Construction Contract Administration

Not sure of the correct Community in which to post this, but has the AIA Contract Documents Committee ever considered an Owner(Client)/Architect Agreement for Expert Witness Services? 

I could not find one in the forms.  I have provided these services a few times using a basic letter agreement with some limitation of liability clauses.  Just wondering if there is something else out there.

Thank you.

Brian,

I was part of the AIA Documents Committee for a dozen years and I don't recall any discussion about this topic.  I'd be happy to forward it to them for consideration among a lot of others that they look at when making selections.

Not sure of the correct Community in which to post this, but has the AIA Contract Documents Committee ever considered an Owner(Client)/Architect Agreement for Expert Witness Services? 

I could not find one in the forms.  I have provided these services a few times using a basic letter agreement with some limitation of liability clauses.  Just wondering if there is something else out there.

Thank you.

Brian,

I was part of the AIA Documents Committee for a dozen years and I don't recall any discussion about this topic.  I'd be happy to forward it to them for consideration among a lot of others that they look at when making selections.

Not sure of the correct Community in which to post this, but has the AIA Contract Documents Committee ever considered an Owner(Client)/Architect Agreement for Expert Witness Services? 

I could not find one in the forms.  I have provided these services a few times using a basic letter agreement with some limitation of liability clauses.  Just wondering if there is something else out there.

Thank you.

Brian,

I was part of the AIA Documents Committee for a dozen years and I don't recall any discussion about this topic.  I'd be happy to forward it to them for consideration among a lot of others that they look at when making selections.

Not sure of the correct Community in which to post this, but has the AIA Contract Documents Committee ever considered an Owner(Client)/Architect Agreement for Expert Witness Services? 

I could not find one in the forms.  I have provided these services a few times using a basic letter agreement with some limitation of liability clauses.  Just wondering if there is something else out there.

Thank you.

So, continuing good discussion on this topic.

We've all run into clients that prefer or insist on using their own custom written documents and agreements. Then, I'd suggest, that the AIA Documents still have value because:

1. All of them are editable- perhaps you can use an AIA Document and make certain edits or compromises that in the end, creates a more fair and balanced agreement than the client's custom document provides.
2. The AIA Documents are written generally to provide recommended minimum terms and conditions intended to fairly place and divide responsibilities and risks. Use them as a checklist and comparison vs. the custom document that you're being presented with.
3. AIA Documents can provide leverage in negotiating unacceptable terms and conditions in a custom written agreement.  AIA Documents are written to reflect practice, not create it, so if you see something in an AIA Document, it's likely used in a significant number of practices across a wide variety of project types and locations.  It's easier to use the Documents as an example of either "this is how everyone else is doing it" or "this just isn't the way that most agreements are being written" as leverage to negotiate unacceptable terms or include others.

The Pro Bono agreement mentioned fulfills all of the above. Users can edit it down to what they feel is acceptable, but it had minimum risks and responsibilities assigned. It also provided some important protections for architects that they many not have considered or been able to include otherwise including a rare limitation of liability clause.   

Brian,

I was part of the AIA Documents Committee for a dozen years and I don't recall any discussion about this topic.  I'd be happy to forward it to them for consideration among a lot of others that they look at when making selections.

Not sure of the correct Community in which to post this, but has the AIA Contract Documents Committee ever considered an Owner(Client)/Architect Agreement for Expert Witness Services? 

I could not find one in the forms.  I have provided these services a few times using a basic letter agreement with some limitation of liability clauses.  Just wondering if there is something else out there.

Thank you.

Not sure of the correct Community in which to post this, but has the AIA Contract Documents Committee ever considered an Owner(Client)/Architect Agreement for Expert Witness Services? 

I could not find one in the forms.  I have provided these services a few times using a basic letter agreement with some limitation of liability clauses.  Just wondering if there is something else out there.

Thank you.