Our Construction, Engineering, Surety and Fidelity Group

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Borden Ladner Gervais LLP is the national leader in the area of construction, engineering, surety and fidelity law with the largest number of professionals dedicated to construction law in Canada. Our Construction, Engineering, Surety and Fidelity Group is comprised of leading recognized practitioners, litigators, solicitors and engineers with practices driven by experience in construction related matters.

Three of the Group's lawyers have been recognized by LEXPERT/American Lawyer Media's Annual Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. As well, our Construction Group is consistently recommended by LEXPERT as a leading firm in Canada and is the only top-ranked construction law firm in Toronto. Our Group also includes lawyers certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as Specialists in Construction Law. We are also proud to have more lawyers who are fellows of the Canadian College of Construction lawyers than any other Canadian firm. We have several lawyers who are also professional engineers.

Our collegial environment, based on teamwork and appropriate advanced technology provides each lawyer and therefore each of our clients immediate access to the knowledge and experience of all members of our Group.

Our Services

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP represents an array of regional, national and multinational companies in the construction industry. Our clients are public and private project owners, engineers, architects, their insurers, general and specialized contractors, manufacturers, material suppliers, developers, property managers, surety bonding companies and financial institutions.

Our strength resides in a sound knowledge of all facets of the industry and in our ability to fully analyze the issues submitted to us. Our highly specialized Group provides the prompt legal advice required on a day-to-day basis by our clients.

Our services include negotiating and drafting contracts, as well as exercising and defending clients' rights with vigor through the court system and commercial arbitration. We also encourage mediation and other methods of alternative dispute resolution, which we consider essential to a timely and cost effective settlement of disputes.

Our dispute resolution methods often result in the preservation of the commercial relationship between the parties. We also believe in the prevention of disputes as one of the key elements to our clients' success, and we therefore develop programs to assist our clients in identifying and preventing risks.

Our services also include providing advice and representation to the construction industry on licensing and regulatory matters, project financing, project insurance, environmental issues, product liability and construction materials claims, labour relations (including occupational health and safety issues) and consultant's error and omission issues.

Construction

We advise our clients with respect to all aspects of construction projects, including, drafting and negotiating all forms of construction agreements and contracts such as turnkey agreements, EPC agreements, EPCM agreements, standard construction contracts, major equipment purchase agreements, architectural and engineering service agreements, joint venture agreements, subcontracts, project management and construction management agreements, drafting and negotiating all forms of procurement documents such as RFQs, RFPs and tenders, providing procurement/tendering advice, public private partnership and other infrastructure and mega project advice, construction disputes, financing, alternative dispute resolution, construction risk management, OHSA risk management, lien claims, construction insurance, CGL and other liability insurance policies, property insurance, builder's risk insurance, business interruption insurance, mould and other environmental claims, surety bonds, and product liability on construction materials claims.

Engineering

We advise our clients with respect to all areas of engineering law, including, drafting and/or negotiating engineering services agreements, professional liability, claims arising from environmental damage and construction related disputes, engineering risk management, drafting, negotiating and advising on related contracts, duty to warn issues, and professional errors and omissions insurance policies. Our team includes engineers with both legal and practical engineering experience.

Surety

We advise our clients, with respect to all aspects of surety bonding law, including, surety bond claims, project risk management, negotiations, claims administration, and litigation. We have extensive expertise with respect to all surety bonds, including Performance Bonds, Labour and Material Payment Bonds, Bid Bonds, and Miscellaneous Bonds. We are an active member of the Surety Association of Canada, and several of our team members sit on the provincial executive councils of the Surety Association.

Fidelity

Our Group has extensive expertise in representing clients in fidelity and fraud matters. We represent underwriters and owners in respect of fidelity bond claims involving fraud and breach of trust. We have experience in fidelity and fraud litigation, including, credit card and cheque fraud, international investment fraud, fidelity claims, civil fraud and conspiracy, bankruptcy fraud, misappropriation and kickback schemes, employee fraud and fidelity claims, and more. We have specialized expertise in recovery issues related to fidelity and fraud claims, including, Mareva injunctions, tracing orders, setting aside fraudulent conveyances, restitution orders, disclosure orders, and proceeds of crime legislation, and work with private investigators to locate, freeze and seize assets to assist our clients in securing and recovering assets. We provide legal opinions to leading insurers and surety bonding companies on coverage and risk management issues in fidelity and insurance fraud cases.

Our Group has unparalleled depth in all aspects of construction, including:

Drafting all forms of construction contracts and agreements
Contract negotiations
Drafting RFQs, RFPs, and other procurement documents
Infrastructure and megaproject advice
Public private partnerships
Alliance financing
Construction insurance
Procurement/Tender disputes
Professional insurance and Errors and Omissions claims
Delay and productivity claims
Lien claims
Product liability and construction materials claims
Engineering and geotech claims
Professional negligence claimsCondominium disputes
Environmental issues
Highway maintenance
Insurance coverage and defence
Leaking buildings
Claims during construction
Fidelity and Fraud litigation
Recovery of assets

Our Experience

Members of our Group have pleaded before all levels of court including the Supreme Court of Canada. We have authored leading texts, articles and presentations in the field of construction and surety law, and speak regularly at leading conferences in the construction industry.

Our Group is also represented on several construction and surety related associations and organizations including the Canadian Bar Association, the American Bar Association, various provincial bar associations, the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers, the Surety Association of Canada, and many national, provincial and local construction associations.

Our highly experienced team advises on local, national and international issues. Recent significant matters include: