Public Sector

In our role as solicitors, special counsel and private counsel, the attorneys in Babst Calland’s Public Sector Group work side by side with our clients, addressing bidding and other public procurement issues on a regular basis.

Although public bidding requirements are governed by the various municipal codes, our attorneys are trained to recognize common issues that go beyond the language of the statute in question in order to protect the best interests of our clients.

Babst Calland attorneys work with other professionals, particularly engineers, to draft contract specifications, bid instructions and advertisements. This requires knowledge of the relevant municipal and authority codes and such generally applicable statutes as the Public Works Contractors’ Bond Law, the Commonwealth Procurement Code, the Separations Act, the Mechanics’ Lien Law and the Prevailing Wage Law.

We also provide practical advice to our public sector clients on the structuring of bid documents in order to maximize flexibility and economic benefits for our clients and the public they serve.
When called upon, we address public client inquiries regarding whether a bid is “responsive” and whether a bidder is “responsible.”

We frequently represent owners, contractors and construction professionals in all types of construction and contracting litigation matters. Our attorneys have experience with contract disputes and payment claims, payment and performance bond claims, bid disputes (including emergency injunction hearings), delay, acceleration and inefficiency claims, errors and omissions design claims and warranty claims and disputes.

We have litigated, arbitrated and mediated construction disputes before a wide range of courts, arbitration panels and private mediators. In addition, we regularly review contracts and subcontracts from a litigation-exposure perspective, and counsel clients regarding the relative merits of potential claims and the pros and cons of pursuing litigation to enforce a construction contract.