KEY PROVISIONS WHEN NEGOTIATING YOUR CONTRACT

Thursday, December 11, 2025
Time: 11:30-12 Registration and Lunch | 12-3:30 PM Seminar | 4-5 PM Social

Join us for an in-depth seminar focused on the critical legal issues that impact Minnesota construction contracts. This event will help you understand, negotiate, and manage contract provisions to protect your business interests.

This interactive seminar brings together legal professionals and industry leaders to explore five central contract issues relevant to construction projects in Minnesota. Each session is designed to deliver practical guidance, real-life examples, and valuable insights tailored to contractors, owners, engineers, and design professionals.

• 11:30-12:00 Registration and lunch
  
• 12:00-12:45 Indemnification in Minnesota Construction
  • During this session, we will cover indemnity clauses under Minn. Stat. § 337.02, exploring enforceability and the role of insurance-backed obligations. Attendees will gain best practices for drafting clear, compliant provisions while understanding the potential reach of indemnity across third-party claims, property damage, delays, and exclusions. We will also examine who is subject to indemnity—including contractors, subcontractors, owners, and designers—and highlight practical examples of how these provisions align with both legal and insurance requirements.
    
• 12:45-1:00 Break
  
• 1:00-1:45 Delay and Price Escalation Provisions in Minnesota Construction Contracts
  • This session will analyze how delay clauses function, their legal implications, and the distinctions among excusable, non-excusable, compensable, and concurrent delays. We will walk through strategies for structuring provisions that address both extensions of time and financial compensation while clarifying notice and remedy requirements. In addition, participants will learn to navigate price escalation clauses in the face of supply shortages, inflation, and shifting market conditions by comparing approaches such as fixed-percentage adjustments, index-based models, and cost-verification formats. The presentation will also address enforceability challenges when working with public versus private contracts.
• 1:45-2:00 Break
  
• 2:00-2:45 Contractor Classification in Construction Projects
  • We will take an in-depth look at Contractor Classification in Construction Projects and examine the legal and financial risks tied to misclassifying employees, subcontractors, and independent contractors. We’ll review Minnesota’s legal tests and registration requirements, discuss how written contracts and proper documentation serve as tools for compliance, and explore the penalties, fines, and licensure implications of misclassification errors.
    
• 2:45-3:15 Dispute Resolution, Flow-Down Provisions and Fee Shifts
  • As we move into a practical session on Dispute Resolution, Flow-Down Provisions, and Fee Shifts, attendees will gain insight on the advantages and drawbacks of litigation, arbitration, and mediation, as well as the enforceability of each forum. We will also unpack the important role of flow-down provisions in ensuring coordination and consistency of payment, dispute obligations, and performance standards across all tiers of a project. Finally, this session will review best practices for synchronizing prime contracts with subcontractor agreements and discuss the circumstances under which attorney’s fees may be recoverable.
• 3:15-3:30 Questions/Open Forum
  • We will close with a Questions and Open Forum, offering an opportunity for participants to raise practical issues, share experiences, and engage directly with the presenters.
• 3:30-4:30 Happy Hour

Location:
Oak Ridge Country Club
700 Oak Ridge Rd
Hopkins, MN 55305

No fee to attend | In-Person Only

Continuing Education Credit:

• This course will be submitted to the MN Dept. of Labor and Industry for 3.00 (3 CEUs) of Continuing Education for Residential Contractors and will include the Business Management requirement.
• This course will be submitted for 3.00 Continuing Legal Education credits in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Register here.

BASSFORD REMELE 2026 ANNUAL CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE LAW SUMMIT

SAVE THE DATE - Thursday, February 12, 2026
Time: 11:30 AM-4:30 PM | 3:30-4:30 Happy Hour

Join us for a comprehensive afternoon of insights and strategies tailored specifically for real estate and construction professionals!

11:30–12:00 Registration and Lunch

12:00–3:30 PM - Seminar

3:30–4:30 PM Happy Hour

Location:
Oak Ridge Country Club
700 Oak Ridge Rd
Hopkins, MN 55305

No fee to attend | In-Person Only

Continuing Education Credit:

• This course will be submitted to the MN Dept. of Labor and Industry for 3.00 (3 CEUs) of Continuing Education for Residential Contractors and will include the Business Management requirement.
• This course will be submitted for 3.00 Continuing Legal Education credits in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Register here.

Construction and Real Estate Newsletter: Legal Foundations

A publication of the Construction and Real Estate Practice Group (previous editions can be found at the bottom of the Construction Practice Group page.)

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Employment Newsletter: The Work Week with Bassford Remele

Each Monday, the Bassford Remele Employment Team publishes and sends an article on a timely topic to your inbox to hopefully assist you in jumpstarting your work week. (Previous articles are at the bottom of the Employment Practice Group page.)

Subscribe to The Work Week here.