Design-Professional Liability: Two Frameworks
The service of an architect, designer or consulting engineer legally sits between two frameworks. On the one hand, it is a result of labor — in the form of a contract of work: under it the contractor undertakes to perform the work contemplated by the contract, and the customer must pay the agreed remuneration. On the other hand, it is a service — in the form of a contract of mandate: under it the mandatary must carry out one or several acts entrusted to it in the name and at the expense of the mandator.
In practice a design professional's contract often contains both elements: delivery of a result (drawings, a project, documentation) and conduct of a process (consultation, coordination, supervision). The correct model of liability is built precisely on this distinction — and defining it is the first step in drafting the contract.