Kate Warner

Construction Law is a specialty that requires an appreciation of the physical realities of the work, the limitations of the materials, and an understanding of the interplay between the Owners and the trades. Demonstrated experience with all of these is our firm's key attribute.

In our transactional work, we provide Owners, Builders and Designers the ability to craft agreements that fit the project, the people, and the goals, while complying with the virtual minefields which regulations, statutes, and insurance realities inject. A good agreement clearly communicates the duties and makes sure that everyone involved has appropriate and realistic expectations.

Construction claims and disputes can arise between Generals, Subcontractors, Architects, Engineers, and Suppliers, or between Owners, licensing agencies, permitting and planning agencies, and any or all of them, either during or long after a project has been completed.

Since 1983 Kate Warner has handled and resolved all such types of claims, and in doing so has formed solid relationships with respected industry experts. From that group, she can assemble an experienced and targeted team that can quickly, candidly and accurately advise regarding practical and efficient solution options, and provide the factual and evidentiary support necessary to address insurance coverage, funding issues and provide critical litigation input. Over the years, opposition consultants that have earned our firm's respect have reciprocated, and many now regularly consult for our clients' benefit. She is an invited member of WestCon, Northern California's leading construction consultant's trade organization, AGC (Associated General Contractors) and the Marin Builders Exchange.

When a lawsuit has been brought or is necessary, the Construction litigation bar has underused tools available to it that are unique in the dispute resolution arena. These include the use of stipulated or compelled Pre-Trial Orders, either with or without the retention of a Special Master with expertise in the construction and insurance coverage fields.

That process can substitute for the time consuming and wasteful litigation processes like formal discovery, and properly employed can allow the parties to get from claim and damage verification to settlement and resolution negotiations more quickly.

If an issue is caught early, before expenses, damages, and positions themselves become part of the dispute, the use of one or more agreed neutral construction experts is an option that can successfully end-run the expense, delay, and relationship damage that later litigation can cause.

These and other "out of the box" options are the kind of tools our office offers results-focused clients and opponents.

Representative Past and Present Special Masters we've worked with:

Tom Castle, William Nagle, Peter Dekker, Sarah Burke, Claudia Hagadus Long, Lawrence Baskin, Gary Ragghianti, Bruce Edwards, Jonathan Margolis, Jerry Spolter, Randolph Wallace, Gordon McClintock, William Pagano, Judge Ronald Sabraw; Judge Margaret Kemp, Judge Alfred Chiantelli, Michael Ornstil, Ron Kelly, and John Griffiths.