SUCCESSOR DESIGN PROFESSIONAL
It is likely that at some point in your career, you will be asked to replace another design professional on a project. While the thrill of new opportunities and donning your superhero cape to save a project in distress provide significant motivations, this role is messy and carries with it substantial risk. The intention of this article is to provide guidance to best protect you – the successor design professional.
Before signing on, it is critical that you take a thorough look “under the hood” to understand the project and the issues precipitating replacement. The most efficient path is to seek the Client’s permission to speak with your potential predecessor. This interaction will likely provide key insight into the specific complexities of the project, any impediments to completion and also any payment issues. Rejection by the Client of this proposition should be seen as a red flag. In either event, you will need to perform sufficient due diligence so that you are comfortable that you understand the requirements of, and any issues with, the project and can complete it within the time period required. If so, you will likely be required to rely on information and documentation prepared by your predecessor. This inherently raises serious liability and intellectual property issues which need to be addressed.
Parachuting into a partially completed project places the design professional at an informational disadvantage. Since you were not onboard from inception, you did not have the opportunity to investigate and confirm specific details. Consequently, you will be required to make, and act on, a number of assumptions, each of which carry varying levels of risk. These are risks that should not be borne by you. The following two contractual provisions seek to address and correctly apportion this risk. First, the contract should contain an “Information Provided by Others” provision expressing that the design professional is entitled to rely upon the accuracy and completeness of documents or information provided by the by the owner, including the information provided by the predecessor design professional and their agents, without any obligation for the design professional to perform an independent investigation.
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