By Christian Lunghi

For young lawyers, construction law may seem like a difficult field to enter. It has its own vocabulary, its own documents, and its own pace. Clients often want practical answers while a project is still moving, not abstract legal analysis after the dispute is fully formed. The work can feel technical, and the cast of players — owners, contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, material suppliers, sureties, and insurers — can seem intimidating at first.

But construction law is also a practice area in which young lawyers can become useful quickly. A construction practice is not built only by trying cases or arguing motions. It is built file by file, contract by contract, and client by client. Young lawyers develop in this field by learning how projects work, becoming fluent in the documents that drive them, and earning a reputation for giving clear, timely, practical advice.

The first step is learning the business of construction, not just the law of construction. A young lawyer does not need to be an engineer or a project manager, but it helps enormously to understand the life of a project. That means knowing what a pay application is, what an RFI is, what a submittal is, what a punch list is, and why schedules and change orders matter so much. Many disputes do not begin with a dramatic legal event. They begin with delayed approvals, incomplete design information, poor documentation, payment problems, and expectations that were never aligned. Clients tend to trust lawyers who understand what is actually happening on the project, not just what may happen later in court.

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By Joseph J. Garfunkel

In a case of first impression, the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Earnhardt Plumbing, LLC v. Thomas Builders, Inc., No. COA25-36 (N.C. Ct. App. Nov. 19, 2025) addressed whether a forum-selection clause using an “either-or” structure and granting one party discretion to choose the forum is mandatory or permissive under North Carolina law. In resolving that question, the court reaffirmed the strong preemptive force of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) over state statutes restricting out-of-state arbitration and clarified how North Carolina courts should interpret forum-selection clauses that do not use traditional exclusive language.

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By Christian Lunghi 

The nationwide noncompete ban is dead. In April 2024, the FTC tried to roll out a sweeping rule that would have voided most noncompetes across the country. Federal courts shut it down. A Texas court vacated the rule in August 2024 for lack of statutory authority, and another court enjoined it under the major-questions doctrine. Fast forward: on September 5, 2025, the FTC—by a 3–1 vote—dismissed its appeals in Ryan, LLC v. FTC and Properties of the Villages v. FTC. That formally ends the rule.

As a result, there is no federal ban in effect. Enforceability is back to what it was before: state law plus the usual contract and antitrust principles.

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By Christian Lunghi 

You’re a contractor. You landed the job, and it’s a solid one. Clear scope, decent margins, and your workers are ready to roll. You’ve blocked your schedule, lined up materials, and mobilized. Then the owner pulls the plug. Maybe they stopped paying, refused to proceed, or walked away. You have a signed contract in your hand promising payment, and you turned down other work expecting this project to move forward. What can you do? Can you recover the profit you were counting on?

I. Breach of Contract and Recovering Lost Profits

If an owner backs out or materially breaches a construction contract, North Carolina law generally allows the contractor to recover the profit they expected to earn on that contract. This is part of the standard “benefit of the bargain” damages for breach of contract. The goal is to put the contractor in the same position they would have occupied had the deal gone forward. In practice, the contractor’s lost profit is usually calculated as the contract price minus the costs the contractor would have incurred to complete the work. In other words, a contractor is entitled to the net profit (not gross revenue) they would have made, after accounting for expenses saved by not having to perform the job. For example, if a contractor had a $200,000 contract and it would have cost them $180,000 in labor, materials, and overhead to build the project, the lost profits (gross revenue) would be about $20,000. This assumes, of course, that the owner’s cancellation constitutes a breach (more on this below).

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By Todd A. Jones

Woodson claims are wrongful death tort actions arising from workplace injuries, typically brought outside the scope of workers’ compensation. Originating from the seminal case Woodson v. Rowland, 329 N.C. 330, 407 S.E.2d 222 (1991), these claims frequently arise in the context of construction accidents and involve egregious employer misconduct. Typically, parties injured at work can only bring claims under workers’ compensation, and not tort actions, such as for wrongful death. North Carolina recognizes a narrow exception that permits tort claims for workplace injuries caused by an employer’s intentional misconduct or “conduct that, while not categorized as an intentional tort, was nonetheless substantially certain to cause serious injury or death to the employee.” Valenzuela v. Pallet Express, Inc., 207 N.C. App. 364, 367, 700 S.E.2d 76, 79 (2010) (citing Whitaker v. Town of Scotland Neck, 357 N.C. 552, 556, 597 S.E.2d 665, 667 (2003)).

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