TABLE OF I CONTENTS ENGINEERING NC. M A R C H / A P R I L 2005 V o l . 16, No. 2 F E AT U R E S 10 C OV E R STORY 14 A PERFECT LEGAL STORM 10 Engineering firms are falling prey to out-of-control lawsuit abuse. By Alan D. Crockett IS THERE AN ENGINEER IN THE HOUSE? 14 A boom in medical construc- tion is the right prescription for some firms. By Dana Wilkie THE ABCS OF ESOPS 18 Employee stock ownership 18 plans are making ownership succession a success. By Daniel Rome Levine ACEC/PAC DONATIONS BREAK ALL-TIME A P WIDE WORLD RECORD 22 Seven states reach 2004 goals. INTERVIEW WITH F. JAMES ACEC ROUNDTABLE 27 SENSENBRENNER, JR. 12 Addressing the nation's water The House Judiciary Committee Chairman says legal reform supply needs is more critical will be a top priority in the just-convened 109th Congress. than ever. Edited by Melanie D.G. Kaplan COVER PHOTO BY JURGEN VOGT/GETTY IMAGES D E PA R T M E N T S 4 FROM ACEC TO YOU 2 LEGISL ATIVE ACTION 8 Liability reform goes to the front burner. Proposed tax regulations follow ACEC rec- ommendations; Bush budget sets TEA-21 funding at $284 billion; ACEC at White ASK MEMBERS 3 House. Members talk about their greatest engineering challenges, and how they met them. MEMBERS IN THE NEWS 32 L E S T E R LEFKOWITZ/GETTY IMAGES Ear th Tech wins EPA prize; ARCADIS soars NEWS & NOTES 4 with a Phoenix. ACEC's Senior Executives Institute is 10 years old and going strong; engineering on TV. ONE ON ONE 36 Syska & Hennessy's John Magliano says the MARKET WATCH 5 engineering industry is under great financial Industr y changes since 1992 magnified by pressure because of frivolous lawsuits. the lens of the Economic Census. Engineering Inc. promotes the advocacy and business interests of ACEC by offering news, legislative analysis and business practice information to member firms, clients, opinion leaders and policy makers. The articles and editorials appearing in this magazine do not represent an official ACEC position or policy unless specifically identified as doing so.