HOUSTON—Womble Bond Dickinson held a Nov. 6 hands-on workshop that provided both a useful update for those active in international engineering contracts, and a grounding in some key risk areas for those who are relatively new to this market.

The “Developments in International EPC Contracting” CLE workshop took place at The Whitehall Houston. Womble Bond Dickinson attorneys Alex Hirom, Kurt Lindquist and Jeffrey Whittle discussed the latest trends in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracting in the international market.

The seminar included presentations on:

  • EPC Contracts —The FIDIC forms of contract are the nearest thing there is to a standard form of EPC contract outside of the US. A new edition of these contracts was published two years ago, but it is only now that the market is coming to understand how they will be used in practice. Alex Hirom, an attorney in Womble Bond Dickinson’s London office, led the discussion on this important international development. The seminar also covered some of the basics, and for those with some knowledge of EPC contracts, the seminar looked at the innovations in the contract and practical application.
  • Tripartite Agreements and Black Boxes —Jeffrey Whittle led a session discussing common intellectual property issues in relation to engineering contracts, focusing on working with proprietary technology in the construction of new plant.
  • Arbs and DAABs —Kurt Lindquist closed the seminar by looking at traditional dispute resolution formats for international EPC contracts, FIDIC's innovative DAAB and how these compare to dispute resolution in the US.

Other Womble Bond Dickinson attendees included attorneys Tony Guerino, Simon Hewes, Liz Riley and Joe Tirone, Houston Director of Administration Nicole Dashiell and Client Service Director Christé Spiers.

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