Construction Industry Experience and Leadership
Our legal knowledge and experience are not limited to one side of the industry; rather, our lawyers have broad perspectives and experience that comes from advising all project participants.  Our lawyers have represented project owners and developers, EPC and EPCM contractors, architects and engineers, major equipment suppliers, and subcontractors and governments.

V&E has experience working on projects including chemical, petrochemical, and other manufacturing and process plants; onshore and offshore oil and gas facilities; refineries; desalination plants; pipelines; nuclear and fossil fuel plants; commercial projects; rail and marine infrastructure; multi-unit and single residential projects; and municipal enterprizes, such as convention centers and roads.

We advise on the construction aspects of the whole life cycle of major projects, starting with procurement strategy, tender processes, and contract drafting and negotiation, to roles as project counsel when design and construction works are being implemented. When disputes become unavoidable, our lawyers have a truly outstanding track record of success, whether in international arbitration, litigation, before DABs and DRBs or in mediation and conciliation and other forms of ADR.

V&E offers the services of outstanding, experienced construction lawyers like Nick Henchie — noted in the International Who's Who of Construction Lawyers 2011 and described in Chambers 2010 as “a brilliant strategist”; James Loftis — noted as an expert in Global Arbitration Review 2010 and described in Chambers Global 2011 as “an able and persuasive advocate and a highly respected lawyer”; and Ferguson McNiel — noted in Best Lawyers in America ® 2011 in Construction Law and described by Legal 500 USA 2008 as “a model of what a good lawyer should be” — alongside successful practice groups that prompted UK Legal 500 2011 to describe V&E as "Highly recommended, especially for energy and construction disputes.” You can have confidence that even your most complex global construction issues are in the hands of lawyers who understand the unique challenges construction and engineering projects encounter.

A Global Law Firm for Global Projects
From Riyadh to London, Houston to Moscow, Dubai, or Abu Dhabi, to Shanghai and Beijing, the talent and collective knowledge of V&E’s construction team will help you negotiate from a position of strength. You should expect nothing less from what Euromoney has called  “the world’s leading energy law firm” (2010 - 2011), whose clients have spent years involving us in the most complex construction and engineering projects.

Multidisciplinary, multilingual, collaborative, transoceanic teams can deliver a seamless, one-stop service for our clients in all of the major markets. Not only does Vinson & Elkins understand the construction and engineering industry, we know how it changes with geography, how it is impacted by local laws and regulations, and how it responds to market conditions.

International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
When disputes arise, as they all too often do on complex engineering projects, clients turn to V&E for our experience handling and resolving them. Our construction lawyers have represented clients before tribunals and courts around the world. 

Our construction lawyers have been involved in defending and pursuing claims for breach of contract, breach of warranty, design and construction defects, errors in FEED, negligence, and the vast array of typical construction disputes such as claims for additional costs, variations and changes, delay and disruption (including cumulative impact claims), and liquidated damages.

V&E’s construction arbitration lawyers have represented clients in ad hoc and administered arbitration proceedings under most major arbitral rules, including AAA, ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, and LCIA. Our lawyers are also experienced in all techniques of dispute resolution including DABs and DRBs, litigation in the courts around the world, and various forms of ADR such as mediation, conciliation, and expert determination.

FIDIC, EPC, and EPCM Contracts and Procurement Strategy
We help clients develop their procurement strategies, and advise on the optimum arrangements and risk profiles and the exceptions bidders should take. V&E lawyers can help clients decide whether a project should be design-bid build, or design-build — whether FIDIC’s Silver Book or Yellow Book should be the starting point and how those forms can be amended to suit project and market conditions so as to manage risks appropriately. 

V&E’s construction and engineering team have particular experience in negotiating and drafting a huge variety of EPC contracts and other related contracts such as technology and process licenses and related service agreements, EPCM and FEED contracts, including those utilizing a number of different pricing models, such as lump-sum turnkey, cost-plus, open book, pain/gain, and incentive-based contracts.

Our lawyers have worked with the major international forms of contracts, particularly FIDIC — indeed, within our team is the former chairman of the IBA Committee on FIDIC Contracts. Our knowledge of the industry forms, including how they are typically amended and how tribunals are likely to interpret the key provisions, can bring our clients powerful advantages.

Our team understands and keeps abreast of trends in risk allocation in major contracting agreements as market forces change. Understanding the market enables our clients to take realistic and commercial positions that avoid protracted and expensive wastes of time. Time and again, our advice on what is realistic and achievable is proven correct.