Cosponsored with the Construction Law and Public Contracts Section of the Virginia State Bar
Thursday, November 5, 8:15 a.m.–5:15 p.m. ET AND Friday, November 6, 8:00 a.m.–12:25 p.m. ET
| MCLE Credit: | 12.0 (Ethics: 2.0) pending |
| Live-Interactive Credit: | 12.0 (all formats) pending |
Live on Site:
Webcast:
Telephone:
Please note: This seminar is not eligible for the Virginia CLE® government, new lawyer, pro bono, law student, legal aid, or paralegal discounts.
Cosponsored with the Construction Law and Public Contracts Section of the Virginia State Bar
For more than four decades, this two-day gathering has been the destination of choice for both lawyers and industry representatives with a stake in construction law or public contracts matters. This seminar provides a full year’s worth of MCLE credit for Virginia attorneys and an indispensable educational and networking opportunity for all attendees. The offerings once again will range from annual ethics and legal updates to specific programs on the most pressing industry and governmental issues.
This year, you may attend the full 12-hour seminar: (1) in person, live on site at the Boar’s Head Resort, where attendees can network, exchange ideas, and enjoy the Thursday evening cocktail reception, OR (2) virtually via live-interactive webcast or telephone.
Bring Your Family!
Nestled in Virginia’s Piedmont countryside, The Boar’s Head Resort promises world-class amenities in a setting uniquely Southern in character, charm, and natural beauty.
This exceptional resort includes AAA Four Diamond award-winning dining, attentive service, and first-class accommodations. Visitors enjoy golf, tennis, bicycling, hiking, fishing, hot air balloon rides, and a fitness club and spa, all within the grounds of the lush 573-acre estate. Add in the many attractions of Charlottesville and picturesque surroundings, and you will find the perfect venue for a long getaway with your family.
For more detailed information about The Boar’s Head’s championship golf and tennis facilities, for an overview of the treatments and services at the Spa, and for a schedule of fitness classes at the Sports Club, please visit The Boar’s Head’s website at www.boarsheadresort.com.
Overnight Accommodations
We have a limited number of rooms available at The Boar’s Head Resort (seminar location).
Boar’s Head Resort
200 Ednam Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Please use the following link for web reservations:
*Please note: the room block has been set up to check in on November 4, 2026, with a check-out date of November 6, 2026. If you need a reservation for before or after these dates, or if you need to book more than two rooms, please call the Boar’s Head Resort at the number below to speak with a Reservation agent and reference Virginia CLE Construction Law PARTICIPANTS.
To make a reservation by phone, please call the Reservations Office at 1.800.476.1988.
The cut-off date for the group rate at Boar’s Head is Monday, September 21, 2026.
We also have a room block available at Hyatt Place Charlottesville:
Hyatt Place Charlottesville
2100 Bond Street
Charlottesville, VA 22901
Reservations can be made by using the link below:
Or by calling 800.993.4751. Please mention the group name: VACLE to receive the group rate – November 4, 2026 – November 6, 2026
The cut-off date for the group rate at Hyatt Place Charlottesville is Thursday, October 15, 2026.
Registration Deadlines:
| Webcast: | 10 minutes prior to seminar. If you register for a webcast the day of the seminar, your e-mail receipt will include a link to launch the seminar and download the materials. |
| Telephone: | Online registration ends at 11:59 p.m. the day preceding the seminar Call (800) 979-8253 to register up to one hour prior to the seminar |
| Live on Site: | Online registration ends at 11:59 p.m. the day preceding the seminar Walk-in registration is permitted on a space-available basis |
Cancellation Policy: Cancellation/transfer requests will be honored until 5:00 p.m. the day preceding the seminar. You will, however, be charged $99 if you cancel or transfer your registration to a different seminar after the link to the materials has been e-mailed by Virginia CLE®.
Full refunds or transfers are available up to two days after a webcast in the unlikely event that you experience technical difficulties.
Dietary Restrictions: If you have dietary restrictions and are attending the seminar in person, please email tfitzgerald@vacle.org.
MCLE Credit Caveat: The MCLE Board measures credits by the time you spend in attendance. If you enter a seminar late or leave it early, or both, you must reflect those adjustments accurately in the credits you report on your credit reporting form. A code will be given at the end of the seminar, which must be written on your MCLE form.
Private recording of this program is prohibited.
Can’t Attend?
E-mail distance_ed@vacle.org to be notified when/if this program is made available as an online or USB seminar.
E-mail publications@vacle.org to be notified when/if this program’s seminar materials are made available for sale.
Thursday, November 5
| 8:00 | Registration |
| 8:15 | Introductory Remarks Tara L. Chadbourn |
| 8:30 | Illuminating Legal Limericks: Part I (Law Practice/Firms) This interactive program will use limericks (the last word of which the audience will have to guess) to explore ethics issues involved in lawyers’ practice and their firms. Among other things, the program will address unauthorized practice of law and multijurisdictional practice (including the definition of legal practice, temporary and virtual practice and choice of ethics rules); law firm creation (including law firm names, hiring, and non-competes); law firm operation (including paralegals, trust accounts, fee sharing, and file ownership); marketing (including content limitations, and marketing intrusiveness). |
| 10:30 | Break |
| 10:40 | Using Experts in Construction Litigation—Practical Considerations and Best Practices Expert testimony is critically important in construction disputes. This one-hour program will provide a practical expert roadmap, from how to determine appropriate topics and select the “best” expert, to disclosing, deposing, challenging, and examining experts at hearings or trials. The faculty will offer suggestions and real-life examples based on expert use in high-profile cases across the country, including jury trials. They will also highlight important differences in state versus federal practice. Attendees will leave with practical checklists, strategic considerations, and a framework for handling experts from the first client meeting through appeal. |
| 11:40 | Show Me the Money: Payment Rights on Public and Private Projects in Virginia This session will explore the intersection of Virginia prompt payment statutes and retainage restrictions, federal payment requirements, the Miller Act, pay-if-paid provisions, pass-through claims, and related contract drafting considerations. Attendees will learn how courts address conflicts between contractual payment provisions and statutory protections, identify common payment traps, and develop practical strategies for protecting payment rights before disputes arise. |
| 1:00 | Lunch Presentation: Sticks and Bricks—Moving Mountains—Route 58 Lovers Leap This presentation will highlight the Lovers Leap project in Stuart, Virginia, a transformative infrastructure project along the Route 58 corridor. We’ll explore the history of the corridor, the negotiation of the design-build contract with VDOT, the engineering and construction involved in relocating part of a mountain, and the unique legal, technical, and logistical challenges encountered throughout the project. |
| 1:45 | Break |
| 2:00 | Pay-for-PLA: Project Labor Agreements Are on the Rise in Virginia This panel will discuss how mandated Project Labor Agreements are reshaping Virginia public procurement. By explaining how developments in the use of mandated PLAs in federal government contracting can be applied to Virginia’s procurement and labor laws, we will explore how PLAs narrow the bidding pool, raise costs, increase complexity, and sideline most Virginia contractors. Drawing on recent procurement outcomes and legal challenges, panelists will equip attorneys to better understand and advise clients navigating PLA mandates. |
| 3:00 | Break |
| 3:15 | Standard of Care in a Fast-Evolving World Construction and its associated risks are evolving rapidly, driven by factors such as climate change, the rise of megaprojects, electrification, adoption of new materials, and the expanding use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence. We will explore what the standard of care means in this changing world. |
| 4:15 | False Claims in Virginia Construction Contracts Current and former Assistant Attorneys General will discuss the prosecution of false claims by the Commonwealth of Virgina and whistleblowers arising from government contracts under the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act (VFATA). The presentation will focus on ways that construction projects can fall under the federal False Claims Act and its state law equivalents, including VFATA. The presenters will also share practical takeaways, including steps to mitigate false claims in construction. |
| 5:15 | Adjourn |
| 5:30 | Cocktail Reception (for attendees and faculty at the Boar’s Head Resort) |
Friday, November 6
| 8:00 | Navigating Virginia DEQ Issues This presentation will focus on environmental compliance and liability traps for construction projects, emphasizing construction stormwater, wetlands, and contaminated media management from both the contractor and project owner perspectives. |
| 9:00 | Break |
| 9:10 | Creative Financing or Financial Distress When a construction company faces financial distress, financing arrangements buried beneath the surface can dramatically impact the progress of construction, payment rights, lien priorities, and bankruptcy recoveries. This session will examine merchant credit agreements, factoring transactions, Article 9 security interests, and insolvency issues through a practical risk-spotting lens to help lawyers identify and address potential disputes before or after they escalate. |
| 10:10 | Break |
| 10:20 | Legislative and Case Law Updates The session will include updates on recent case law, legislation, and regulations that are relevant to construction and government contract law practitioners in Virginia. |
| 12:20 | Concluding Remarks Arnie Mason |
| 12:25 | Adjourn |
Ali Ashrafi, Thornton Tomasetti / Washington, DC
Tanner N. Brantley, Williams Mullen / Richmond
Peter E. Broadbent, Office of the Attorney General of Virginia / Richmond
Kelly Bundy, Hirschler Fleischer / Richmond
Robert H. Chappell, III, Spotts Fain / Richmond
Michael C. Davis, Venable LLP / Washington, DC
Gordon Dixon, Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance / Richmond
Thomas C. Dossey, Hirschler / Tysons
Brian Evans, Branch Civil / Roanoke
David L. Feinberg, Venable LLP / Washington, DC
Jennifer Harris, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. / Washington, DC
Jim Harvey, Woods Rogers / Norfolk
Sean M. Howley, Kraftson Caudle / McLean
Trey Joyce, Branch Civil / Roanoke
Scott Kowalski, Petty, Livingston, Dawson & Richards Law / Lynchburg
Benjamin R. Law, Gentry Locke Attorneys / Roanoke
Arnie B. Mason, Williams Mullen / Tysons
Rupa Patel, Thornton Tomasetti / Washington, DC
Henry R. “Speaker” Pollard, V, Williams Mullen / Richmond
Rodolfo R. “Rudy” Remigio, Reaves GovCon Group / Chesapeake
Thomas E. Spahn, McGuireWoods / Tysons
Melissa Tucker, Branch Civil / Roanoke
Jennifer J. West, Spotts Fain / Richmond
Robbie Williams, Branch Civil / Roanoke
Benjamin Young, Georgetown Public Affairs, LLC / Washington, DC
Tara L. Chadbourn, Reaves GovCon Group / Chesapeake
Andrew O. Gay, Gentry Locke / Lynchburg
Christopher G. Hill, The Law Offices of Christopher G. Hill, PC / Glen Allen
Experience powerful marketing benefits, network with leaders in the field, and align your business with unmatched experts and Virginia’s leading continuing legal education provider. Learn more about sponsoring here.
