Whether contractors are involved during early project planning or become involved at the time of bidding when project drawings and specifications have been established, there may be risk factors involved with specified sole-source materials. When faced with a sole-source requirement, it is important to proceed with caution and take the necessary steps to avoid risks
The American Arbitration Association (AAA-ICDR®) is launching a first-of-its-kind AI arbitrator this November 2025, designed to handle smaller “documents-only” construction disputes. This change will take small disputes, typically handled on a fixed fee by a single arbitrator, and offer instead AI serving as a finder of fact and law. For an industry where time is
Would it surprise you to learn that one of the most important sections in your construction contract is the one your lawyer will probably spend the least amount of time on? In your lawyer’s defense, lawyers aren’t always privy to the nitty gritty details of a project’s scope of work – details which are often
The Department of Justice recently released a memorandum titled “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination.” In this blog post, Hahn Loeser attorneys Matthew Wagner, J. Patrick White, and Matthew Grashoff analyze that memorandum, discuss what it does—and doesn’t—say about what may constitute “unlawful discrimination,” and provide key takeaways for federal
In the July 2025 issue of the Illinois Local Government Lawyers Association Journal, Hahn Loeser attorneys Matthew K. Grashoff, Matthew F. Wagner and J. Patrick White were heavily referenced in the Director’s Column by ILGL President Patricia Johnson Lord, who also serves as Senior Assistant Attorney for the City of Naperville.
At the April
On June 9, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction in San Francisco A.I.D.S. Foundation, et. al. v. Trump, 25-cv-01824-JST (N.D. Cal.), enjoining three of the nine provisions of Executive Orders 14151, 14173, and 14168. Specifically, the Court enjoined the named defendants from enforcing (1) the
In a recent Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals decision, homeowners who experienced significant property damage from both a fallen tree and inadequate contractor work were left without the protection of Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act (CSPA). In Orion Management, Inc. v. Kaeka
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative (the “Initiative”), which was announced on May 19, 2025 via Memorandum from Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, and a related press release (the “Memorandum”). The Initiative is a coordinated enforcement effort by various DOJ components and other federal agencies to investigate and prosecute
We recently wrote about the preliminary injunction entered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, blocking the Department of Labor from enforcing certain provisions of Executive Orders 14173 and 14151, both of which limit or prohibit federal grants or programs relating to “illegal,” “unlawful,” and “immoral” diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”).
On April 23, 2025, the United States Department of Justice announced that it is rescinding the January 31, 2022 Notice of Report on Lawful Uses of Race or Sex in Federal Contracting Programs (the “2022 Report”). The April 23 announcement (the “Announcement”) does not clarify what practices or activities constitute inappropriate DEI programs. Rather, the