Construction Litigation Expert
12 hours ago
Anaheim
Job Description:\n\nIntro / Job Brief The Construction Expert Witness (also known as an Expert Witness or Testifying Expert) supports attorneys and insurance carriers by providing professional opinions and testimony on complex technical matters within the construction and building industries. This person plays a critical role in offering insights into technical aspects, potential liabilities, causation, and damages in construction disputes. The Expert has extensive experience in some aspect of construction or buildings (general contractor, trade contractor, architect, engineer, cost estimator, scheduler, etc.), as well as proven experience serving as the designated expert for lawsuits and/or insurance claims. The ideal candidate thrives in a collaborative environment, possesses a passion for uncovering the root causes of construction issues, and is adept at presenting clear and cost-effective solutions. General ObjectivesBuild/Grow your Expert Witness "legacy" in the industry as part of the Pete Fowler Construction team.Serve as a key contributor to our team's vast knowledge and expertise.Manage a portfolio of projects ensuring both client and company objectives are met.Collaborate with other team members to solve the problem, act with integrity, and do awesome work (our corporate values).Maximize your portfolio's success by delegating work and mentoring others. Specific ResponsibilitiesExpert Witness TestimonyServe as the designated Expert Witness for lawsuits and insurance claims.Provide Expert Witness Testimony including deposition, arbitration, and trial.Marketing & SalesCollaborate with the Marketing & Sales team to develop an Expert marketing strategy and prepare all necessary documents including Resume/CV, Consultant Introduction, and Testimony List.Attend pre-project calls with clients to discuss project details and determine if required expertise is met.Building Inspection and Property Condition AssessmentAttend site investigations to inspect structures and conditions relating to the construction.Rigorously document with photographs, notes, diagrams, and checklists.Prepare inspection summary narratives of what was discussed and observed.Document AnalysisReview, analyze, summarize, and demonstrate understanding of:Construction documents (proposals, architectural drawings, contracts / subcontracts, schedules, change orders, daily logs, etc.)Legal documents (summons, complaints, motions, demands, depositions, expert reports, etc.)Conduct research and gather data on building codes, standards of care, construction best practices, etc.Utilize PFCS systems to organize analysis in a clear, concise, and verifiable manner.Prepare deliverable output of analyses for clients, as determined by project objective.Cost Estimating / Cost AnalysisPrepare scopes of work and cost estimates.Prepare cost analyses and / or cost comparisons.Prepare requests for proposal as required.Preparation of Technical ReportsPresent site observations, document analysis, and cost estimates to Technical Experts.Hypothesize causes and utilize PFCS systems to organize and structure hypotheses in a clear, concise, and verifiable manner.Determine content and flow of reports according to project objective.Collaborate with Project Coordinators to deliver reports that adhere to PFCS standards.Client MeetingsAttend meetings and mediations with clients and others to gather project information or present PFCS work.Document meeting notes and utilize PFCS systems to communicate actions as required.BillingTrack time billed to clients on each and every project.Maintain billable hour targets, monthly goals.Professional DevelopmentCollaborate with management to set quarterly professional development goals aligned with departmental and company objectives.Actively pursue these goals within the designated timeframe, ensuring acquired skills contribute to achieving company targets. QualificationsMinimum of 10 years of construction experience or a blend of relevant education and field experience required.General Contractor License Bachelor’s degree in construction management, civil engineering, architecture, or a related field (advanced degree or professional licensure preferred).Prior experience serving as a designated Expert Witness in construction-related litigation.Applicable licenses and certifications that support your expertise.A humble confidence in knowing you are an "expert" at what you do, and that you could go head-to-head with the best in your field.Strong ability to think critically, analyze problems effectively, and present actionable solutions based on findings.Excellent written and verbal communication skills are crucial for conveying complex technical information to both technical and non-technical audiences.Ability to perform the physical tasks required for conducting thorough on-site inspections. Key Performance IndicatorsProjects As ExpertBillable Hours: IndividualTotal Portfolio BillingsPortfolio RealizationPortfolio Contribution Percentage% of Portfolio Billings Billed by Expert% of Portfolio Billings Billed by Others\n\nCompany Description:\n\nWhat We Do\nPete Fowler Construction is a consulting firm with building experts and project management professionals specializing in construction defects, property damage & personal injury claims, expert testimony, quality & construction management, and cost estimating.\n\nWho We Serve \nProperty Owners & Managers - Governmental Organizations - Developers & Contractors - Product Manufacturers & Suppliers - Insurers - Lawyers\n\nOur Work\nOur clients are Property Owners & Managers, Governmental Organizations, Developers & Contractors, Product Manufacturers & Suppliers, Insurers, and Lawyers. They come to us with an expensive building problem: the construction process went wrong. Sometimes it's construction defects like leaks or cracks; or an accident that caused damage or injury; and sometimes it's a contract dispute about money or time. Our clients need to understand the technical building issues and costs, so they can make smart decisions to solve the problem, and negotiate from a position of strength. \n\nPete Fowler Construction is a team of building experts and project management professionals who help clients figure out what happened, what should have happened, how the problem should be solved, how much it will cost, and who is responsible. The hardest part is translating the technical speak of building design, engineering, estimating, contracting, construction, and investigations, into plain-English that everyone can understand and use to make smart decisions. Our projects include building inspection & testing of many kinds; estimating, quality & construction management; and building claims & litigation including construction defects, general liability claims including property & injury, and contract claims. Every year we work on hundreds of projects as widely varying as single-family residences, multi-family projects, mixed use developments, commercial, institutional, industrial, low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise construction. We operate both in the private and public sectors and with for-profit as well as non-profit organizations. We are often called to consult and testify in claims and litigation and we have been hired by the lawyer or insurance company for every major party in the building industry, including every major sub-trade. The building claims & litigation we work on falls into three major categories: property & injury claims, construction defects, and contract claims like delays and cost overruns. We have consulted on virtually everything imaginable that could make someone sad or mad about building construction, buildings, or property.\n\nOur Process\nWe do all this by combining technical expertise in building and buildings, building claims and litigation, and project management discipline. Our Experts are Architects, Engineers, Building Inspectors, Contractors, Estimators, and Construction Project Managers who are educated, licensed, registered, and experienced. Our Project Managers and Coordinators and our Marketing & Sales Campaign Managers and Coordinators are educated, trained, and certified in the professional discipline of project management; they always have a written plan and budget, organize the data sensibly, make sure every T is crossed, every I is dotted, and everything is translated from techno-speak into plain-English. They work together in our continually improving systems & processes, including our magical, proprietary information system that helps us do everything faster, better, and cheaper, because everything is connected to everything, and it's all saved in The Cloud (access.petefowler.com), forever, for no additional cost.\n\nOur Focus\nWe focus on real, practical solutions. We call our service guarantee, our written measure of excellence, "Awesome Work," since our solutions require us to (1.) always communicate in plain English that everyone can understand; (2.) turn data into information so we, and our clients, can use it to make smart, informed decisions; (3.) to prescribe a set of SMART (specific, measurable, assertive, realistic and timed) recommendations or opinions that (4.) will move our client from where they are to the best available alternative as quickly and inexpensively as possible, while maintaining our professional integrity.\n\nOur Values\nAct with Integrity. Solve the Problem. Do Awesome Work. \n\nWhat Our Values Mean In Practice\n1. Act with Integrity\nA. We never do anything unethical.\nB. We have a bias toward ACTION.\nC. We put client interests ahead of the firm’s. \nD. We always consider costs vs. benefits. \nE. We have an obligation to dissent; that is, we have the courage to apply professional judgment and articulate our opinions, even when they are not popular.\nF. We care about respectful treatment of people, which tends to lead to Psychological Safety.\n\n2. Solve the Problem\nA. We have learned that complex problem solving is best done by a diverse, healthy team.\nB. We always hypothesize a solution before we begin. Every project is "engineered backward." We ask "What is the best possible outcome?" And we plan accordingly. \nC. Every project has a written plan, including a plain-English Objective that everyone can understand and a “Sensible List” of Milestones, and we communicate this plan to applicable stakeholders (especially the people we expect to pay us).\nD. The objective for most projects is to move our client from where they are to the best available outcome as quickly and inexpensively as possible while always maintaining professional integrity.\nE. We frequently compare our performance to the plan.\nF. "No plan can be considered complete - or satisfactory - until it produces measurable outcomes and incorporates mechanisms that allow mid-course corrections based on results." - Judith Rodin\nG. We always prescribe SMART (specific, measurable, assertive, realistic & timed) recommendations or opinions.\n\n3. Do Awesome Work\nA. We do high quality work that makes us proud. \nB. We always communicate in plain English, in a way everyone can understand. \nC. We turn data (facts, observations, etc.) into actionable information so we, and our clients, can use it to make smart, informed decisions. \nD. We exercise a "Deliberate Practice" throughout our business, which simply involves a disciplined pattern of (1.) performance, (2.) analysis of the performance, and (3.) modification of performance with the explicit intention of improving.\nE. We have an accountability-based "Peer Review Culture" with quality control milestones built-in to every project plan, which puts everyone in the production process responsible for quality.\nF. We apply quality improvement tools like Lean Six Sigma to perpetually improve our core processes, set the highest standards, and decrease variability.\nG. The clarity and quality of our writing is synonymous with the clarity and quality of our thinking.\n\nOur “Why?”\nOur PURPOSE is to help people make smart decisions about the built environment. \n\nWe help clients understand technical building issues and costs, so they can make smart decisions to solve their problem. This includes helping people balance their decision making about physical safety, durability, costs, and aesthetics. Buildings must be safe, durable, and cost effective. We recognize that every 1% of over-engineering can price someone out of a project; and sometimes these people are the most fragile in the community. We believe safe and affordable living conditions have become, in our modern, affluent society, a basic human right. Continual improvement (Quality) tools should be applied to the development of safe and affordable living units.\n\nBuilding and buildings are important and interesting. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 125 million homes, more than 333,000 residential community associations, and 5.6 million commercial buildings, comprising 87.4 billion square feet of floor space. The building maintenance, repair and improvement industry is messy, inefficient and the ignoble recipient of more consumer complaints than almost any other industry. Most people spend 20-50% of their income on housing. Saving even a small fraction of the lifetime cost of these buildings has an extraordinarily positive and tangible impact.\n\nConstruction management is hard and it’s complex. Construction Management is a professional discipline that could be regulated like architecture, engineering, or even cosmetology; but it’s not. This lack of recognition, that there is a set of well-defined construction management principles, leads property owners and managers to try to save money by managing complex projects themselves. Our experience is that for maintenance, improvement or repair projects that cost $50,000 or more, our services are cost-neutral. For projects of $100,000 or more, our services are a cost saver. So technically, our services are FREE, plus a profit! In addition to the economics, our services create the closest thing to a guarantee of success that the construction industry can offer. \n\nAnd since this business adds far more value to the communities that we serve, than it consumes, it’s just that the business nurture the people who work in it. We have striven, from the day the business began, to be a great place for great people to do good work. We are not a great place for everyone. And we have not always been “our very best selves.” But we are so much better than we used to be, and we have learned the tools of continual improvement, so we will continue to get better and better over time.What We Do\r\nPete Fowler Construction is a consulting firm with building experts and project management professionals specializing in construction defects, property damage & personal injury claims, expert testimony, quality & construction management, and cost estimating.\r\n\r\nWho We Serve \r\nProperty Owners & Managers - Governmental Organizations - Developers & Contractors - Product Manufacturers & Suppliers - Insurers - Lawyers\r\n\r\nOur Work\r\nOur clients are Property Owners & Managers, Governmental Organizations, Developers & Contractors, Product Manufacturers & Suppliers, Insurers, and Lawyers. They come to us with an expensive building problem: the construction process went wrong. Sometimes it's construction defects like leaks or cracks; or an accident that caused damage or injury; and sometimes it's a contract dispute about money or time. Our clients need to understand the technical building issues and costs, so they can make smart decisions to solve the problem, and negotiate from a position of strength. \r\n\r\nPete Fowler Construction is a team of building experts and project management professionals who help clients figure out what happened, what should have happened, how the problem should be solved, how much it will cost, and who is responsible. The hardest part is translating the technical speak of building design, engineering, estimating, contracting, construction, and investigations, into plain-English that everyone can understand and use to make smart decisions. Our projects include building inspection & testing of many kinds; estimating, quality & construction management; and building claims & litigation including construction defects, general liability claims including property & injury, and contract claims. Every year we work on hundreds of projects as widely varying as single-family residences, multi-family projects, mixed use developments, commercial, institutional, industrial, low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise construction. We operate both in the private and public sectors and with for-profit as well as non-profit organizations. We are often called to consult and testify in claims and litigation and we have been hired by the lawyer or insurance company for every major party in the building industry, including every major sub-trade. The building claims & litigation we work on falls into three major categories: property & injury claims, construction defects, and contract claims like delays and cost overruns. We have consulted on virtually everything imaginable that could make someone sad or mad about building construction, buildings, or property.\r\n\r\nOur Process\r\nWe do all this by combining technical expertise in building and buildings, building claims and litigation, and project management discipline. Our Experts are Architects, Engineers, Building Inspectors, Contractors, Estimators, and Construction Project Managers who are educated, licensed, registered, and experienced. Our Project Managers and Coordinators and our Marketing & Sales Campaign Managers and Coordinators are educated, trained, and certified in the professional discipline of project management; they always have a written plan and budget, organize the data sensibly, make sure every T is crossed, every I is dotted, and everything is translated from techno-speak into plain-English. They work together in our continually improving systems & processes, including our magical, proprietary information system that helps us do everything faster, better, and cheaper, because everything is connected to everything, and it's all saved in The Cloud (access.petefowler.com), forever, for no additional cost.\r\n\r\nOur Focus\r\nWe focus on real, practical solutions. We call our service guarantee, our written measure of excellence, "Awesome Work," since our solutions require us to (1.) always communicate in plain English that everyone can understand; (2.) turn data into information so we, and our clients, can use it to make smart, informed decisions; (3.) to prescribe a set of SMART (specific, measurable, assertive, realistic and timed) recommendations or opinions that (4.) will move our client from where they are to the best available alternative as quickly and inexpensively as possible, while maintaining our professional integrity.\r\n\r\nOur Values\r\nAct with Integrity. Solve the Problem. Do Awesome Work. \r\n\r\nWhat Our Values Mean In Practice\r\n1. Act with Integrity\r\nA. We never do anything unethical.\r\nB. We have a bias toward ACTION.\r\nC. We put client interests ahead of the firm’s. \r\nD. We always consider costs vs. benefits. \r\nE. We have an obligation to dissent; that is, we have the courage to apply professional judgment and articulate our opinions, even when they are not popular.\r\nF. We care about respectful treatment of people, which tends to lead to Psychological Safety.\r\n\r\n2. Solve the Problem\r\nA. We have learned that complex problem solving is best done by a diverse, healthy team.\r\nB. We always hypothesize a solution before we begin. Every project is "engineered backward." We ask "What is the best possible outcome?" And we plan accordingly. \r\nC. Every project has a written plan, including a plain-English Objective that everyone can understand and a “Sensible List” of Milestones, and we communicate this plan to applicable stakeholders (especially the people we expect to pay us).\r\nD. The objective for most projects is to move our client from where they are to the best available outcome as quickly and inexpensively as possible while always maintaining professional integrity.\r\nE. We frequently compare our performance to the plan.\r\nF. "No plan can be considered complete - or satisfactory - until it produces measurable outcomes and incorporates mechanisms that allow mid-course corrections based on results." - Judith Rodin\r\nG. We always prescribe SMART (specific, measurable, assertive, realistic & timed) recommendations or opinions.\r\n\r\n3. Do Awesome Work\r\nA. We do high quality work that makes us proud. \r\nB. We always communicate in plain English, in a way everyone can understand. \r\nC. We turn data (facts, observations, etc.) into actionable information so we, and our clients, can use it to make smart, informed decisions. \r\nD. We exercise a "Deliberate Practice" throughout our business, which simply involves a disciplined pattern of (1.) performance, (2.) analysis of the performance, and (3.) modification of performance with the explicit intention of improving.\r\nE. We have an accountability-based "Peer Review Culture" with quality control milestones built-in to every project plan, which puts everyone in the production process responsible for quality.\r\nF. We apply quality improvement tools like Lean Six Sigma to perpetually improve our core processes, set the highest standards, and decrease variability.\r\nG. The clarity and quality of our writing is synonymous with the clarity and quality of our thinking.\r\n\r\nOur “Why?”\r\nOur PURPOSE is to help people make smart decisions about the built environment. \r\n\r\nWe help clients understand technical building issues and costs, so they can make smart decisions to solve their problem. This includes helping people balance their decision making about physical safety, durability, costs, and aesthetics. Buildings must be safe, durable, and cost effective. We recognize that every 1% of over-engineering can price someone out of a project; and sometimes these people are the most fragile in the community. We believe safe and affordable living conditions have become, in our modern, affluent society, a basic human right. Continual improvement (Quality) tools should be applied to the development of safe and affordable living units.\r\n\r\nBuilding and buildings are important and interesting. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 125 million homes, more than 333,000 residential community associations, and 5.6 million commercial buildings, comprising 87.4 billion square feet of floor space. The building maintenance, repair and improvement industry is messy, inefficient and the ignoble recipient of more consumer complaints than almost any other industry. Most people spend 20-50% of their income on housing. Saving even a small fraction of the lifetime cost of these buildings has an extraordinarily positive and tangible impact.\r\n\r\nConstruction management is hard and it’s complex. Construction Management is a professional discipline that could be regulated like architecture, engineering, or even cosmetology; but it’s not. This lack of recognition, that there is a set of well-defined construction management principles, leads property owners and managers to try to save money by managing complex projects themselves. Our experience is that for maintenance, improvement or repair projects that cost $50,000 or more, our services are cost-neutral. For projects of $100,000 or more, our services are a cost saver. So technically, our services are FREE, plus a profit! In addition to the economics, our services create the closest thing to a guarantee of success that the construction industry can offer. \r\n\r\nAnd since this business adds far more value to the communities that we serve, than it consumes, it’s just that the business nurture the people who work in it. We have striven, from the day the business began, to be a great place for great people to do good work. We are not a great place for everyone. And we have not always been “our very best selves.” But we are so much better than we used to be, and we have learned the tools of continual improvement, so we will continue to get better and better over time.