So you want to be a public construction contractor in Texas? First you need to know are the rules—and there are a lot of them. There are statutory procurement regimes for different types of public work, different agencies, and different project delivery methods. Different criteria and standards are used to evaluate all of them.
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Trademarks and Construction
Every company, no matter the industry, relies on its name and reputation to develop customers and generate revenue. Think about the brands that dominate American culture such as Nike, Wal-Mart, Amazon or McDonald’s, then imagine those businesses without the ability to adequately protect their names, slogans and logos. No doubt the vultures would circle and brand power would most likely become short lived or otherwise diluted to the point of non-existence. The construction industry is not exempt, and the industry leaders benefit from identifiable names and logos, built over years of reputation and brand building. While the tools necessary to protect your company’s brand exist at the state and federal level, many business owners or leaders are unfamiliar with the trademark process and unaware of the consequences of not utilizing those tools.
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Texas Laws Emergency Contractors Must Know
Co-author: Trevor Lawhorn
As evidenced by the unprecedented arctic weather last week and the resulting fallout, emergency construction services are essential. Freezing temperatures, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters lead to a high demand for remediation and reconstruction services. Contractors are often best positioned to provide the necessary emergency construction services to rebuild businesses, residences and communities. Emergency contractors must always be mindful of certain laws that impact how they conduct business after a disaster. Understandably, Texas has implemented a number of laws to protect disaster victims against predatory or otherwise unsavory business practices. Here are a few essential Texas laws that both owners and contractors must consider when contracting for emergency construction services.
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Series LLCs in the Construction Industry: Increasingly Popular Fortresses to Protect Contractor’s Assets
Originally published in Build Houston magazine.
Co-author: Catherine Chlebowski
The business of construction is a day to day adventure fraught with peril and liabilities dangerous enough to put many construction firms out of business. Given that reality, it is imperative that contractors properly structure the legal entities that provide the fortresses to protect their assets. While most are familiar with the limited liability company (LLC) and limited partnership (LP) set ups, many have no familiarity with series limited liability companies (Series LLC).
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Anti-Poaching and Wage-Fixing Agreements: Drawing the Line Between Competitive and Criminal
Originally published in Build Houston magazine.
In October 2016, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidance identifying poaching agreements and wage-fixing agreements as primary antitrust enforcement targets. In April 2018, DOJ brought the Department’s first enforcement case over illegal anti-competitive employment related agreements.
In a market where skilled labor is in increasingly high demand, and the price of labor continues to rise, scrutiny of employment-related agreements is also on the rise. Industries facing skilled labor shortages are natural targets of DOJ scrutiny, the construction industry is no exception.
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