Blake Dawson leads the way nationally in our Native Title wrap...

Resources booms in Queensland and Western Australia have more than any other factor resulted in a healthy level of activity within the area of Native Title.  A host of new energy projects moving from concept to implementation has seen the volume of “future act” based work rise dramtically Importantly the increasingly linear nature of the projects has seen native title expertise as a critical element in project delivery.  As well the concept of native title continues to evolve in tandem with a growing awareness of what and when each large project ill deliver to various right holding bodies.  As such the area of native title continues to both become increasingly specialised and interact more closely with other practice groups in larger commercial firms. 

Further, the Federal Court’s flexing of muscle in relation to its new powers has also seen many longstanding matters move towards resolution, particularly in jurisdictions such as Queensland. 

Across all jurisdictions an overwhelming trend was a difficulty in identifying the stronger lawyers within both government entities and the various bodies representing indigenous rights holders.  Much of this was attributed to the comparatively high staff turnover of individuals within these respective entities.>>

Clayton Utz topping the QLD construction market...

The Queensland construction law market largely remains the preserve of larger national firms who principally due to the recent energy and resources boom have managed to obtain instructions on any such related major project work.

Within the larger nationals a hair's breath separates our firm rankings on front end matters but Clayton Utz's back tier capabilitiess set it apart from peers. The "nimble mind" of Arch Fletcher on the front end and the "esoteric style" of Dale Brackin in back end matters are the drivers behind Clayton Utz's dominance.

Amongst other stronger front end practices, the likes of Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Freehills, Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Minter Ellison all drew strong support. Veteran Ian Briggs, the state's premier authority on alliance contracting, continues to head the pack and his one time protégé Scott Budd appears to have made every post a winner at Mallesons Stephen Jaques. The first mover advantage of DLA Phillips Fox's Roger Quick on ECI contracting is not to be discounted, while Corrs' Peter Schenk and Freehills' Jay Leary would appear to have reaped the rewards of the energy and resources boom. >>

Specialist firms make an impact in the SA construction market ...

The South Australian construction legal market's volume of work, particularly in relation to non-contentious matters, has remained steady largely due to a combination of government stimulus packages, energy and resources work as well as a better than expected level of activity by developers and other principals.

Were it not for the trend of larger resources entities and, inexplicably, even many of the state government entities to retain the services of the practitioners within the East Coast offices of larger national firms, the state's construction lawyers would have been busier still.

South Australia's construction litigation market has historically been somewhat more subdued than other Australian states. Market dynamics, in particular a limited pool of work and head contractors, has traditionally seen parties less likely to resort to litigation.

Amongst the state's construction practices, two construction specialists lead the charge. The contrasting styles of Victor Daminato at Crawford Legal and Robert Fenwick Elliott at Fenwick Elliott Grace gained a clean sweep on front end matters.>>