Engineering Ethics and Liability Concerns
D. Wilkes Alexander, AIA
Fisk Alexander, PC
1. Liability Concerns
(a) Construction Phase Contract Administration
(b) The Shop Drawing Process
(c) Observation vs. Inspection
(d) Communications with Design Team Leader, Contractor and General Contractual Relationships
2. Engineering Ethics in General
(a) Dilemmas
(b) War Stories
(c) Complex Projects Can Equal Complex Litigation
About the Speaker:
Wilkes Alexander is a long time Texas resident, originally from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He attended the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee for two years where he was impressed by the gothic architecture and intricate stone work of the campus facilities which were modeled after Oxford University in England. After two years, he transferred to the Architecture School at the University of Texas at Austin where he graduated with honors in 1981. Upon graduation, he went to work with the architectural firm of Beran & Shelmire where he was involved in commercial and residential design projects, including the Anatole Hotel, the Veranda Club at the Anatole, the Junior League Headquarters in Dallas, as well as other commercial, multi-family and single family residential projects.
It was during that time that he became interested in the legal issues that affected the practice of architecture and decided to attend law school at the University of Houston Law Center, graduating and becoming licensed in 1992. He has practiced law continuously for the last 25 years, developing a focus on the representation of design professionals, while maintaining both his architectural license, as well as his membership with the American Institute of Architects.
Mr. Alexander has participated in numerous seminars specifically developed for architects, engineers, surveyors, interior designers and landscape architects dealing with professional liability matters and continues to provide support to design professionals in regards to the review of contracts, architectural assignments for lending institutions, as well as other pre-litigation issues that arise during the course of design and construction of various projects. Mr. Alexander also represents design professionals in fee collection issues, as well as in professional negligence claims and litigation and has been involved in numerous trials and arbitrations involving design, construction and collection matters.
