BONITA SPRINGS, FL – Another successful Construction Super Conference wrapped last week in Bonita Springs, Fla. Highly technical advice mixed with folksy anecdotes and not a small amount of comedy. The “legendary careers” luncheon session proved fertile ground for quotes both funny and profound. Check out the sampling below for words of wisdom from attorneys who made the trip to the 39th annual CSC.

“By the time I was five years old, I knew that contractor and son of a bitch were the same word. I went to engineering school at Purdue and got a degree, but after that I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ My father said that the dumbest person in the world is a contractor’s lawyer, so I thought I could handle that.” — Adrian Bastianelli, partner, Peckar & Abramson

“The one witness I could never beat is faulty construction.” — Christopher J. Brasco, senior partner, Watt Tieder, McLean, Va.

“In my 12 years coming to CSC, the number of women in attendance has grown. We are definitely still in the minority, but it’s a mighty and growing group. More and more in-house lawyers are female, and they are welcoming more female outside counsel. At this year’s CSC, I am looking for more information about the realistic application of artificial intelligence. What AI tools are being used successfully? I’m also looking to gauge the impact of current policies from Washington, D.C. and how they have affected the construction industry.”
— Samantha Brutout, Dingess, Foster, Luciana, Davidson & Chleboski LLP, Pittsburgh

“If you fail to investigate, you will litigate.” — Anthony Capasso, partner, Murphy, Schiller & Wilkes, LLP, New York

“You better be putting yourself in a place of fear. On the other side of that fear is going to be something in your wildest dreams.” — Demi Knight Clark, founder, Spark Building Group, and featured speaker at CSC’s Women’s Leadership Workshop, sponsored by Ankura and Jones Day

“There seems to be a big shift now with younger lawyers coming in and older lawyers retiring. AI is a big conversation for both generations. How do we deal with it and effectively synthesize it with the human element? I feel like the outlook is fairly promising at this point.” — Tucker Dezelan, Aperture, Denver

“My passion is trying cases and I love it. This is the perfect industry to try cases. There’s lots to argue about and there are no moral issues because everyone’s a bastard…Other than winning trials, there is nothing that gives me more satisfaction than mentoring. It’s selfish to be a mentor in some ways because it’s so rewarding.” — Bruce Ficken,
chair, Construction Law, Cozen O’Connor

“The tariff chaos has created a lot of problems with our projects. It’s been tough. There are free trade zones where you can have items delivered that might be subject to duties or tariffs—and it will eliminate or reduce the applicability of the tariff if it goes to the free trade zone first—before being imported.” — Tracy Galimore, senior counsel, Chevron U.S.A., Inc.

“Each of us has developed narrow and deep specialization. One risk in that pursuit is that you believe you know more than you know. Listen more to what people have to say, because there will be plenty of opportunity to let clients know how knowledgable you are. If you are considered a trusted advisor of your client, you will be part of a process working constructively and proactively. Listen to people, even if they are younger than you are, and don’t think you know it all.” — David J. Hatem, partner, MG+M

“We are strategic business advisors. We want to bring in expertise, and bring in the talent we don’t have to resolve whatever the situation is—whether it’s compliance, contracts, or disputes.” — Paul James, chief risk & legal officer, Bond Brothers, Inc.

“You want to write a bill where when the client reads it, he can’t wait to pay it. I look at every bill and I can tell when a bill has been through iterations of computer programming. I expect outside counsel to review the bills and tell a story about how they moved a case to its conclusion.” — Bob Lizza, chief legal officer, Consigli Construction

“Artificial intelligence is going to unleash the ability of you all to be better leaders. In three years, whatever model you are using today is going to be 30 to 40 times greater. We are spending a lot of time on AI at NASDAQ. There are key things that you possess that AI can’t do and that’s adaptability and creativity.” — Byron Loflin, global head of Board Advisory at NASDAQ, and Keynote Breakfast co-speaker

“We’re no longer dealing with the specific supply chain disruptions triggered by COVID-era shutdowns and subsequent changes in law and policy, but we’re also nowhere near the pre-COVID stability. Tariffs have become a major driver of uncertainty for certain commodities such as steel and aluminum as well as electrical, HVAC, and lighting components. On some of these materials, the tariff burden can quickly exceed what was budgeted. Owners, contractors, and suppliers are spending more time on tariff strategy because a single policy change can swing tens of millions of dollars on a large project.”
— Matt Moore, co-managing partner of Peckar & Abramson’s Texas offices

“One of the main reasons we are here is to learn about data centers.” — Gina Murlowski, associate general counsel, Mastec, Inc., Coral Gables, Fla.

“CSC has been a wonderful event. Great stuff. Everyone we’ve seen is new, and when people hear what we have to say, they are interested.” — Corey Orlando, CourtScribes

“I worry about younger lawyers missing out on the enjoyment and the passion of being a construction lawyer. It has to do with personal interaction and the people that we mentored and were mentored by. An enjoyable part of life is going to the office. And yet we are seeing people go into the office less frequently. And while the achievement of work/life balance is difficult to criticize, it comes at a price. You are not in the office talking to your colleagues. You are not getting the feedback. It’s difficult to organize a Zoom or a Teams call to get feedback from your friends when you could have just walked down the hall, popped your head in the door, and took five minutes to chat. That was enjoyable.” — Bob Peckar, founding partner, Peckar & Abramson