zlien CEO to talk about subcontractor risks in Texas at ENR Construction Risk Summit, June 16

May 27, 2015 - PRLog -- NEW ORLEANS – May 27, 2015:  Scott Wolfe Jr., zlien’s CEO, is among select risk experts who will be speaking at ENR’s 3^rd Annual Construction Risk Summit, to be held June 16^th in Dallas.  Wolfe will be presenting on the subcontractors’ payment struggles and financial risk in Texas, with a specific focus on the mechanics lien remedy’s relevance in the bigger risk framework.  The session is titled “In Business Friendly Texas, Why Aren’t Subcontractors Dancing in the Streets,” and Wolfe will be joined by a panel moderated by ENR Editor Richard Korman, and consisting of Haley-Greer, Inc. President Letitia Haley Barker, Walker Engineering, Inc. Vice President of Human Resources Mike McAdams, and CEO of SkiHi Enterprises Ltd Richard Skipper.

Although Texas has statutes protecting subcontractors, such as the prompt payment statute, and may be generally business-friendly, subcontractors are saddled with risks passed down to them from general contractors, developers, and lenders.

“It’s natural for parties on a construction project to shift risk onto other parties, because everyone is interested in mitigating their various exposures” says Wolfe.  “But subcontractors are significantly protected against risk shifting contract provisions and tactics by the mechanics lien laws (http://www.zlien.com/mechanics-lien/resources-and-faqs/), which are a staple of American law, and is designed to completely protect subcontractors against financial risk.”

The good news for subcontractors is that mechanics lien laws can insulate them from financial risk. The bad news is that these laws are complicated and controversial.  This is especially true in Texas.

“Managing lien rights in Texas can get sticky,” says Wolfe.  “The laws are an absolute mess, and the tool is frequently misunderstood.”

Sometimes mismanaging Texas lien rights can simply cause a subcontractor to forfeit the remedy. Other times, however, mismanagement can actually create new financial risk exposure.  One topic on the table for the ENR Risk Summit is a recent Texas Supreme Court case about lien waivers, where Zachry Construction battled over $20 million because of a lien waiver’s language (http://www.zlien.com/articles/lien-waivers-cost-zachry-co...). This is an example at how lien rights can turn into lien nightmares, even for a subcontractor.

The 2015 ENR Summit will be held on Tuesday, June 16^th, 2015. The location is at the Dallas Marriott Las Colinas, located on 223 West Las Colinas Boulevard in Irving, Texas. This day long conference will begin at 8:30am and end at 6pm. Scott Wolfe Jr. will present 3:45pm-4:30pm. You can learn more about the ENRRisk Summit, and register to attend, at http://www.enrrisk.com, or follow #ENRRisk (http://www.twitter.com/hashtag/enrrisk/).

About zlien

Made with love in New Orleans, Louisiana, zlien is a cloud-based platform that gives construction industry participants control over their financial risk and payment processes. The zlien platform manages the mechanics lien compliance process for all parties in the contracting chain, automating and optimizing the exchange of preliminary notices, monitoring lien rights and exposure, and exchanging lien waivers. zlien empowers over 10,000 companies to optimize their credit and financial risk management, and works to promote a fair and transparent construction payment process, improve B2B relationships, facilitate faster payments, and reduce legal and financial risk.  For more information, visit http://www.zlien.com, or follow on twitter @zlienit (http://www.twitter.com/zlienit/)

Media Contact:
Cassandra Damascus
cassie@zlien.com
866-720-5436, x706