West Virginia Seminar Schedule

SPEAKER: DUANE BROWN, P.E.,P.S.

This  course will include historical information on how projects were  completed (e.g., data gathering & compilation, calculations, plan  preparation, presentation,  and approval process), current issues and challenges (lack of  historical perspective, liability & ethical issues, increasing  complexity - regulations, involved parties, construction process,  financing, and client relationships), and trends for the future  (education, over-confidence  in technology, dealing with the morass of regulatory controls, building  & maintaining relationships, and protecting the  health/safety/welfare of the public).  Examples will be given from historical G.L.O and U.S.C.&G.S.  surveys.  Opinions will be offered on retracement survey methods in  metes-and-bounds tracts and platted subdivisions. Suggestions will be  provided on job set-up, record indexing & retrieval, plan &  drawing preparation, and establishing reliable survey procedures.

SPEAKER: GARY KENT, P.S.     

 Responding to Risk Management Issues

· Focusing on Serving the Client by Managing Risk

· General Rules for Creating Effective Contract Language

· Types of Surveys and Standards

· Practice Management

· List of Issues

· Certifications

· Dispute Avoidance/Dispute Resolutions

· Electronic Information Transfer

· Environmental Hazards

· Insurance Requirements

· Risk Allocation

SPEAKER: GARY KENT, P.S.

This program will begin with a brief look at the types of projects and actions that result in the most claims against surveyors, and how big those claims typically are.   The program will then explore how a company can organize and manage itself to help avoid such claims.  From there, the focus will shift to serving as a consulting or expert witness for which there are many facets, ranging from assessing whether the surveyor should even accept the assignment in the first place, to providing actual testimony in court.  This program will look at the considerations that need to be dealt with as the surveyor proceeds along the litigation path as an expert or consulting witness.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this program, the participant will be able to…

1. List the primary sources of claims in surveying

2. Outline strategies for avoiding claims

3. Explain the role of the consultant and of the expert witness

4. Outline important elements related to providing expert reports, depositions and expert testimony