Construction Law is a branch of law that deals with matters relating to building construction, engineering, and related fields. It is in essence an amalgam of contract law, commercial law, planning law, employment law and tort. Construction law covers a wide range of legal issues including contract, negligence, bonds and bonding, guarantees and sureties, liens and other security interests, tendering, construction claims, and related consultancy contracts. Construction law affects many participants in the construction industry, including financial institutions, surveyors, quantity surveyors, architects, builders, engineers, construction workers, and planners.

Construction law builds upon general legal principles and methodologies and incorporates the regulatory framework (including security of payment, planning, environmental and building regulations); contract methodologies and selection (including traditional and alternative forms of contracting); subcontract issues; causes of action, and liability, arising in contract, negligence and on other grounds; insurance and performance security; dispute resolution and avoidance.

The Forum on Construction Law of the American Bar Association established in 1973 is the largest organization of construction lawyers in the United States. The group includes law firms of every size, solo practitioners, in-house and government counsel, non-lawyers such as, construction professionals and the public sector representatives. Forum members include those of owners, developers, design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, construction managers, lenders, insurers and sureties.

Standard form contracts promulgated by the American Institute of Architects have been the standard in the industry (insofar as building construction); the organization first published a form in 1888, and has over 200 forms, with revisions to selected forms happening typically every ten years. However, these forms have been criticized as unfair to contractors in favor of owners and architects, which led to the publication of ConsensusDocs standard contracts in September 2007. The ConsensusDocs Coalition includes 41 trade associations representing design professionals, owners, contractors, subcontractors and sureties in the design and construction industry. ConsensusDocs publishes more than 100 contract documents, addressing all methods of project delivery, and are written in the project's best interest versus one particular party. Engineering lead projects such as horizontal infrastructure use other standard form contracts such as those developed by the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee. Recently several other organizations have developed contracts for use such as the CMAA (for projects using agency CM) and the Design-Build Institute of America[9] for projects using design-build.

Bankruptcy is governed by federal law, commonly referred to as the "Bankruptcy Code" ("Code"). The United States Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4) authorizes Congress to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Congress has exercised this authority several times since 1801, including through adoption of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, as amended, codified in Title 11 of the United States Code and the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA).

Some laws relevant to bankruptcy are found in other parts of the United States Code. For example, bankruptcy crimes are found in Title 18 of the United States Code (Crimes). Tax implications of bankruptcy are found in Title 26 of the United States Code (Internal Revenue Code), and the creation and jurisdiction of bankruptcy courts are found in Title 28 of the United States Code (Judiciary and Judicial procedure).

Bankruptcy cases are filed in United States Bankruptcy Court (units[1] of the United States District Courts), and federal law governs procedure in bankruptcy cases. However, state laws are often applied to determine how bankruptcy affects the property rights of debtors. For example, law governing the validity of liens or rules protecting certain property from creditors (known as exemptions), may derive from state law or federal law. Because state law plays a major role in many bankruptcy cases, it is often unwise to generalize some bankruptcy issues across state lines.

Insurance Law is the practice of law surrounding insurance, including insurance policies and claims. It can be broadly broken into three categories.

• Regulation of the business of insurance.
• Regulation of the content of insurance policies.
• Regulation of claim handling.

Timeshare Laws. If the process is not done according to federal and state laws, the sale, can in fact, be canceled. Every timeshare and vacation club company must follow the sales guidelines set forth by federal law. There is no exception to this law, no matter what.

Timeshares are next to impossible to sell. A search online will show that there are hundreds and thousands of listings where timeshare owners who have paid off their mortgage and are current cannot unload the burden for as low as a dollar. The contract is in perpetuity, which means life-long. To make matters worse, House Bill 453 was passed which removed the cap on how much your assessment fees can increase. This means your fees will increase drastically.

Municipal Law is the law specific to a particular city or county (known legally as a "municipality"), and the government bodies within those cities or counties. This can cover a wide range of issues, including everything from police power, zoning, education policies, and property taxes.

Terms

• Bylaws: A set of rules by which a municipality conducts its business. Bylaws tend to govern activities such as meetings, votes, record taking, and budgeting.
• Land Use: Otherwise known as zoning, land use laws govern the purposes for which land may be used.
• Spousal and Child Support
• Municipal Charter: A municipality's founding document.
• Municipal Corporation: The legal structure assigned to a municipality which allows it to buy and sell property, and sue or be sued.
• Police Power: The legal term for the ability to use police to regulate the behavior of a municipality's residents.
• Ordinance: The technical term for the "law" issued by a municipality.

Most attorneys who handle municipal law cases are hired by the municipalities themselves. The attorneys may even work as corporate counsel for the cities, which means that the attorney works for that particular city exclusively.

Local city or town councils are primarily responsible for creating municipal law. Since council members are elected from the town's residents, local residents have great control over municipal law, which can vary greatly between municipalities. If you believe you have a municipal law issue, be sure to consult an attorney familiar with the ordinances in your area.

Are you in need of legal help for a family matter?

If so the Family Law practice area at Thomassen Attorney At Law PC is lead by an experienced team of attorneys. Our Family Law team understands that their clients are dealing with difficult life changing experiences. We are dedicated to guiding our clients through these situations in the fastest and easiest way possible all the while still focused on accomplishing the core results.

• Marriage Dissolution
• Asset Division
• Spousal and Child Support
• Child Custody
• Pre-Nuptial Agreements
• Mediation

Generally, we prefer for negotiated settlement solutions, however if our team should face stern opposition you can rest assured that you have the most experienced, assertive and determined representation if the issue should need to go before a court of law.

A debt validation program can help you fix your unfavorable financial situation. Likewise, it can help to stop the harassing calls from debt collectors and possibly help to improve your credit score.

It is possible to walk away from the debt without paying anything. Federal law requires debt collection companies maintain complete and accurate business records. If these debt collection companies fail to do so, then they are not legally allowed to collect on the debt.