Construction Law

On a construction project, the parties who do the work are usually the last to get paid and the first to feel it when payment stops. Cole Law Partners built its construction practice around that reality. We represent trade subcontractors, general contractors, specialty suppliers, and construction businesses in the disputes that determine whether a project is profitable: payment claims, change orders, delays, defects, terminations, and everything the contract was supposed to prevent.

COMPREHENSIVE CONSTRUCTION LAW SERVICES

Our attorneys have litigated payment rights at every level of the Massachusetts court system. In 2026, the firm argued J.C. Cannistraro, LLC v. Columbia Construction Co. before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Commonwealth’s most closely watched decision on the Prompt Payment Act, after litigating the case from arbitration through the Superior Court. When we advise on a payment clause, a lien deadline, or a rejection notice, that advice is informed by having shaped the law that governs it.

Our core construction law services include:

• Payment disputes, mechanics’ liens, and bond claims
• Prompt Payment Act enforcement and compliance
• Change order and scope disputes
• Delay, disruption, and loss of productivity claims
• Construction defect claims and warranty disputes
• Termination and backcharge disputes
• Public bidding and procurement challenges
• Contract drafting, review, and negotiation
• Home Improvement Contractor Statute issues
• Risk management and insurance coverage issues
• Arbitration, litigation, and mediation of construction claims

Cash flow first. Payment problems compound daily. We move immediately to secure every remedy the law provides: statutory notices, mechanics’ liens under G.L. c. 254, payment bond claims, and Prompt Payment Act enforcement, sequenced to create maximum leverage while preserving the record for litigation if it comes. Deadlines in this area are unforgiving, and we treat them that way.

The contract is the case. Most construction disputes are won or lost in the documents: the subcontract, the schedule, the notices, the daily reports. We front-load our work in the record, isolate the claims that matter, and build toward the remedy the client actually needs, whether that is payment, schedule relief, or a defensible exit from a failing project.

Prevention pays better than litigation. We negotiate and draft subcontracts, prime contracts, and purchase orders with the disputes we litigate in mind: scope and change mechanisms, payment and notice provisions, no-damage-for-delay clauses, indemnity and insurance requirements, and dispute escalation terms. Clients who bring us in before signing spend less with us later.

COMPREHENSIVE CLIENT SERVICES

We work with a broad range of construction clients and circumstances across Massachusetts and New England. Our practice spans private and public projects, early planning through closeout, negotiation through litigation, and union and open shop settings.

We are experienced with the public and private stakeholders that shape projects in this region. We work with municipal building departments, inspectors, and procurement officials. On public work we are familiar with DCAMM, MassDOT, and local awarding authorities. When a matter extends beyond Massachusetts, we coordinate with local counsel while keeping strategy and messaging consistent.

THE CLP APPROACH

Cole Law Partners is built around personalized counsel: relentless strategy, responsive collaboration, efficient results.

In construction cases we align legal strategy with business goals, project realities, and the contract. We move early to secure facts, control the record, and sequence the next step that creates leverage. We plan for resolution from day one, through clean contracts, accurate documentation, and evidence that supports the remedy that matters, whether it is payment, schedule recovery, or a defensible exit.