Butler Snow is one of the best law firms that is committed to help and provide value and client satisfaction with over twenty offices nationwide. Dave Mayhan and Sarah O’ Brien are attorneys in Butler Snow specializing in litigation, particularly in defense of real estate and construction professionals. They share the typical challenges their clients face and how they are engaging with them, as well as walk us through their expertise in real estate and construction legalities.

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Butler Snow: Your Guide To Legal Matters with Dave Mayhan, Sarah O’ Brien, and Guest Co-Host Meranda Vieyra

We have https://www.butlersnow.com/attorney/david-mayhan/ (Dave Mayhan) and https://www.butlersnow.com/attorney/sarah-obrien/ (Sarah O’Brien). They’re with http://www.butlersnow.com/ (Butler Snow). I have my co-host, Meranda Vieyra. She’s with https://www.denverlegalmarketing.com/ (Denver Legal Marketing). Welcome to the show.

Hello, Bob and Meranda.

Tell us a little bit about Butler Snow and what you do?

Butler Snow is the law firm with over twenty offices and way over 40 specialty areas of law. Sarah and I have been in Denver for our entire careers. We’ve got a combination of nearly 50 years of practice. We specialize in litigation and in particular the defense of real estate and construction professionals.

I think about driving into Denver and driving over here. It’s like cranes are sprouting from every nook and cranny. I would imagine given the pace of construction, not only in Denver but across the nation that you guys are busy. What does your typical client look like?

I don’t know if there’s a typical client. The construction industry involves a broader range of professionals from those involved in the development, design and contractor professionals to inspectors. It provided a lot of employment here in town and it will continue to do so as people move here. Every client is unique and every subspecialty has different issues. We were all collectively trying to figure out how we can best plan and develop proper construction both in residential and commercial real estate as this town grows. We’ve seen growth in the past, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.

As you guys look out across your client base and the typical challenges that your clients face, we were talking about being proactive to start with. When you guys are either engaged or retained for somebody for business, what are some of the proactive things that you could advise somebody in the trades that you represent that they might consider?

One of the first things we would recommend is that you need to own your contracts, which is more than keeping the paper. Often somebody will hand you a contract that’s a standard agreement that is going to immediately be bent toward their benefit. We recommend that those be reviewed and modified and negotiated so that your contracts are to your benefit. From things all the way from limitations of liability to insurance issues, indemnity language up front. That’s a very important thing to address before you even start the project.

For me, if I was to read a contract and I’m not a contract attorney, I may not see the nuance. There may be a piece that sticks out at you when you first look at it and go, “I wouldn’t sign it that way.” Do you find that given the pace of construction in Denver, that there are a lot of contracts that are signed quickly? If so, what would you advise if people are going down that road?

We’re better than some. Smart people don’t read all their contracts. There’s an assumption or maybe a trust in someone. When you develop a team and you’re in a construction project, there needs to be that trust. Oftentimes,