented an international company on the construction of an addition to a gasoline and diesel refinery in Louisiana on claims involving engineering and design of processes to produce ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel.
  • Represented a major international construction and engineering firm against damage claims for a turbine failure in an electric power plant on the Gulf Coast.
  • Represented a contractor in recovering monies from work on a power plant in Texas on delay and damage claims by owner and general contractor.

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