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Construction

Modern construction projects present stakeholders with enormous opportunities for commerce, growth and innovation.

Experienced construction stakeholders also know that these complex opportunities come coupled with great legal and practical hurdles. Building in times of uncertainty is risky. Knowing when it is the right time to build is hard. Mitigating the risks of time and money are just as hard. For every construction project, regardless of industry or jurisdiction, we align with our clients’ goals of bringing their project in on time and on budget.

Our Construction Law Group has the local and global knowledge and experience needed to help projects achieve the best and most efficient possible result. We are one of the few full-service law firms in Canada with established construction lawyers who are dedicated full-time to the practice of transactional construction law, risk mitigation and construction dispute resolution.

With leading construction law expertise in each major business centre across Canada, we are known for our deep understanding of the ins and outs of the construction business. Our advice reflects this, as well as best practices from our experience on world-scale projects around the globe — from the Pacific Northwest, to the US and the Middle East.

Risk-managers and problem-solvers

We understand construction litigation is often high risk, with potential disputes arising during each phase of the project. We are acutely attuned to see problems before they arise, and address them before they become serious and costly legal setbacks.

Our risk-management approach helps you prevent or minimize project risk – protecting your investment. If our dispute resolution services are needed, our construction litigators use all tools available to proactively resolve disputes effectually, including settlement negotiations, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution strategies, and if required, trial representation.

Proven Performance

Construction projects involve a wide range of complex design and construction requirements: from procurement rules, challenging schedules and budgets, difficult locations, and complex contract structures, to stakeholder demands, scope change, project performance issues, lien regimes, Aboriginal matters, and environmental imperatives.

Our lawyers bring the expertise needed to tackle these challenges head-on, with the foresight to understand the bigger picture and the experience to identify and mitigate the risks throughout the project lifecycle. We have experience advising and/or negotiating with all project parties including owners, contractors, lenders, builders, consultants, and suppliers — for equitable outcomes. We combine the expertise of our lawyers across all relevant practices to provide you with complete and optimized solutions.

Real industry experience

McCarthy Tétrault’s approach means that we bring together the right legal expertise with the right industry experience to ensure the legal advice we provide reflects specific industry considerations and mitigates risk factors. Our Construction Law Group comprises lawyers with extensive experience in the infrastructure, energy, power, oil and gas, mining, healthcare, transportation, aviation, LNG, and chemicals sectors to protect your interests throughout the project.

Our services:

Our trusted legal advisors move forward clients’ construction projects from conception to completion with services that include:

  • Project structuring, contract selection and contract drafting
  • Consultancy, construction management and services contracts
  • Procurement, supply and long-lead contracts
  • Risk identification, analysis and mitigation
  • Procurement, tendering and bid analysis
  • Public-private partnerships, alternative financing and procurement projects
  • Bonding, parent guarantees and other performance security
  • Project finance
  • Dispute avoidance and claims analysis
  • Subcontracts and “back-to back” agreements
  • Operations, maintenance and service agreements
  • Arbitration, litigation and alternative dispute resolution