Contracts and the Legal Environment for Engineers and Architects » (7th Edition)

Joseph Bockrath is the R. Gordon Kean Professor of Law at the Louisiana State University Law Center, where he has taught Contracts, Constitutional Law, and several other subjects since 1976. Prior to his arrival at LSU he was an Assistant Professor of Marine Studies at the University of Delaware.

Professor Bockrath is a graduate of Hastings College of Law of the University of California in San Francisco.

Fredric Plotnick is an Adjunct Professor of Engineering in the departments of Engineering Management, Civil Engineering, and Construction Management at Drexel University's Philadelphia Pennsylvania Campus, where he has taught Engineering Law, Contracts Specifications and Law, Techniques of Project Controls, Project Scheduling and several other subjects since 1979. He has also maintained a consulting practice, Engineering and Property Management Consultants, Inc., since 1983, having previously worked for several contracting, consulting and engineering design firms.

Professor Plotnick is a graduate of Drexel University College of Engineering, having a BSCE in Soil and Foundation Engineering and an MSCE in Construction Management, followed by a JD from Widener University School of Law, and returning to Drexel for his PhD in Civil Engineering.

The seventh edition of Contracts and the Legal Environment for Engineers and Architects has been written for students in the engineering and architecture fields to teach the basic principles of the law and a ready reference for practicing design professionals. This edition has been completely updated in recognition of the dynamic changes in the law in recent years.

The text has been entirely reordered and several new chapters and chapter sections have been added. The material in this seventh edition has been reorganized and expanded into seven parts: Part One: Basic principles of the law and court systems in both the United States and globally. Part Two: Basic principles of contracts. Part Three: Relationships of individuals and society focusing upon such areas as agency, partnerships, corporations, insurance and governmental regulations. Part Four: Basic principles of tort law including concepts of negligence and product liability. Part Five: Basic principles of property ranging from real property to intellectual property. Part Six: Impact to the daily practice of a design professional involved in a construction project. Part Seven: The role of the design professional in litigation.