The hired gun of the Old West would work for a cattle rancher to chase off homesteaders or protect a widow. Today’s hired guns are for-profit experts that will say what you want for a fee. Their gunfight is litigation that either attacks or defends. Today’s mercenaries are not quick draws—instead, they present arguments and expertise on the issue of what is the defect and who is to blame. The complexity of construction makes this a growing field. Materials, systems and codes are far more complex and most errors are harmless and unintentional. Like the hired gun of the Old West who worked for the cattle baron to push out the widow, the hired gun does not care about what is just. He is simply paid to stop, detain or kill the opposition.
The second reason that hired guns are so popular is that contractors have not changed. Most contractors believe they already know all about their craft, the rules and how codes impact them. Hired guns can and do exploit that fact. Ultimately, the contractor’s insurance company must step in and retain a hired gun to defend them.