COMMITTEE CHAIR
New Chair
for PDCA
Contracts
and Risk
Committee
Veteran construction lawyer
and PDCA conference presenter
Rick Kalson elevates from vice
chairman position
By Matt Bisbee, PDCA
With nearly 30 years of construction law and litigation
experience behind him – 22 years exclusively
as a full-time construction lawyer – PDCA
named Richard D. Kalson, Esq. as the new chairman for the PDCA
Contracts and Risk Committee. Kalson is a partner at national firm
Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP and practices from
Columbus, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pa. The PDCA Board of Directors
ratified the new chairmanship with a unanimous vote in June 2020.
“Through my experience serving as vice chair for the Contracts
and Risk Committee, we have worked to build a framework
to provide necessary information to PDCA members so they
become equipped to help themselves navigate the variety of
legal risks they face every day,” said Kalson. “I look forward to
collaborating with all PDCA members on formulating a list of key
contractual provisions for their consideration when negotiating
a subcontract.”
In his law practice, Kalson provides counsel to
subcontractors, contractors, suppliers and project owners in
litigation and business consultation matters, including many
ENR 400 contractors and ENR 600 specialty contractors, on
all phases of the construction process on projects throughout
the United States. He has represented clients in construction
disputes involving infrastructure, bridges, petrochemical plants,
commercial buildings, hotels and government buildings, among
many others, before courts and arbitrators in Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, New Jersey, Wisconsin, New York, Maryland,
Virginia, California, Minnesota, Massachusetts, West Virginia,
Georgia and many other states across the country.
A construction lawyer for 27 years, Kalson earned his Juris
Doctor from the University of Minnesota School of Law following
a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Wisconsin, where
he continues a relationship as a visiting lecturer and loyal
fan of Badger athletics. He also holds prominent positions
in the construction industry, including a board seat with the
International Association of Foundation Drilling and a vicechairmanship
at the Deep Foundations Institute.
“This Committee has delivered educational presentations
at almost every major PDCA event in recent years and we will
continue providing instruction to PDCA members at future
events, both live and remote,” said Kalson. t
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