Business Advice

In an article on construction materials costs, Michael Vardaro, Managing Partner is quoted:

...The cost increases haven’t dampened demand, with construction for industrial and warehouse properties pushing ahead at full steam, Zetlin & De Chiara LLP Managing Partner Michael Vardaro told Bisnow. 

“I think we've seen certain things in the housing sector that maybe don't translate exactly in the commercial and industrial sectors, because those sectors, we've seen continued interest and people are moving forward with projects,” Vardaro said. “I won't say that everyone is not worried about the future, but they seem to be moving forward cautiously.”

The office of Richard Meier & Partners is announcing today that the practice, begun by the award-winning architect in 1963, will now be called Meier Partners, and that its 86-year-old founder is officially retiring. Under a leadership restructuring plan, George H. Miller, former managing partner at Pei, Cobb, Freed, becomes COO, and Dukho Yeon, who has been at the Meier office for 30 years, will be lead designer. Both Miller and Yeon have been named partners, each with equity in the company. Michael De Chiara, Senior Partner at Zetlin & De Chiara counseled the firm through its transition and is quoted in the article.

Eight Firms Join Forces to Form the Workwell Coalition to Rejuvenate the Office 

Patricia Harris, Zetlin & De Chiara Special Counsel, will speak at the Small Firm Symposium, sponsored by AIA NYS, AIA New Jersey, and AIA Pennsylvania. She will discuss Ownership Transitions.

Michael Vardaro, Managing Partner, will participate in a panel on Mergers, Acquisitions and ESOP: The Future of A/E/C Management at the ACEC New York Winter Conference. The panel, part of the CFO/Business Managers Agenda will feature industry leaders who will provide their views on how mergers and acquisitions, as well as pending ESOP legislation, will affect engineering firms in the near and distant future.

Michael Vardaro will discuss how COVID-19 is shaping our economy as a member of an ABA Construction Law Forum panel . Contrarian investors and companies find opportunities in good times and bad. More than half a year into the COVID-19 crisis what sectors of the economy are prospering in spite or because of the pandemic? How will these developing trends shape the future of the construction economy? 

The panel of insurance experts and attorneys will address insurance coverage and risk management in these uncertain times and how you can take a proactive approach to protecting your business.

The Post Pandemic Office: Perspectives on the New Normal.  A recording of the webinar, Panelists' Questions & Answers and a Program Summary can found be below.

Jaimee Nardiello, Partner, will participate in a panel that will discuss Contract and Common Law Claims, Prosecution of Claims and Remedies. 

Michael Vardaro, Zetlin & De Chiara's Managing Partner, provided insights on COVID-19 construction contract issues and overall business advice to senior-level Architecture and Engineering executives. He was a member of a panel of experts who shared their views in an interactive virtual roundtable format. The speakers provided practical and timely advice in an uncertain business environment.

It is no secret that the licensing rules regulating engineers, architects, and other design professionals in New York are amongst the strictest in the nation. This strict regulatory framework has hampered the ownership desires of many design professional firms. On July 21, 2022, New York Governor Hochul signed into law an amendment to the DPC law that allows an ESOP to own 100% of a Design Professional Corporation (DPC) starting in July 2024.

The New York City Council passed Local Law No. 97 of 2019 on April 18, 2019 and Local Law No. 147, amending Local Law No. 97, on June 26, 2019, both of which became effective as of November 15, 2019 (collectively “LL97”). LL97 ushers in a new era of stringent climate control regulations for the City, applicable to both existing buildings and new buildings. Though LL97’s emissions limitations do not begin until 2024, real estate owners and design professionals are already busy considering how the new limitations will impact current buildings, as well as those being contemplated for the future. This client alert intends to summarize LL97’s emission standards so that our clients may consider them when conceptualizing new projects and, where feasible and appropriate, recommend design elements and building systems to assist owners in meeting their new obligations.

Cities with their dense populations, crowded public transportation systems and busy high-rise office buildings, present many challenges in the prevention of the spread of the COVID-19. As Governors across the country prepare for the return to the workplace, employers and building owners have embarked on plans for re-opening the office.

On May 5, 2020, Zetlin & De Chiara LLP hosted a webinar that discussed the Post Pandemic Office. The expert panel including, Mitch Simpler, Jaros, Baum & Bolles, Andrew Demming-Gardiner & Theobold, Joanna Frank-Center for Active Design, Christopher Sharples-SHoP Architects, and moderated by Z&D Partner Tara Mulrooney, offered its perspectives on what steps should be taken immediately and how offices might change in the future.

Cities with their dense population, crowded public transportation system and busy high-rise office buildings, presents many challenges in the prevention of the spread of the COVID-19. As Governors across the country prepare for the return to the workplace, employers and building owners have embarked on plans for re-opening the office.

On May 5, 2020, Zetlin & De Chiara LLP hosted a webinar that discussed the Post Pandemic Office. The expert panel including, Mitch Simpler-JB&B, Andrew Demming-Gardiner & Theobold, Joanna Frank-Center for Active Design, Christopher Sharples-SHoP Architects, and moderated by Z&D Partner Tara Mulrooney, offered its perspectives on what steps should be taken immediately and how offices might change in the future.

On March 25, 2020, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”)- the largest economic aid package in our nation’s history. On March 27, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the CARES Act and on the same day, President Donald Trump signed it into law. This law, 880 pages long, provides much needed support for businesses across the country. The CARES Act provides significant new funding to small businesses in the United States for the period covering March 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

Despite advances in design and more stringent regulations, errors persist in the design process. The discovery of a potentially catastrophic design error after the completion and delivery of a project presents an array of ethical and legal issues for the design professional and attorneys who represent them. Ultimately, the questions before the design professional are whether he or she has an ethical or legal duty to warn of the error, and what must be done to satisfy that duty.