What's it like working as a construction lawyer?

When I was studying law, there was very little insight into construction law as a career — it wasn't offered as a course, and career fairs featured the "sexier" areas like M&A, banking and corporate litigation. Which is a shame: construction lawyers play an important role in all our lives (the roads, hospitals, apartments and offices came from somewhere), the careers are relatively stable, and they're usually in high demand.

General commercial law questions

Why did you choose commercial law?

I realised early at university that I learned better on the job than from textbooks, so I built up experience across sectors — criminal law, community legal centres, in-house, government and private practice. I enjoyed commercial law most: an active pace of work and learning, a variety of clients and projects, and colleagues who are intelligent, ambitious and switched on. It's an environment where I feel challenged and have opportunities to get involved.

Did you consider any other career paths?

Not a specific one — I was lucky to find a good fit early. That said, I've always enjoyed a side project, from renting out graduation gowns to selling travel equipment online, and now creating how-to content and webinars for young lawyers.

What does it mean to work as a commercial lawyer in practice?

My biggest misconception was that lawyers are mainly concerned with a technically perfect legal product. That matters, but it's only one part of the job — the modern lawyer wears many hats (project manager, salesperson, mentor, manager, customer service) and needs to understand technology and financials. That's actually freeing: being the technically perfect savant is only one way to succeed, so there are multiple ways to play to your strengths.

Construction law questions

What does your average week or month look like?

As a front-end construction lawyer, it depends on the projects — usually a reasonable 9am to 6:30pm, with the occasional run of late nights or weekends at the urgent stages. One good thing about construction is that clients are generally realistic about timeframes. Outside client work, I'm involved in business development, knowledge management, and preparing training.

What responsibilities can you expect?

A front-end lawyer helps clients deliver projects on time, on budget, at quality, and without unreasonable risk — preparing practical advice, amending project documents, and identifying and mitigating risk. A back-end lawyer handles disputes (commonly defects, delays and payment) — fact-finding and research, liaising with experts and barristers, preparing evidence, and assisting in dispute resolution (expert determination, adjudication, arbitration, mediation, court).

Talk me through a matter you can disclose.

From late 2019 to early the following year, intense bushfires destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. My team assisted the contractor appointed to coordinate the first phase of recovery works in NSW. Beyond the normal lawyer work (understanding the contract and legal risks), our focus wasn't the commercial outcomes but community engagement, handling residents' personal data, the COVID response, and communications with government. It was great to see everyone working to help recovering communities — one of the "warm and fuzzy" projects.

What are some highlights?

Mostly moments where I realised how much I'd learned and felt I could actually succeed — running a client presentation on a contracts topic and fielding their questions (and knowing the answers), and being seconded into a client's legal team without the safety net of multiple reviewers.

Best aspects of construction law?

Working on sector-specific rather than area-of-law-specific work — you collaborate more closely with clients and get exposure to a range of issues (contracts, torts, WHS, environment, finance, IP, insurance) instead of being pigeonholed. Clients are practical and logical (often with commercial, engineering or finance backgrounds), and you can see real impact — a new wharf, or a road project that saved people time.

What skills are required?

Commercial awareness especially, because you're servicing a sector — the terminology, how businesses operate and make money, the types of work (demolition, services, construction, design, maintenance) and their risks. On the technical side, a level of rigour and discipline: reviewing and drafting 200-page contracts, research on fact-heavy cases, and understanding the commercial documents. It can feel overwhelming, but seeing the big picture and how much you learn over time is rewarding.

Any tips for qualifying in this area?

Be genuinely enthusiastic about learning the construction industry itself — understand the clients, the work they do, and the real impact on people. Appreciate that these aren't one-off transactions but long-term projects with complex relationships and lasting results. Once you have that in mind, the legal work becomes far more interesting and makes more sense.