Contact Information

500 Capitol Mall, 18th Floor

Sacramento, CA 95814

916.325.5812: T

916.444.8989: F

jdarrington@mhalaw.com

Practice Focus

Construction Transactions

Joel W. Darrington | Senior Attorney

Professional Experience

Joel joined McDonough’s Construction Practice Group in 2007, after six years as an associate with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP in New York City. He represents private and public clients, including owners, contractors, and design firms in construction transactions and problem resolution. He has negotiated and drafted many construction agreements including those structured as estimated maximum price, guaranteed maximum price, lump sum or not-at-risk agency agreements as well as numerous consultant, architect and other design firm agreements. Joel also counsels clients regarding problems involving design firms, contractors or owners, advising on contract administration, and facilitating legal aspects of the close-out of construction projects. Joel’s background encompasses construction-related transactional matters for hospitals, prison medical facilities, performing arts centers, museums, academic campuses, schools, cultural facilities, and office buildings.

Since coming to McDonough, Joel has been heavily involved with its growing practice in advising clients on Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Lean Construction. He has been instrumental in taking the main features from fellow attorney Will Lichtig’s Integrated Form of Agreement and adapting them to design-build agreements and other two-party agreement contexts. In connection with Joel’s involvement in IPD and Lean Construction, he has extensively researched various approaches to incentive programs and risk allocation utilized by international project delivery models. Joel’s research on incentives is making its way into current and pending publications.

In addition to his construction experience, Joel has significant real estate experience. During his time at LeBoeuf, he participated in purchase and sale transactions, leases and other real estate activities for both commercial and nonprofit clients. He also has helped with the formation and organization of corporations and limited liability companies to hold interests in real estate and performed research on real estate law, nonprofit entity issues, and, of course, construction matters.

Representative Matters

Special counsel to Sutter Health, a major Northern California health care organization, assisting Sutter Health and its affiliates in contracting for and delivering their multi-billion design and construction program, in many cases utilizing Integrated Project Delivery and Lean Construction.

Key player on the attorney team acting as special construction counsel to the federal Receiver appointed to assume executive management of the health care of California state prisoners. Along with fellow attorneys Will Lichtig and Dawn Balzarano, Joel advises the Receiver’s staff and consultants on the Receiver’s design and construction program to upgrade and expand the state prison medical infrastructure. A major feature of the anticipated construction program is the planned use of innovative project delivery methods such as Lean Construction and design-build.

Played key role in preparing the bid documents and negotiating the contract for the $100+ million remediation and deconstruction of a 42-story contaminated office building in lower Manhattan; extensively involved in contract administration and problem resolution between the owner and contractor during the project.

Participated extensively in the drafting and contract administration of an $8.5 million architect agreement and $102 million guaranteed maximum price construction contract for the construction of a new LEED^®-certified academic building for a major Manhattan college campus.

Presentations/Publications

Principal Author, “Incentives to Promote Collaboration,” by CMAA College of Fellows, CMAdvisor, March/April 2010

Co-author, “Rethinking the “G” in GMP: Why Estimated Maximum Price Contracts Make Sense on Collaborative Projects,” The Construction Lawyer, Volume 30, Number 2, Spring 2010

Author, "Addressing Human Motivation in Construction Contracts," California Constructor, February 2010

Co-author, "Managing Integrated Project Delivery," 2009 CMAA

Co-author, "Integrated Project Delivery: Different Outcomes, Different Rules," 48th Annual Meeting of Invited Attorneys, May 2009

Co-Author, "A Word to the Wise Construction Lawyer: Read the Specifications," New York Law Journal, June 2006

Leadership Positions/Affiliations

Member, Lean Construction Institute

Member, American Bar Association – Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section; Forum on the Construction Industry

Member, State Bar of California – Real Property Law Section

MHALaw Search

Admitted to Practice

State Bar of California, 2008

State Bar of New York, 2002

Education

New York University
School of Law

J.D., 2001

Brigham Young University

B.A., summa cum laude, with
Honors, Humanities, 1998

Phi Kappa Phi