Legal departments: Your best defense against risk

By Emma Peterson. 

Trent Cotney shares actionable steps to protect your business, reduce risk and strengthen your bottom line. 

Join Megan Ellsworth and Trent Cotney for a discussion about how roofing companies’ legal departments are more than just overhead in a new Read Listen Watch® (RLW) on March 31, 2026 at 7:30 a.m. PT (10:30 a.m. ET).  

Trent is a lawyer who focuses his practice “on all aspects of construction litigation and arbitration, including OSHA defense, lien law, bond law, bid protests, and construction document review and drafting.” He is a partner at the Adams and Reese law firm, as well as their construction team lead. Additionally, he is general counsel for a variety of leading roofing associations in North America, including West Coast Roofing Contractors Association; Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Association; and National Women in Roofing. 

In this webinar, Trent leans on his almost three decades of roofing litigation and arbitration to explain how risk mitigation protects the gap between gross revenue and true take-home profit. Not only will attendees leave with a better understanding of how legal departments can protect and future-proof their businesses, but they will also be given actionable steps and practices for starting the process in their company, such as:  

• A guide to key documentation for every job site manager to have at hand 
• Best practices when it comes to roofing contract formation and clauses 
• Warrant specifications and exceptions to be aware of  
• Best tips to managing liability in relations to subcontractors 
• How to prepare your team for OSHA inspections 

Overall, the legal side of roofing might not always be the most engaging part of running a roofing business, but it can be a key driver of profitability. If you want to learn practical, profit-driving legal strategies that will not only protect your company but help it thrive, this is the webinar for you.  

Register today to listen to Trent and Heidi’s live discussion on March 25, 2026 at 11 a.m. PT (2 p.m. ET).