Orlando partner Elizabeth Green was quoted in the March 12, 2010, Orlando Business Journal article, "Construction Slowdown Slams Local Firms."
According to the article, Florida lost 41 percent of its construction jobs from peak construction employment in 2006 through December 2009 and some companies that have been mainstays in the local development industry have been affected by the lack of work in recent months.
One such company, according to the article, is the engineering firm Professional Engineering Consultants Inc. (PEC). In early February the firm filed for what's known as "an assignment for the benefit of its creditors." An assignment, which is similar to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, takes place at the state court level—bankruptcy is filed at the federal court—and is less expensive for a small firm with few assets to liquidate, said Green, PEC's representative in the case.
Although not many other local construction-related firms have filed for such assignments, Green said struggling firms are looking at all the options. "More than 50 percent of my practice is doing workouts, to either close the business or find a way to keep it operating. They were good businesses that had been around for 30 or 40 years, but they're not generating enough income to pay operating expenses," she said.