Werner Sabo is a partner at the construction law firm of Sabo & Zahn in Chicago. He is also a licensed architect, having practiced architecture for a number of years prior to establishing his law practice in 1981. He is a member of the AIA and CSI, has been an officer and director of the Chicago Chapter AIA, President of the Chicago Chapter, Construction Specifications Institute, and writes a monthly construction law column for The Construction Specifier. He is also a founding member of the Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys. In 1997, the AIA elected him to the College of Fellows. His book, Legal Guide to AIA Documents, published by Aspen Publishing, is in its fourth edition. Mr. Sabo is also a construction arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association and is admitted to the federal trial bar.
James K. Zahn is a licensed architect and attorney in the State of Illinois. He is a partner in the law firm of Sabo & Zahn, concentrating in construction law and representing owners, contractors, architects, developers, engineers and other parties in the construction process. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Illinois and his JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law. Mr. Zahn is a member of the American, Illinois and Chicago bar associations, American Institute of Architects, Association of Licensed Architects, Construction Specifications Institute and has NCARB Certification. He was a past president of the Illinois Council of the American Institute of Architects and is a Fellow of both the American Institute of Architects and the Association of Licensed Architects. He is currently a resource member of the AIA National Documents Committee.
Shawn E. Goodman is a partner with Sabo & Zahn. He concentrates in litigation of all types. A graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law, he was admitted to the bar 1993. Since that time, he has practiced before local and outlying circuit courts, U.S. District Court, and various administrative tribunals. He has acted on behalf of a variety of clients including small to mid-sized businesses and individuals. He has handled all facets of litigation from pleading to motion practice to discovery to trial. The cases with which he has been involved are varied and wide-ranging and include personal injury, breach of contract, criminal defense, commercial disputes, and consumer fraud. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants and has practiced before juries as well as judges. Mr. Goodman has also worked on appeals and has assisted in the drafting of appellate briefs.
This article appeared in the Chicago Tribune on May 3, 2005:
Emil L. Larson would have been 104 years old in 2001, so state regulators found it unlikely when drawings for new construction were submitted that year with his name on them.
On paper, Larson had been a prolific architect into his 90s and 100s--his name or seal was on 28 projects, from new houses and six-flats to commercial space.
In fact, Larson had died in 1993 at the age of 96 in Arizona, where he had lived for about 25 years. But the buildings kept coming because someone else was using his name, architectural license and stamp to submit drawings, according to state documents.
John Pavlovich, 67, of Lake Forest, a draftsman who allegedly appropriated his former boss' professional identity, was hit with a $250,000 state fine, the largest against an individual that Department of Financial and Professional Regulation officials could recall Monday.
The alleged scheme was uncovered in 2001 and has been working its way through regulators and hearing rooms ever since.
"The story was very sad, I thought," said Steven Weiss, an architect who testified in 2003 that Pavlovich's drawings required the stamp of a licensed architect. "This guy didn't have any other way to make a living other than doing this."
When suspicious investigators stopped by Pavlovich's Lake Forest office, Pavlovich explained that Larson was away on vacation, according to a recent report on the matter.
When the inspectors came back a second time, Pavlovich said Larson was in Mexico and wanted to retire. In 2001, he turned over Larson's seal and license, according to the state.
Pavlovich's attorney is fighting the allegations and the fine, saying the state is being excessive and the buildings are sound.
Pavlovich was employed by Larson in the late 1960s or early 1970s, according to state documents.
Between October 1996, when Pavlovich allegedly renewed Larson's license, and June 2001, when state officials became suspicious, Pavlovich allegedly drew up plans for 28 projects.
He apparently used designs crafted by his onetime boss. "The buildings structurally were recycled plans Larson had actually designed, primarily from the '50s and '60s," said Susan Hofer, spokeswoman for the Department of Professional Regulation.
"Larson designed a lot of buildings and Pavlovich was basically redoing the facades and the exteriors. The plans themselves were structurally sound because they had been done by a real architect."
The Chicago Building Department approved all of the plans submitted by Pavlovich for the 28 structures, Hofer said.
