Rosemead California Construction Expert Witness Directory

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (4/1/26) – President Trump’s EO Affects Federal Funding, Fannie Mae Accepts Crypto-Backed Mortgages, Private Sector Construction Weakness Offsets Public Sector Gains

April 08, 2026 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, California to pursue office-to-housing conversions, hoteliers to increase investment in artificial intelligence, private credit exodus to boost commercial real estate capital, and more!

President Donald Trump’s executive order to remove regulatory barriers to affordable home construction could affect federal funding for cities and states that don’t follow what the order calls “regulatory best practices,” including faster permitting, fewer green building mandates and relaxed limits on exurban development. (Robyn Griggs Lawrence, Multifamily Dive)
California state policymakers have been pursuing policy changes that remove barriers to converting older commercial buildings into housing. (Keith Loria, Construction Dive)
Private sector weakness largely offset modest gains in public construction spending, despite data center gains. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive)

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (3/11/25) – An AI Inflection Point for Hotels, Investor Pivot in Build-to-Rent and Looming Legislation for Single-Family Investors

March 24, 2026 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, lodging demand for World Cup brings growth, commercial property management firms use of AI becomes firmer, construction industry shows slow start to the year, and more!

The hotel industry has reached an inflection point, where owners and developers are embracing artificial intelligence more, but are also increasingly in need of greater guidance on how to convert early adoption into long-term returns. (Jenna Graber, Hotel Dive)
While the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to bring notable RevPAR gains to U.S. host cities, the overall domestic impact will be negligible. (Noor Adatia, Hotel Dive)
Company leaders’ often vague predictions of how AI will be adopted are giving way to more fully formed strategies in the commercial real estate industry. (Joe Burns, Facilities Dive)

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

Snell & Wilmer Receives Multiple National and Regional Top Tier Rankings in 2026 “Best Law Firms® Rankings” by Best Lawyers®

December 08, 2025 — Snell & Wilmer
PHOENIX – Snell & Wilmer is proud to announce it has once again been recognized by Best Law Firms®, earning 34 national and 199 regional rankings across 74 categories by Best Lawyers® in their annual Best Law Firms rankings. The firm received national Tier 1 rankings for its Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation, Communications Law, Construction Law, Corporate Law, Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Labor and Employment, Litigation – Real Estate, Real Estate Law, and Securities Regulation categories. The firm also earned national rankings in 24 other categories, and 15 of its offices earned regional rankings. The 2026 Best Law Firms rankings are based on the highest number of participating firms and the highest number of client ballots on record. The rankings are determined through a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information supporting a firm’s accomplishments. The following is the complete list of Snell & Wilmer practices ranked in the 2026 Best Law Firms: National Rankings Banking and Finance Law Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law Commercial Litigation Communications Law Construction Law Corporate Law Employment Law – Management Energy Law Environmental Law Financial Services Regulation Law Health Care Law Labor Law – Management Litigation – Banking and Finance Litigation – Bankruptcy Litigation – Construction Litigation – Environmental Litigation – Intellectual Property Litigation – Labor and Employment Litigation – Real Estate Litigation – Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy) Litigation – Securities Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants Mergers and Acquisitions Law Mining Law Native American Law Natural Resources Law Patent Law Real Estate Law Securities / Capital Markets Law Securities Regulation Tax Law Trademark Law Trusts and Estates Venture Capital Law Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Snell & Wilmer

US Energy Dept. Withdraws Federal ‘Zero-Emissions Building’ Definition

December 22, 2025 — Bryan Gottlieb - Engineering News-Record
The U.S. Dept. of Energy has withdrawn the Biden-era federal definition of a “zero-emissions building,” marking another step in the Trump administration’s rollback of climate-focused initiatives and creating uncertainty for states, cities and owners that had informally used the guidance in project planning. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Bryan Gottlieb, Engineering News-Record
Mr. Gottlieb may be contacted at gottliebb@enr.com

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (11/5/25) – Apartment Conversion Projects Surge, Targeted AI in Real Estate Increases and Hotel Lobby Urge End of Government Shutdown

December 02, 2025 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, government shutdown affects contractors, hotel construction stays flat, and more!

The total U.S. hotel construction pipeline stayed relatively flat year over year in the third quarter of 2025, while brand conversions saw record-high project totals. (Lara Ewen, Construction Dive)
Construction attorneys say some federal jobs during the government shutdown may require contractors to keep working, even if they’re not getting paid. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive)
The government shutdown has resulted in an estimated $650 million in lost hotel business, with each day of the shutdown costing the economy $31 million “in activity that would’ve been generated by hotel stays.” (Lara Ewen, Hotel Dive)

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Real Estate & Construction Law Team

California’s Retention Reform on Private Construction Projects

February 17, 2026 — Michael McKeeman - The Construction Seyt
Retention has long been a contentious issue in California construction. Traditionally, owners withheld retention of 10% from each progress payment until completion, arguing it was necessary to ensure performance, quality and timely delivery. Contractors and subcontractors, however, often struggled with cash flow, payroll, and material costs while waiting months—sometimes even years—for withheld retention. Recognizing the financial challenges contractors and subcontractors face, the California legislature passed Senate Bill 61 (“SB 61”), now codified under California Civil Code Section 8811 and effective January 1, 2026, limiting retention to 5% on private works of improvement, aligning with the public works standard in place since 2012. The law’s intent is clear—ease financial strain on contractors and subcontractors while still providing owners with security (albeit reduced) with respect to project completion. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Michael McKeeman, Seyfarth
Mr. McKeeman may be contacted at

How to Fireproof a Neighborhood

March 17, 2026 — Linda Poon - Bloomberg
As builders in fire-prone areas like California race to reimagine homes for a more fiery future, one developer is zooming out to build entire fire-resilient neighborhoods. KB Home’s developments tackle an issue that’s hard for any individual homeowner to overcome: “You can do your home perfectly, but if your neighbor didn’t, you still have a fire risk,” said Roy Wright, chief executive officer of the research nonprofit Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. In other words, to slow the spread of urban fires it takes a village. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Linda Poon, Bloomberg

Don’t Breach Your Contract, but If You Do, Don’t Breach First

December 22, 2025 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
Well, it’s been a while since my last post here at Musings due to travel, work, Thanksgiving, etc. so I thought I’d let a recent case remind us all that while breaching a construction contract is bad, doing it first is even worse. This is the so called “doctrine of first breach” that basically states that if both parties are in breach (or even just one), then the first to breach is the one that will bear the costs of breach. The doctrine also states that the one first to breach first can’t enforce any of its rights going forward. The plaintiff in SEG Props. LLC v. NTC Mazzuca Constr.,Inc., the Virginia Court of Appeals considered a first breach scenario that was pretty extreme. The basic facts are as follows: SEG hired Mazzuca to build a private shooting range and hired a property manager (Jones, Lang, LaSalle, Inc. (“JLL”)) as its project representative. Per the contract, if Mazzuca provided a payment application on or before the 25th of the month, payment was due by the 25th of the following month. In no event was payment to be made more than 30 days from receipt of the payment application by the owner’s representative. Even where there was a dispute, the undisputed amounts were to be paid. Mazzuca and JLL used a so called “pencil” method for payment applications that involved JLL reviewing the payment applications for errors and then a final payment application with the corrections being sent to the Architect. Needless to say there were change orders and disputes, but after the smoke cleared, it was obvious that from the first payment application, SEG had failed to make timely payment (for the whole saga, please read the case as it is too long for this post). Later, SEG terminated Mazzuca for cause upon one day’s notice that SEG would be supplementing Mazzuca’s workforce. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

ROSEMEAD CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EXPERT WITNESS DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES