Justin Clay
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Construction Contract Lawyer for Contractors and Trades
Contracts built around how you actually bid, schedule, and invoice the work. For general contractors, subcontractors, and specialty trades in Iowa and Texas.
Over 500 entrepreneurs choose Surge.
Scroll to learn why!
Most contractors do not lose money on the work. They lose it on the paperwork around the work: a scope nobody wrote down, a change the customer swears was included, an invoice that sits unpaid because the contract never said when payment was due. A construction contract attorney fixes those gaps before the crew shows up.
What Business Owners Say About Working With Surge
Google reviews across Surge Business Law offices.
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Cassie Serrata
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Matt and his team are knowledgable, friendly and efficient. They helped me get my LLC up and running. Highly recommend his legal services for any small business owner.
Mo Yang
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Rated 5 out of 5 stars
He wasn’t trying to sell me something I didn’t need, but instead gave advice that was truly in my best interest.
Your Contract Should Match How You Actually Quote the Job
You already run estimates, change orders, and invoices out of a field platform like Jobber, ServiceTitan, or Housecall Pro. A contract that ignores that workflow gets ignored right back. Your crew keeps quoting the way they always have, and the signed agreement becomes a file nobody opens until there is a fight.
We write the agreement so it plugs into the system you already use. The estimate your software generates becomes the scope exhibit. Your change order screen becomes the written approval the contract requires. Your invoice schedule becomes the payment terms. One document, matched to the buttons your office manager is already pressing.
Surge Business Law is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a partner of Jobber, ServiceTitan, or Housecall Pro. We reference them because contractors use them.
What a Construction Contract Attorney Fixes
These are the clauses that decide whether a bad job costs you a weekend or a quarter. Get them right once and every job after that runs on the same paper.
1
Scope and Exclusions
What is in the price and, just as important, what is not. Site conditions, demo, haul-off, permits, and the work you assumed someone else was doing.
2
Change Orders
A written approval process the customer agreed to in advance, so extra work is billable instead of arguable. Verbal go-aheads are how contractors work for free.
3
Payment and Progress Billing
Draw schedules, deposit terms, invoice timing, late fees, and stop-work rights. If the contract does not say when you get paid, you get paid last.
4
Lien and Notice Rights
Iowa and Texas each run their own notice and lien systems with strict deadlines. We make sure the contract does not quietly waive rights you may need later.
5
Warranty and Callbacks
A defined warranty period, a defined remedy, and a limit on what a homeowner can demand two years after final payment.
6
Indemnity, Insurance, and Flow-Down
What you owe the party above you and what your subs owe you. Flow-down terms should match top to bottom, not leave you holding the middle.
How We Work With Contractors
Step 1
Free Consultation
Tell us what you build, who you sign with, and where the last job went sideways. We tell you what to fix first.
Step 2
Review What You Are Using Now
Most contractors already have something: a proposal template, a form from a supplier, a contract a GC handed them. We read it and tell you plainly where it leaves you exposed.
Step 3
Draft or Rebuild the Agreement
We build a prime contract, subcontract, or both, written for the state where the work is and matched to how your office bills.
Step 4
Roll It Out to the Crew
A contract only works if your team uses it. We hand you the document plus the short version of how to use it, so estimators and office staff apply it the same way every time.
Who We Work With
We work with owners who run crews, not with in-house legal departments. If you are bidding jobs, chasing retainage, and answering the phone yourself, this page is written for you.
General Contractors
Residential and light commercial builders who sign with owners on one side and subs on the other, and need those two sets of terms to line up.
Subcontractors
Trades signing a GC’s paper. We tell you which clauses to strike, which to negotiate, and which are worth walking away from.
Specialty Trades
Electrical, HVAC, plumbing, roofing, concrete, framing, drywall, landscaping, and remodeling shops running service and project work side by side.
Start With These, Free or Close to It
You do not have to hire anyone to start fixing this. These are the resources we point contractors to first. Work through them, then bring us the questions they raise.
Essential Contracts for Iowa Contractors
A course on contractor and subcontractor agreements for Iowa construction businesses. What the contract has to say, what to negotiate, and how to keep getting paid.
Texas Employer Startup Pack
Five hiring forms for Texas crews, with instructions. Offer form, independent contractor agreement, performance improvement pack, termination checklist, and a pay calculator.
Hiring Your First Worker
Your first hire is the highest-risk hire you will ever make. Classify correctly, paper it properly, and onboard without inheriting a misclassification problem.
Getting Paid Is a Deadline Problem
Iowa and Texas both give construction businesses tools to secure payment, and both attach strict timing rules to those tools. Miss a notice window and the leverage is gone regardless of how good the underlying claim was. Your contract should reinforce those deadlines rather than quietly sign them away, and someone in your office should know the calendar before a job goes bad.
Requirements differ by state, by project type, and by where you sit in the payment chain, so treat the general rules as a starting point and confirm the specifics for your job.
What This Costs
Construction contract work is priced as flat-fee drafting or a red flag review, the same way we price every other contract. Which one you need depends on whether you are writing the paper or signing someone else’s. We scope it and quote it before any work starts, so there is no hourly meter running while you decide.
Construction Contract FAQ
When should a contractor hire a construction contract lawyer?
Before you sign a contract someone else wrote, and before you roll out a proposal template you plan to use on every job. Those two moments set the terms for everything that follows. Calling after a customer stops paying is still worth doing, but by then you are working with whatever the paperwork already says.
I already have a proposal template. Is that a contract?
Usually not a complete one. Most contractor proposals cover price and a rough scope and stop there. They leave out change order procedure, payment timing, warranty limits, and what happens if the customer stops the job halfway. We can build those terms onto the proposal you already send so nothing about your quoting process has to change.
Do you work with subcontractors signing a general contractor's agreement?
Yes, and it is one of the most common calls we get. A GC's subcontract is drafted to move risk down the chain. We read it, tell you which clauses actually matter for the size of the job, and give you specific language to ask for instead of a vague list of concerns.
What states do you handle construction contracts in?
Iowa and Texas. Construction contracts are heavily state-specific, especially on licensing, notice requirements, lien rights, and what a residential customer has to be told before work begins. We stay in the states where we can give you a straight answer.
Does a construction contract attorney help with change orders?
That is often the highest-value part of the work. We build a written change order process into the agreement and set it up so your customer has already agreed to it at signing. Extra work then flows through a step your office controls instead of a hallway conversation nobody wrote down.
Will the contract work with my field software?
That is how we draft it. We reference your estimate, change order, and invoice records as the documents the contract runs on, so your existing workflow becomes the paper trail. We are not affiliated with any of those platforms. We just write around them because that is where your job data already lives.
Do I need one contract or several?
Most contractors need two: the agreement you sign with the customer, and the agreement you sign with your subs. Those need to line up so obligations you take on above do not exceed what you can pass through below. Service and warranty work often justifies a third, shorter form.
Talk Through Your Contract With a Construction Contract Lawyer
Book a free consultation. Bring the agreement you are using now, or the one a general contractor just sent you, and we will tell you where it leaves you exposed.