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The 2007 A201 Deskbook

January 2008 Articles

Co-authored by Farella construction partner Charles Sink.

About the book:

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has completed a total reexamination of its core contracts and issued a new form A201 -- The General Conditions of the Contract for Construction 2007 Edition. The A201 is the most frequently used document of all construction agreements, and virtually all AIA contracts are intended to work with it. To help construction lawyers understand and work with the sweeping changes of these widely used general conditions, The 2007 A201 Deskbook identifies and analyzes every significant change made to the A201 document.

Written from an unbiased viewpoint, The 2007 A201 Deskbook focuses on the many revisions made, including the addition of a 15th article. As with the earlier edition of this book, there is a paragraph-by-paragraph explanation of each change. The book also discusses the process the AIA drafting committee followed and reviews the general direction their changes have taken.

Making this new edition especially accessible to practitioners, the authors provide the clearest possible illustration of the changes made to the A201 by using colored type to identify the revisions. Redlined type points out the deleted text, while the new wording is illustrated in blue, and the unchanged phrasing remains in black. Each changed section is followed by the author's analysis, presented in a clearly different format than the AIA's clauses.

Focusing on the substantive changes in the 2007 revisions, The 2007 A201 Deskbook

  • Identifies every change made to the A201 document
  • Provides a detailed analysis of the changes, section by section
  • Demonstrates how the changes affect parties involved, especially the owner-contractor relationship, as well as architects, sureties, subcontractors, and lenders
  • Translates the AIA language into practical, meaningful terms.

In addition to presenting and analyzing the AIA's changes, the authors of The 2007 A201 Deskbook also provide ideas for the practicing construction lawyer on how the document's changes can be improved upon when representing any of the parties involved in an agreement. The book's guidance assists in making informed decisions on when to use the new language, revert back to the old wording, or adopt alternative language in order to arrange equitable risk distribution for the client.

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