Cambridge Massachusetts Building Expert Directory

WSHB Ranks No.10 in Law360’s Best of Law Firms for Women

April 28, 2016 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Law360 recently published the survey findings and listed the “100 Best Law Firms for Female Attorneys,” and Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP (WSHB) ranked tenth. “I was thrilled to help spearhead a recruitment committee to attract and retain female lawyer talent,” Victoria Ersoff, the first named partner at WSHB, stated. “Long before it was fashionable, the leaders at WSHB recognized that in order to retain first-class lawyers, they need to provide them with opportunities to balance their work and personal life.” Janice Michaels, managing partner of WSHB’s Las Vegas office, praised the firm for treating all attorneys equally: “Female lawyers at WSHB are on equal footing with their male counterparts, whether it’s trial experience, mentoring or expanding professional opportunities. It is a great environment to learn and grow without the impediment of a glass-ceiling.” Read the court decision
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Biden’s Solar Plans Run Into a Chinese Wall

May 23, 2022 — Liam Denning - Bloomberg
A new and unexpected obstacle to President Joe Biden’s green ambitions has emerged: a tiny solar-power company based in San Jose. Auxin Solar Inc., which accounts for all of 2% of U.S. solar-module manufacturing, recently persuaded the Commerce Department to open a potentially devastating trade inquiry. After the U.S. imposed anti-dumping measures against Chinese solar-cell and module manufacturers just over a decade ago, alternative suppliers sprang up in South Korea and Southeast Asia. Auxin now contends that those other Asian suppliers are effectively used by Chinese companies to circumvent the anti-dumping measures. If Commerce ultimately agrees, then more than four-fifths of solar-module imports to the U.S. and half of all cells could suddenly be subject to steep tariffs, perhaps levied retroactively. The Solar Energy Industries Association warns of dire consequences for U.S. solar-power development — critical to Biden’s decarbonization targets — claiming that some suppliers are already backing away because of the risk. Heavyweight NextEra Energy Inc. warns that the investigation may delay 2.8 gigawatts of projects slated for this year. Timothy Fox of ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington-based analysis firm, says Commerce’s “structural” inclination toward protectionism may lead it to concur with Auxin. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Liam Denning, Bloomberg

A Networked World of Buildings

November 21, 2022 — Pieter Pauwels - AEC Business
Buildings are living things. Buildings change shape every day and every minute. They are used by plenty of people, endlessly. Buildings shape our context and environment, and they impact our well-being to a large extent. Buildings constantly change their behavior under the influence of external conditions and occupants. We have an interest in engineering these buildings and making them as comfortable and pleasant as possible. Instead of treating buildings as static monuments that happen to be in our environment, it makes sense to treat them as living things that change incessantly, with streams of people, streams of materials and goods, and as ever-changing ecosystems of living beings. And so, we must engineer the knowledge and information of our buildings! We need to provide our buildings with a set of brains, brains that evolve and continuously track the state of the facility and all of its internals: systems, materials, demountable elements, furniture, and people. The brains hold a snapshot of the building at any moment and allow us to ensure that this living building responds in a useful and likable manner (comfort). And this needs efforts from us human beings, and not only from ‘the AI.’ Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Pieter Pauwels, AEC Business
Mr. Pauwels may be contacted at p.pauwels@tue.nl

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (4/24/24) – Omni Hotels Hit with Cyberattack, Wisconsin’s Low-Interest Loans for Home Construction, and Luxury Real Estate Sales Increase

May 20, 2024 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, alternative lenders take the lead in CRE loans, construction workers worry about artificial intelligence, prospective homeowners express concerns about climate risks, and more!

Even as overall real estate sales fell 4% nationwide in the first quarter, luxury real estate sales increased more than 2%, posting their best year-over-year gains in three years. (Robert Frank, CNBC)
As many banks cut back from commercial real estate loans amid rising interest rates and a regional banking crisis that exploded in early 2023, a number of alternative lenders jumped in to lead the way. (Andrew Coen, Commercial Observer)
Workers in construction and other industries are worried about artificial intelligence, and it’s keeping their companies from moving forward more decisively with the surging technology. (Matthew Thibault, Construction Dive)

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

Stair Collapse Points to Need for Structural Inspections

November 27, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The exterior stairways at the Nutmeg Woods apartments in New London, Connecticut have lead to injuries three times in the last three years, with the most recent failure causing fatal injuries. Despite the annual injuries, the city has not been inspecting the stairways on an annual basis. Calvin Darrow, New London’s fire marshal, told The Day, a New London newspaper, that these inspections are supposed to occur annually, but tend to come about once every five years. Mr. Darrow ascribed the matter to staffing issues. The stairways have now received a preliminary inspection by a structural engineer, and building and fire officials. Kirk Kripas told the paper that the Building Department was still attempting to determine when the stairs were built. Read the court decision
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If I Released My California Mechanics Lien, Can I File a New Mechanics Lien on the Same Project? Will the New Mechanics Lien be Enforceable?

December 29, 2020 — William L. Porter - Porter Law Group
If I Released My California Mechanics Lien, Can I File a New Mechanics Lien on the Same Project? Will the New Mechanics Lien be Enforceable? In general, the answer to the above questions is “Yes”, but only if you meet the following requirements:

You must only release the mechanics lien itself, but not the “right” to a mechanics lien: There is an important distinction to be made between releasing a mechanics lien and releasing the right to a mechanics lien. Whether you do one or the other will depend on the specific language used in your release. In the case of Santa Clara Land Title Co. v. Nowack and Associates, Inc. (1991) 226 Cal. App.3d, 1558 a “release of mechanics lien” document was recorded TO THE County Recorder’s office which included a statement that the mechanics lien was “fully satisfied, released and discharged”. Based on this language, the court concluded that the mechanics lien claimant had waived its “right” to a further mechanics lien on the same property for the work in question. The court concluded that since the release stated that the claim was “fully satisfied” the right to mechanics lien on the project had forever been waived. The Nowak case can be distinguished from the case of Koudmani v. Ogle Enterprises, Inc., (1996) 47 Cal.App.4th 1650, where the release of mechanics lien only stated that the mechanics lien was “otherwise released and discharged” and not that it was “satisfied”. Based on the distinction drawn from the two cases, a simple mechanics lien release that only releases the mechanics lien itself, but not the “right” to a mechanics lien should be used. At the following link you will find a proper form to achieve this purpose: https://www.porterlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/03PRI-Mechanics-Lien-Release.pdf

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Reprinted courtesy of William L. Porter, Porter Law Group
Mr. Porter may be contacted at bporter@porterlaw.com

Washington State Enacts Law Restricting Non-Compete Agreements

September 23, 2019 — Ellie Perka - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Washington State has enacted a new law that means big changes for employers. The new law, in effect on January 1, 2020, will dramatically limit the enforcement of non-compete agreements in our state and imposes tough penalties on employers found to be in violation. While the new law does not take effect for many months, businesses should nonetheless act quickly and before year’s end to evaluate practices and, if necessary, revise existing and future non-compete agreements to ensure compliance. Under the new law, if an employee successfully proves a company’s non-compete agreement is unenforceable, then the employer will be required to pay the greater of $5,000 or an employee’s actual damages, plus the employee’s attorneys’ fees (and its own, in defending the non-compete), expenses and costs incurred in challenging the agreement. Brief Summary of Changes Washington Courts have typically disfavored restrictive covenants but usually enforced a non-competition agreement that protected an employer’s legitimate business interests and was reasonable in scope, geographic reach, and duration. The Legislature halted this trend through passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1450. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ellie Perka, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Ms. Perka may be contacted at ellie.perka@acslawyers.com

With Vice President's Tie-Breaker, US Senate Approves Far-Reaching Climate Bill

August 29, 2022 — Pam McFarland & Debra K. Rubin - Engineering News-Record
With Vice President Kamala Harris casting the decisive vote, the U.S. Senate passed 51-50 an economic package on Aug. 7 that authorizes $369 billion to address climate change. The bill now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives, which is expected to pass the bill later this week, and then to the White House for President Joe Biden's signature. Reprinted courtesy of Pam McFarland, Engineering News-Record and Debra K. Rubin, Engineering News-Record Ms. McFarland may be contacted at mcfarlandp@enr.com Ms. Rubin may be contacted at rubind@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES