Legal Solutions for Every Part of Your Design Practice
From licensure compliance and employment disputes to contract negotiations and fee collection, engineering and architecture firms face legal challenges that require both business acumen and industry expertise.
Corporate Formation & Licensure Compliance
Lee/Shoemaker PLLC advises design professionals on corporate formation and structuring to facilitate compliance with regulatory licensure requirements applicable to design firms while maximizing operational efficiency. We appreciate the licensure challenges associated with multi-state and multi-discipline practice and assist clients in identifying and understanding state-specific licensure regulations and implementing compliance strategies.
Our team has completed numerous multi-state licensure compliance studies for ENR Top 500 Design Firms, including:
- Analyzing state-by-state requirements specific to their practice(s), corporate structure(s), and ownership group
- Flagging compliance issues
- Identifying strategies for achieving compliance (where changes are necessary)
- Implementing efficient and effective solutions to address both current needs and future expansion plans
We also counsel our clients regarding corporate formalities, and documenting corporate actions taken in accordance with the firm’s corporate documents.
Employment Law & HR Support
Our employment law services include:
- Developing employee manuals
- Drafting employment agreements
- Advising clients on restrictive covenants
- Counseling clients regarding employee performance issues, violations of company policy, and employee grievances
- Representing clients in relation to EEOC complaints
Intellectual Property Strategies
We educate our clients regarding the importance of copyrights for architects and engineers, and counsel our clients regarding how to protect/enforce their intellectual property rights. We have experience registering copyrights for design professionals, issuing cease and desist letters, and advising clients regarding enforcement-actions involving copyrights. We also advise on design responsibility transitions when projects change hands between firms.
Contract Review & Negotiation
Our team has reviewed and advised clients on a variety of professional service agreements for architects and engineers, including the following:
- Teaming Agreements
- Joint Venture Agreements
- Mentor-Protege Agreements
- Prime and Subconsultant Agreements
- Alternative Project Delivery Agreements
- Design-Build Agreements
- Master Services Agreements
- IDIQ/Task Order Agreements
We also advise clients regarding contract assignment agreements, whether associated with a change in ownership on a project or associated with lender-provided financing for a project. We leverage our industry knowledge, and familiarity with market terms and conditions, to negotiate contractual terms which align with our client’s risk management objectives.
In addition to professional service agreements, our team has advised design professionals on IT vendor agreements, lease agreements, and insurance agreements.
Collections & Fee Recovery
We advise design professionals regarding their rights and options when they have outstanding receivables outstanding from a client. We counsel our clients on creative alternatives to litigation for collection of outstanding accounts receivable. Finally, if necessary, we pursue fee claims on behalf of design professionals.