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Reposted with permission from Colorado Construction & Design, July/Aug 2026
From building a construction-focused law practice to mentoring the next generation, leadership today requires managing risk, expanding opportunity, and creating pathways for women across the construction and legal industries.
Building a Practice at the Intersection of Risk and Opportunity
As construction accelerates across Colorado, legal strategy is no longer a back-end function—it is shaping how projects are financed, structured, and built. The construction industry runs on momentum. Projects move fast, decisions happen in real time, and opportunities often outpace infrastructure.
Construction is legal, strategic, and financial all at once. As a construction lawyer, I focus on understanding my client’s business, structure, and risk tolerance. I add value as an advisor as strategic decisions are made, and I step in when issues arise to craft legal strategy and drive it through litigation to achieve the best outcome for my client.
Finding My Path in Construction Law
I didn’t set out to become a construction lawyer. Like many attorneys, I started in litigation, advocating for my clients in disputes after the facts were beyond my control and the problems had already escalated. But early in my career, a contractor client changed my trajectory.
He wanted me to work on a non-litigation problem for him, in an area of law I didn’t yet know. He told me, simply: “You’re my lawyer now. You’re going to figure this out.”
That moment forced me to learn the construction industry one legal issue and one project at a time. Construction clients don’t want abstract legal theory—they want solutions that work in the real world.
Recognizing that construction clients operate in a solutions-driven environment shaped by complex, evolving laws led me to co-found Galvanize Law Group with two women partners. Last year, as client demand and industry complexity grew, Galvanize made the decision to join Fennemore. Its entrepreneurial culture aligned with our values, and the platform allows us to scale—while maintaining the client-first, solutions-driven approach that defines construction law.
How Legal Risk Is Reshaping What Gets Built
One of the most significant forces influencing construction today isn’t design, labor, or even materials—it’s litigation risk. In Colorado, the impact of litigation risk is not abstract—it is measurable in project costs, insurance availability, and ultimately, whether a project gets built at all. Developers, insurers, and contractors are making more conservative decisions, particularly in sectors like condominiums, where defect litigation exposure and insurance challenges are most acute.
Recent research shows that insurance costs for condominium projects are now approximately 5.5% of total construction costs—more than triple that of comparable multifamily projects. That premium reflects the outsized risk associated with defect litigation in our state.
The downstream effect is significant. On a typical $400,000 to $500,000 unit, that insurance burden alone can add $20,000 to $30,000 per unit. Over time, those pressures have reshaped the market. Condominium development across Colorado’s Front Range has declined sharply, with production down roughly 70% to 75% compared to pre-2008 levels, and the number of active condo developers falling by more than 80% over the past decade and a half. This matters because condos are the entry point into the real estate market for many homeowners.
Preventing Problems Before They Start
Most construction disputes are not the result of a single issue. They build over time—often rooted in early-stage decisions that fail to account for risk or cost. The most effective contractors and subcontractors understand that risk management starts pre-build and continues even after completion.
Practical strategies make a measurable difference:
- Treat contracts as strategic tools
- Document in real time
- Address issues early
- Invest in education
- Use legal counsel proactively
The most expensive legal problem is the one you could have prevented.
Creating Space—and Lifting Others Up
More women than ever are stepping into ownership, executive, and decision-making roles in the construction industry. Their presence is not just changing who leads, but how leadership functions.
Women in construction and construction law often bring a strategic perspective grounded in collaboration and practical problem-solving. They approach risk with a long view, communicate across disciplines with clarity, and build consensus among stakeholders who may have competing priorities. In both the field and the courtroom, these attributes translate into stronger teams, more thoughtful decision-making, and more effective outcomes.
Leadership teams with varied perspectives are better positioned to anticipate challenges, evaluate risk, and adapt in a fast-moving construction environment.
As more women move into leadership roles, there is an opportunity to create space for others to do the same—not by asking them to fit a mold, but by supporting them as they develop their own approach to leadership. Some of the best advice I’ve received, and that I regularly repeat to both women lawyers and women design and construction professionals, is to learn to speak with your own authentic voice, be convicted in your ideas, and identify strategic ways to implement them. Lean on your network when you are stuck. Develop teams that can accomplish more as a whole than you can as an individual.
As co-chair of the Women of Construction for the American Subcontractors Association of Colorado, I lead programming that connects and elevates women across the trades. I also champion Hoya Foundation’s Transportation & Construction GIRL, which introduces young girls to careers in construction and engineering. Transportation & Construction GIRL solves for both the qualified labor shortage in the construction trades and also introduces girls, sometimes for the first time, to the idea that they can work in construction, make a good living, and be the breadwinner for their families.
Looking Ahead
Construction is evolving—and legal strategy is foundational to success. The projects that succeed will not just be the ones built efficiently, but the ones structured thoughtfully, protected proactively, and led with a clear understanding of risk.
But just as important as what we build is who is building it.
The future of construction will be shaped by leaders who not only understand complexity, but who create space for others to lead alongside them. For women in construction, that means not just entering the industry but defining it for themselves and the generation of women behind them.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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