Practice area
Construction and Contract
Collections, mechanic's liens, contract negotiation and disputes, handled through litigation, mediation or arbitration.
Chapter 01
Where a construction or contract dispute turns
Most of these disputes start small: an invoice that goes unpaid past its due date, a change in scope that nobody wrote down, a lien deadline that approaches quietly while the work is still going on. By the time two sides are arguing, the paper trail is what decides who stands on firmer ground.
Contractors, suppliers and subcontractors tend to feel it as a cash problem. Owners and businesses feel it as a contract problem, with a deliverable that doesn't match the agreement or a payment demand they didn't expect. Either way, someone has to read the contract and the timeline together.
Rolled blueprints and a white hard hat on a site-office table
How the firm handles collections, liens and contract fights
Cornerstone Law Group's construction and contract practice covers collections, mechanic's liens, and contract negotiation and disputes. A matter that can be settled across a table gets negotiated. One that can't goes to litigation, mediation or arbitration, whichever the situation calls for.
The lawyers are trial lawyers who appear in Virginia courts almost daily, so a demand letter comes from a firm used to being in the room. The firm also runs a business itself. Sometimes the goal is to get paid; sometimes it is to keep a working relationship intact. The approach follows the goal.
Chapter 03
What to bring, and what happens next
Bring the contract and every change to it, invoices and payment records, change orders, emails and texts about the job, and a short list of dates: when work started, when it stopped, and when you were last paid. Lien and filing deadlines are strict, so the dates matter as much as the paper.
The first consultation is free. Call (540) 898-8881 to reach the Fredericksburg office. You'll leave with a clearer sense of your options, whether that is a letter, a lien, mediation or a filing, and the firm's business lawyers can take it from there.
Cornerstone Law Group also runs a business itself, and the firm says that helps it understand your goals and needs.
Four rooms
A dispute can be settled in any of these.
See also the firm’s mediation practice and business law.
- Negotiation
- The lawyers talk and the contract sits on the table. Many collection and contract matters begin and end here.
- Mediation
- A neutral helps both sides look for terms. The firm serves as the neutral or represents you in the room.
- Arbitration
- A private decision-maker hears both sides and rules, usually because the contract sent the dispute there.
- Litigation
- A filing, a court and, if needed, a judge or jury. The firm's lawyers are in Virginia courts almost daily.