“You’re Fired!” Legal Technical Challenges of Terminating a Designer in Design-Build Projects

Construction and real estate counsel Karen Denys participated on a panel to unpack the real-world challenges when a designer is terminated at different stages of a project: early, mid-design, and after design is complete.

The panelists discussed how termination impacts outgoing and incoming designers, contractors, and owners—from legal landmines to technical headaches like incomplete designs, missing documentation, coordination failures, and blurred lines of responsibility. Key takeaways included how to spot early warning signs; legal, insurance, and standard of care traps when designers change midstream, technical risks for replacement designers stepping into someone else’s work; and practical strategies to manage damage, control costs, and protect your position.