Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets

“Everyone in construction, from owners to contractors, from architects to construction workers, should read this book. Those who do will surely join Mr. LePatner in his crusade to fix an industry so vitally important to the way we live.”—A. Eugene Kohn, Chairman, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

“As a leading construction industry attorney, Barry LePatner knows the industry as well as anyone—warts and all. Here he sends a strong warning to owners, agencies, and institutions charged with constructing or renovating the built environment to get their act together and radically rethink their business practices. He not only zeroes in on the industry’s shortcomings but also offers up cures.”—Stephen A. Kliment, FAIA

“Not since The Business Roundtable raised the red flag over 25 years ago on the ineffective use of construction dollars and its impact on the global economy has a treatise provided in-depth reasoning on the culprits. Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets provides deep insight as to why the construction industry has not corrected faults to mitigate such excessive construction cost overruns and has even begin to accept these everyday occurrences as the norm. Barry LePatner describes how the U.S. government and even our nation’s most respected corporations fall prey to the inefficient practices of all parties involved in a major construction project—contractors, designers, workers, unions and suppliers.  From his insights it is clear that we need to instigate a critical examination on improving this critical sector of our economy.”—Mark A. Smith, Ernst & Young LLP

“Sadly, the lack of significant advances and adoption of construction technology improvements has greatly contributed to the broken building environment in which we now operate. It is imperative for architectural and engineering schools to educate their students to work collaboratively with contractors and other project stakeholders to ensure more assured budget and schedule success. Barry LePatner’s insightful words are right on target.”—Leonard Koven, P.E. Partner, AKF Engineers LLP

“Out-of-control construction costs have a real potential to damage the economy. They have certainly led to a disruptive relationship between design professionals who draft construction documents, the contractors who build from them and the clients who usually end up paying for the resulting cost overrun. Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets identifies the sources of and proposes solutions for mitigating construction cost overruns.”—Ramon Gilsanz, P.E. Partner, Gilsanz, Murray, Steficek LLP 

“I found it definitely a worthwhile and stimulating read. A must for anyone interested in the economics of construction.” –Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution

“Every now and then, a major construction project is completed on time and on budget. Everyone is amazed. . . Barry LePatner thinks this exception should become the rule. . . . A  swift kick to the construction industry.”—James R. Hagerty, Wall Street Journal  

“A nationally-recognized construction attorney with thirty years of experience, Barry LePatner is in the perfect position to understand why the Interstate 35 West bridge may have collapsed, what our nation must do to prevent more such disasters in the future, and why throwing loads of cash at the problem is not the answer.”—Black Hills Today

“Barry LePatner’s keynote speech at our recent conference was well received by all of our attendees. I can’t thank Barry enough for taking the time to share his knowledge and expertise in the field of construction defects and insurance coverage. Even though some did not agree fully with Barry’s views, he certainly got everyone thinking and created a line of discussion amongst attendees that was beneficial for all. His talk was certainly the highlight of our conference sessions!”—Ed Martinet, Chairman of the Board, MC Consultants, Inc.