Construction - Queensland
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 Jay Leary would appear to have reaped the rewards of the energy and resources boom to present a possible generational change within the Queensland construction law market. Adding to the challenge of the above two are a range of relatively youthful practitioners in McInnes Wilson’s Josh Paffey, Hopgood Ganim’s Adam Carlton-Smith, Allens’ Ren Niemann and Blake’s new market entrant, Mark Disney.
3 Firms to Watch
Joanna Jenkins’ sabbatical may have raised a few peer eyebrows about Blake Dawson’s local commitment to a construction practice but, with the entrant of Melbourne product Mark Disney to fill the void clients would appear to have welcomed the “young and hungry” foreigner with open arms. If Disney and Jenkins can mesh Blake may well return as a significant force in the Queensland construction market.
With no end to the Queensland energy and resources boom in sight and the market’s most favourable client comments behind them expect young Freehills’ Partners Jay Leary and Hamish Macpherson to continue the firm’s impressive rise.
Bringing non-local talent into the Queensland market has historically provided a mixed bag of results. Thus, Norton Rose’s lure of former Vale General Counsel Rob Milbourne and former Pinsent Masons Partner Peter Borg will be watched closely. If the experiment works and the youthful combination of the two with emerging star Rechelle Brost can make headway then a significant new player in the Queensland market may well emerge.
Key Market Trends
Resources, resources…and more resources
The Queensland construction law market has been dominated by a move away from Government focused infrastructure to energy and resources dominant projects. Government infrastructure remains a key element of the market, but it’s energy and resources where the activity lies and money is to be made.
The rise of ECI….
A move away from infrastructure, and in particular water focused infrastructure would appear to have seen the sidelining of alliance contracting as the “It girl” of contracting models. Instead, both public and private principals alike appear to favour the Early Contractor Involvement model (ECI). The appetite for ECI would appear to be brought about by owners wanting a greater involvement in the planning stage of projects and less involvement in the construction stage. A new contracting model has had little effect on the volumes of workflows or, for that matter where the work goes to.
Property development on life support….
The ever turbulent Queensland high-density property development market, often a source of healthy reward for the state’s construction lawyers, remains dormant and, until such time as it gains breath would appear to be halting the charge of the mid-tier on the front end.
A streamlined back-end….
The Building & Construction Industry Payments Act’s (BCIPA) process driven nature and occasionally onerous timeframes have seen a number of mid-tier and smaller firms restructure and re-leverage their practice. First amongst these are the likes of DLA Phillips Fox, Holding Redlich and McCullough Robertson whose big firm, lower cost model continues to gain client favour. .
In-house teams building McMansions….
Perhaps the greatest challenge to established construction practices within the Queensland market are the increasingly sizeable in-house teams. Industry participants of all types and sizes have significantly bulked up their in-house legal teams and the “vanilla” legal work, often the bread and butter of a successful construction practice, is tougher to find these days.
Pricing
Despite the energy and resources boom, anything beyond $600 per hour for Partners was viewed as beyond both client expectations and what most would offer even before volume discounts. A Partner rate of $500 per hour was typically seen as acceptable on larger front and back end matters. Smaller and mid-tier firms dining on volume based BCIPA work felt comfort at around $400 for Partners with some heading as low as $300 per hour. Others, due to client demand worked on a retainer basis.
The above is an abridged version of the full report. Full editorial commentary can only be found in the print edition of Doyle's Guide to the Australian Legal Profession.
Please click through to see our listing of Queensland's leading law firms in the area of construction...>>
Please click through to see our listing of Queensland's leading lawyers in the area of construction...>>
Please click through to see our listing of Queensland's leading barristers in the area of construction...>> |
