Baker McKenzie has brought onboard Melanie Harwood as a new construction partner in Brisbane, responding to the market’s growing demand.
“The [construction] market has become more complex with the continued push into new sectors such as renewable energy and technology builds like data centres. Our clients are confronted with greater competition to win and maintain work in all sectors of the construction industry. They need high quality and responsive legal support,” Emanuel Confos, partner and head of construction at Baker McKenzie, told Asia Business Law Journal.
Harwood has joined from MPC Kinetic, an infrastructure services provider, where she held the role of general counsel, leading critical infrastructure projects in the wind and battery sectors.
Confos has noted that Harwood’s appointment comes amid rapid growth in the firm’s Brisbane practice, which anticipates drawing heavily on her comprehensive experience in infrastructure and energy projects. Harwood has worked across transportation, health, power, water and renewables. She brings expertise in delivery models such as public-private partnerships, alliancing, engineering, procurement, and construction and incentivised target cost models.
