When: Thursday, October 22nd. 2026 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Where: Maggiano's Little Italy Grand: 516 N Clark St. Chicago, IL 60654
Event Agenda:
5:00 pm: Networking & Heavy hors d'oeuvres - visit tabletop sponsors and socialize with members
5:30 pm: Welcome & Chapter Announcements
6:00 pm (approx.): Educational Presentation
6:30 pm: Open discussion & questions
7:00 pm: End of event
Anatomy of the A201: Construction Administration, the Coming 2027 Rewrite, and What AI Might Change
Jeremy S. Baker of Baker Law Group LLC returns to CSI Chicago for a high-level tour of AIA Document A201-2017, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction — the document he has taught in the chapter’s CDT course every year since 2022 — and then a broader discussion of what artificial intelligence is doing to design and construction practice.
The A201 is the connective tissue of the traditional project, incorporated by reference into both the Owner-Contractor and Owner-Architect agreements, yet rarely read start to finish. It refers to the Contractor more than 500 times, the Owner more than 350 times, and the Architect nearly 300 times, and nearly every reference assigns a duty, a deadline, or a decision. Jeremy will walk its structure and the construction administration provisions that most often determine who answers for a problem. The A201 is revised on a ten-year cycle, and a 2027 edition is coming.
From there the session opens into a wider conversation about artificial intelligence, with the A201 as the launching point rather than the boundary. Imagine a contractor running every bid document through a chatbot and issuing an RFI for each inconsistency it reports: hundreds of them, generated in minutes and answered over weeks. Jeremy is an avid user of AI rather than an expert in it — multiple platforms daily, web-based and open weight models alike — and attendees are encouraged to bring their own examples.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain the role AIA Document A201-2017 plays among the Owner, the Contractor, and the lead design professional, and why the General Conditions govern the construction phase even though the Architect is not a party to the Owner-Contractor agreement.
- Identify the A201 provisions governing the construction administration tasks now being performed with AI assistance — requests for information, submittal review, interpretations, and certificates for payment — and the standards of promptness, impartiality, and limited purpose each imposes.
- Discuss how responsibility, the standard of care, and professional liability coverage are affected when AI tools take on work that the contracts assume a person will do.
- Investigate what the coming 2027 edition of the A201 will require of design and construction professionals, and what to be asking now about intellectual property and the use of AI in preparing Instruments of Service.
Note: This session is offered for general information. It is not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by attendance.
Presenter:
Jeremy S. Baker
Baker Law Group LLC
www.designbuildlaw.com
312-621-7184
Jeremy S. Baker, a Chicago-based construction attorney licensed to practice law in Arizona, Illinois, and Wyoming, founded Baker Law Group LLC in 2019 after 14 years at Schiff Hardin LLP, where he was a partner and a member of its national Construction Law practice. He has lectured at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and, as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, he taught an elective Construction Law course through its Center for Real Estate Law. Jeremy’s practice involves construction project structuring across many project delivery methods, plus contract review and negotiation, and dispute resolution. Since 2015, he has served as a Liaison to the AIA’s Contract Documents Committee, which prepares its widely-used AIA contract forms. Jeremy has prosecuted and defended lawsuits in over 30 state and federal court venues, and in many arbitrations, but he prefers to help clients complete challenging construction projects through dispute avoidance and early, cost-efficient resolution of claims – including with mediation. Jeremy is a graduate of the Tulane University Law School (2002) and the University of California, Santa Barbara (1999). In 2020, he was inducted as a member of the Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys. He can be reached at www.designbuildlaw.com or 312-621-7184.
Registration Cost
(Includes heavy hors d'oeuvres and 1 drink ticket)
Registration closes 2 days before the event or when capacity is met. Event space is limited to the first 40 registered attendees. Registration is refundable up to 7 days before the event.
- CSI Member = $60
- CSI Non-Member = $75
Sponsor Opportunities
Table Top Sponsorship – $375 Partners | $500 Non-Partners
Promote your company directly to CSI Chicago members and guests with a tabletop display during the event. This sponsorship provides an excellent opportunity to showcase your products, services, and expertise to industry professionals.
Benefits:
- Tabletop setup during networking time prior to dinner.
- Collection of attendee business card through designated tabletop raffle (prize supplied by CSI Chicago).
- Contact information provided in pre-event reminder email and post event follow up email to all registered attendees. (Includes: Company, Rep Name, Title, Phone, Email, Website Link).
- Verbal acknowledgement of tabletop participation at event welcome.