In-House Legal Counsel - Construction

About the role

A long-established specialist construction subcontractor delivering projects across Australia is creating a dedicated in-house Legal Counsel role, moving from part-time handling of its contract work to a single person taking ownership from day one. The position is hands-on, with direct access to senior management and real influence over how contractual risk is managed. It suits a construction or commercial lawyer with 3 to 10+ years' PQE who wants responsibility, autonomy and a stable, practical role.

Key responsibilities

• Review and negotiate D&C subcontracts with main contractors
• Prepare departure tables, draft special conditions and negotiate contractual amendments
• Identify, assess and mitigate contractual risks
• Review warranties, deeds and other associated documents
• Manage negotiations through to final agreement and execution
• Develop and implement internal commercial risk assessment and approval procedures
• Run internal project contractual risk review meetings
• Report to management on negotiation progress, outstanding issues, material risks and matters needing approval or escalation
• Brief and manage external legal advisers on complex or specialist matters, including their advice and costs

Required profile

• Admitted lawyer with 3 to 10+ years' PQE and a current practising certificate permitting unsupervised in-house practice
• Sound knowledge of construction contract conditions, typical subcontract departures and risk allocation
• Experience acting for construction subcontractors is advantageous; façade industry experience is not required

Required skills

• Strong drafting, negotiation and communication skills
• Practical commercial judgement and a level-headed approach to resolving contractual issues
• Able to work independently and set up practical internal processes

What we offer

• Salary to suit your experience, plus superannuation
• Permanent full-time, or permanent part-time at 3-5 days per week
• Based at the Botany head office, working on-site initially
• Genuine autonomy to build and run the legal function, with direct access to senior management

To apply, send your CV to the recruiter advertising the role, who will arrange a confidential discussion.