Richard J. Davies

Rich specializes in representing engineers, architects, and other design professionals, as well as scientists and manufacturers of intricate products. He serves as their consultant and advocate, particularly focusing on risk management. This involves negotiating contracts, addressing potential project claims, and defending them in legal actions. Rich's cases often involve errors and omissions affecting various systems in industrial, commercial, and residential buildings, such as façade, structural, mechanical, plumbing, fire protection, and accessibility issues. He also handles claims related to schedule impacts, licensing prosecutions, and serious personal injury or wrongful death arising from construction projects. Rich frequently lectures on professional liability topics for engineers, architects, and other design professionals, covering licensing, contract negotiations, code requirements, design standards, copyright, and litigation avoidance. He is a Lecturer on Contracts and Risk Management for Thomas Jefferson University's College of Architecture and The Built Environment, Temple University's Tyler School of Art and Architecture, and Drexel University's Westphal College of Media Arts and Design.  Additionally, Rich and his partners are the Contributing Authors for the Pennsylvania section of the Cumulative Supplement of the State-By-State Guide to Design and Construction Contracts and Claims (Second Edition) published by Wolters Kluwer.Rich serves as Counsel to the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and The Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia.He serves on the Board of Directors of Design Philadelphia (formerly The Philadelphia Center for Architecture & Design), and served as its chairman for five years. In 2023 he joined the Board of the Community Design Collaborative, and in 2025 he became a member and Secretary of the Board of the Philadelphia Chapter of the AIA.Additionally, he contributes to the Legal Reform Task Force for the Government Affairs Committee of AIA’s Pennsylvania Chapter, working on legislative changes beneficial to the design community. Rich is a member of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Legal Counsel Forum, the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), and a Charter Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America (CLSA).