It does not seem that long ago that construction cranes filled the skylines in South Florida, leading many to quip that the “crane” had become our new state bird. Then the market crashed, the cranes flew off and the construction industry lay in shambles. Contractors, suppliers, designers and developers who relied for years on their construction lawyers to provide day-to-day counsel suddenly found themselves dealing primarily with bankruptcy and work-out lawyers. Many did not survive. And although a healthy bit of post-crash litigation kept construction litigators busy in the aftermath, a lot of that legal work dried up.
Six or seven years later, the “crane” and other “indicator species” are coming back. Developers have placed 200 new condominium buildings into the pipeline. Homebuilders have kicked into gear, restrained only by a shortage of land to build on. Things are going so well that contractors, particularly those in skilled trades like mechanical, electrical, fire and plumbing, now find it difficult to staff their projects with workers.
