News

Harvard Law Report Sponsored by MGKF Draws Attention of The New York Times

Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox LLP is committed to staying ahead of the curve. This is evidenced by our partnership with the Harvard Law School's Environmental Law & Policy Clinic and our sponsoring of their study of the potential legal issues in green building. The recently released report outlines the potential legal risks and liabilities in green building and provides a blueprint for avoiding such pitfalls.

While there are obvious, significant environmental, sustainability, and financial benefits associated with green building, the Harvard study evaluates the legal liabilities that can arise for builders, investors, insurers, architects, and others involved. Potential liabilities include lawsuits for negligence and fraud, violation of consumer protection laws, and failure to meet green building certification standards resulting in loss of tax credits. The study provides four suggestions for minimizing these legal risks: improving project management; drafting of precise contract language; obtaining insurance and warranty protection; and delivering clear, understandable and objective statements in marketing materials.

The New York Times' Green Inc. recently featured an interview about these issues with MGKF Managing Partner Robb Fox. Already, according to Fox, a number of legal disputes have arisen in the area of green building. "There's been 100 years of construction disputes in this country generally," he said. "I think what is significant is that we have a brand new area. We're seeing the litigation starting now, and my sense is that there will be more as the government is imposing this as a requirement," he said, referring to increasing mandates or incentives by governments at all levels to encourage green building practices.

Consistent with the Harvard study, MGKF assists clients in managing the potential risks and liabilities of building green, including in projects aiming to achieve certification under the United States Green Building Council ("USGBC") Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ("LEED") rating systems or other national or local standards. Our firm is a member of USGBC and we have both legal and technical staff accredited as LEED® Accredited Professionals ("LEED® APs"). We assist clients with regulatory approvals necessary to incorporate regulated aspects of green building into their projects, such as beneficial reuse approvals and water reuse approvals. We are also experienced in environmental site development and permitting issues and assist clients in negotiating environmental representations, warranties and indemnities in contracts, purchase agreements and leases. In addition, MGKF is experienced in identifying and developing strategic plans to maximize potential federal, state, and local funding and incentives for clients building green or undertaking green retrofits.

To obtain additional information regarding the study, managing your green building liability risks, or other aspects of our sustainability or green building practices, feel free to contact Robb Fox at 484-430-2312 or rfox@mgkflaw.com, or Brenda H. Gotanda, LEED AP at 484-430-2327 or bgotanda@mgkflaw.com.