- Adequate Scope of Services – Insist upon an adequate scope of services to meet your professional mandate and Duty of Care to the public
- Adequate Fees – Insist upon adequate fees for yourself and your subconsultants – sufficient to provide an adequate scope of services…so you can meet your Duty of Care to the public
- Manage your client’s expectations with respect to:
– Process….stages, objectives, milestones
– Time requirements…almost always longer than a client imagines or wants
– Costs, budgets, need for contingencies
– Codes…minimum adherence is the lawy, but you can do better, as long as the client agrees with doing better
– Approvals by authorities…are out of your control - Retain a lawyer – Do NOT act as your own “amateur lawyer”…retain a lawyer to assist you on contract and practice matters
- Learn to say “No…that doesn’t work for me!” to a potential client or anyone else who is entitled to rely on your professional opinion and advice
- Be prepared to walk away from potential clients, situations and circumstances that don’t meet or threaten your own ethical and professional standards
- Document everything you say and do in the provision of your services – In writing!
- Meet your professional duty to advice / duty to warn your client about the implications of his / her demands and your recommendations….respectfully challenge your client
- Tell the truth – Be honest – always – even when your client doesn’t want to hear it
- Use Smart Contracts that:
– are compatible with your role as a professional
– do not expose you to additional liability beyond what is already yours “at law”
– do not expose you to uninsured liability
– do not expose you to liability that exceeds your $ limits
– Smart Contracts are: contract wordings provided by the profession specifically for the provision of architectural services, and those of their subconsultants, or are written by your own lawyer - Serve your own interests and needs – Use your agreements for your services to serve your own interests and needs as a professional
– Use Smart Contracts for your own services, and
– Use Smart Contracts for your subconsultants’ services - Avoid contracts that expose you to uninsured obligations and liability – like Client-authored contracts
- Use available tools – To “fix” Client-authored indemnity Clauses
- Recognize and manage the inherent risks you face in a professional service business. Protect yourself and your practice.
- Develop and use a “Go / No go” tool for assessing potential new clients and projects
- Value your own experience – don’t repeat prior mistakes
- Read & understand the protections provided to you by your Professional Liability Insurance Policy (If you need an incentive, reading your Professional Liability Policy counts as self-directed Con-Ed points.)
- Coordinate the work of your subconsultants……actively, and through all phases of the work
- Recognize your limitations. Retain specialists where you lack experience or expertise:
– Building Envelope…highest cost category for claims
– Building Code…common source of claims
– Costs…Client depends on you to respect their $$$ - Resist retaining “Owner’s Specialists” – don’t accept contractual liability for the work of others as a “convenience” to a client
- Pay attention to the Contract Administration provisions in a Construction Contract that you will be administering. Insist on:
– Consultant / Contract Administrator role consistent with your scope of services in your agreement with the client
– Role consistent with Architects Act and Regulation
– Dispute Resolution provisions that don’t prejudice you / your insurer’s ability to defend you effectively (Exclusion 7) - Take control of your practice including the basis on which you are prepared to provide your professional services
- Avoid contracts that expose you to uninsured obligations and liability – like Client-authored contracts
- Monitor and update your QA process regularly
- Learn from the experiences of other architects
