This is the inaugural edition of the newsletter for the new Construction Law Section Council that was created this past year by the ISBA Board of Governors. The section has been in existence as a Special Committee on Construction Law for the past two years. I am fortunate to serve as the Chair this past year, following up on the hard work done by many people over not only the past two years when the Special Committee was lead by the current newsletter editor Samuel Levine but the work of so many to establish to the ISBA governing board of the interest in this area of the law.

There are many to thank for their hard work, the members of the Special Committee, the current section council members, all those that have participated in the CLE programs that have been put on over these past 2½ years.

The committee and section have put on two major CLE programs each of the years. During the past six months the CLE programs have been an overview of mechanics lien and construction law issues and were presented at Southern Illinois University Law School in Carbondale, and the same program was presented again at Northern Illinois University School of Law in DeKalb. Both programs were well attended and I believe well received. On June 24, 2011 the Section will be sponsoring another CLE program, Issues in Illinois Public Construction Contracting in Bloomington, IL.

The section council reviews relevant legislation and appears before various legislative committees concerning the legislation if appropriate.

This is the first newsletter, which has been named “Building Knowledge.” We encourage submission of articles related to the construction industry process and anyone who either has an article or wants to submit an article should contact Samuel Levine, the newsletter editor.

Construction projects deal with a myriad of legal issues, not merely contract and tort but issues of labor law, government regulation, alternative dispute resolution, environmental law, intellectual property issues, and on and on. The new section will attempt to bring together these various legal issues as related to the area of construction.

During the next membership cycle you will have the opportunity to join the new section council, participate in the listserv, and receive the newsletter. For those of you wanting to become active you can write for the newsletter and seek appointment to the section. ■

Howard W. Feldman

Chair

Construction Law Section Counsel.