If hindsight is 20/20, then the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Construction Industry captured the vision at its annual meeting, held April 24-26 in La Quinta, Calif. Nearly 400 participants from around the country converged at La Quinta Resort and Spa to participate in the conference, titled, “Don’t Tell Me What I Should Have Done—What Do I Do Now? Confronting the Unexpected.”

While temperatures outside the desert venue passed the 100-degree mark, panelists were in the hot seat to deliver strategies to deal with challenges innate to the construction process. Plenary topics included the hidden dangers of latent defects, handling fast-track litigation processes, responding to catastrophic accidents, media relations, termination impacts on rights, immigration investigations, bid errors and counsel disqualifications.

The conference included an award ceremony in which Ava Abramowitz was awarded the forum’s Cornerstone Award for her educational contributions to the practice of construction law. The Cornerstone Award is the forum’s highest honor.

The Forum’s fall meeting, at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago on Sept. 11 and 12, will focus on ConsensusDOCS, a set of construction contract documents that has garnered a lot of attention since its introduction last year. Registration opens in July.