Tarassoly Law Group, PC

Comprehensive Legal Services for Construction Cases

At Tarassoly Law Group, PC, we provide expert legal support for every aspect of construction law. Whether you’re managing a large-scale project or dealing with complex disputes, our experienced team is here to guide you through legal challenges with a focus on protecting your interests and minimizing risks.

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Construction

We are attorneys/engineers/contractors (A, B, and HAZ) specializing in construction law. As your lawyers, in addition to legally representing you, we simultaneously bring over 25 years of experience in the technical design and construction of public and private projects. No other construction law firm can provide you with our specialized background in both law and technical engineering/construction fields; we are uniquely qualified to provide our clients with sound legal advice as well as a technical expert evaluation of their construction claims.

This dual expertise provides our clients with an early understanding of the technical strength of their cases, leading to a definite financial and legal strategic advantage. Typical construction attorneys are neither qualified nor authorized to evaluate the technical aspects of a client's claim and can only rely on the advice of their technical expert witnesses, which are usually assigned in later phases of litigation at high costs to their clients. At The Tarassoly Law Group, PC, our ability to assess the technicality of a claim and relate it to a client's legal rights at the very early stages of a dispute clarifies not only the strength of the client's position but also eliminates the opposing party's potentially frivolous claims.

With decades of active participation in the engineering and construction fields, we have connections with the most qualified expert witnesses with different specialties, which we are able to leverage as needed to support our clients' claims successfully.

In large construction disputes, when teams of expert engineers, architects, and contractors are involved, our founder and lead attorney, Dr. Vida Tarassoly oversees and directs the team of technical experts to ensure proper coordination among the different disciplines to achieve the necessary results to support your legal claims.

We represent developers, general contractors and subcontractors, material suppliers, architects, and engineers, providing technically supported legal advice, including litigation, arbitration, and mediation of construction defects, design defects, errors and omissions, delay claims, review and draft of contracts, assistance with the permitting process, California Contractor's License Board interface, stop notice services, issues relating to violations of the SB800 Right to Repair Act and more.

"Being experts in the engineering and construction fields, the attorneys at The Tarassoly Law Group, PC, have the unique ability to effectively evaluate the technical strength of your claim as well as your legal stance in your construction dispute. Our technical insight into your dispute gives us an advantage over the opposing attorneys. When we take on your case, you simultaneously get to have an attorney and a technical expert by your side."

Vida Tarassoly, Ph.D., P.E., S.E.
Licensed Civil/Structural Engineer and Registered Contractor, A&B
Attorney at Law

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Professional Liability

Our founder, Dr. Tarassoly, holds a Ph.D. in structural engineering from the University of Southern California. Since 1982, Dr. Tarassoly has been a licensed civil and structural engineer and an active member of the Structural Engineer's Association of Southern California. She is the president of Rubicon Engineering Corporation, a civil/structural/environmental engineering firm located in Tustin, California.

Because of our technical expertise, we lead our technical experts.

At The Tarassoly Law Group, PC, we most effectively represent engineers, architects, design professionals, developers, builders, and homeowners in the dual capacities of attorneys and technical experts in legal disputes involving the assessment of potential design deficiencies, determination of the sufficiency of project drawings and specifications, and analysis of the structural integrity and seismic resistance of buildings. We most effectively represent engineers, architects, design professionals, developers, builders, and homeowners in the dual capacities of attorneys and technical experts. In our legal representations, we incorporate our technical knowledge to assess the validity of the complaints made against our clients and to support their claims against the other potentially liable parties.

"In professional liability disputes, attorneys are not privy to the full significance of technical evidence until later in the litigation process, when experts are retained. As attorneys/engineers, we not only protect your legal rights but also provide you with the technical support you need to advance your claim from the beginning of your representation.”

Vida Tarassoly, Ph.D., P.E., S.E.

Licensed Civil/Structural Engineer and Registered Contractor, A&B, and HAZ

Attorney at Law

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Environmental

Since 2004, Dr. Tarassoly has served as the president of Rubicon Engineering Corporation, an environmental engineering firm in California that provides a full spectrum of environmental services, including litigation support and expert witness services, to the public and private sectors, including Fortune 500 companies. Environmental disputes can be some of the costliest legal actions.

From credibility with the regulating agencies to the capability to perform highly technical computer modeling and cost allocation studies, the competency of your technical experts could secure the success of your legal team. Through our immediate access to Rubicon's technical staff, at The Tarassoly Law Group, PC, we offer our clients a wealth of technical and engineering expertise to assist in the technical assessment of our clients' environmental legal disputes relating to mold and toxic exposures, soil and groundwater contamination, regulatory compliance, and clean-up cost allocations.

One of the most important requirements for developing a winning legal strategy in an environmental dispute is having competent and experienced experts. Having the continual support of our own engineering firm, Rubicon's environmental experts, right from the start and every step of the way is a valuable advantage, making it possible for The Tarassoly Law Group, PC to tailor the technical support needed for your legal success.

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Mediation And Dispute Resolution

Mediation is a private process wherein a neutral third party, called a mediator, helps the parties discuss and attempt to resolve their dispute. Ordinarily, in facilitative style mediation, mediators do not interject their own opinions and merely facilitate and encourage the disputants to explore each other's complaints and reach their own voluntary solution.

However, as an attorney/engineer/contractor, Dr. Vida Tarassoly can assess disputed matters technically and legally. Therefore, as a mediator, without compromising our neutral position, we provide an evaluative style of mediation through which, in addition to focusing on the underlying interests of the parties, we help them assess the technical and legal merits of their arguments and reach fair and realistic settlements.

As certified and experienced mediators, we are avid proponents of mediation and dispute resolution before resorting to litigation. Dr. Tarassoly is an approved Dispute Resolution Board Member for the California Department of Transportation and a 2017 invited member of the Pepperdine Mediation Inn of Court.​

“I am an avid proponent of mediation. Litigation is an expensive process that can be very emotional. It must be only considered as the last resort. Before committing my clients to the litigation process, I do everything in my power to negotiate the case outside of the courtroom.“

Vida Tarassoly, Ph.D., P.E., S.E.
Licensed Civil/Structural Engineer and Registered Contractor, A&B
Attorney at Law

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Construction Claims Management

In an ongoing fast-paced construction world, it is essential to identify and mitigate potential disputes among the parties and quickly resolve them to avoid costly delays. The experienced attorneys/engineers/contractors at The Tarassoly Law Group, knowledgeable with both legal and technical intricacies of construction practice, assist our clients with dispute mitigation and resolution to better facilitate project progress.

A member of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation, Dr. Tarassoly is approved by the California Department of Transportation (“Caltrans”) to serve as a Caltrans Dispute Resolution Board Member for the mitigation and resolution of disputes arising in the course of ongoing construction projects.

Our Construction Claims and Dispute Management services include:

  • Promote partnering among the parties;
  • Identify elements of the project design and construction likely to give rise to disputes and claims;
  • Review legal documents and collect the coverage and loss information;
  • Inspect project sites, review construction drawings, and assess causes of damage;
  • Provide an expert opinion from a technical and engineering perspective pertaining to construction defects and professional liability;
  • Conduct mediation and settlement conferences as necessary;
  • Provide dispute resolution advisory services and issue recommendations;
  • Develop litigation plans, track and control legal expenses, and reach cost-effective resolutions.