Recruitment within construction/infrastructure in-house teams has been subdued over the past six months. This, however, belies the activity within these teams. Most in-house teams are being pushed to their limits as companies expect more for less – and this isn’t a situation restricted to the construction industry! Competition between companies to win work is fierce and turnaround times for tenders are tight.

Most of the construction/infrastructure teams are seeking approval for an increased head count to meet the greater demands placed on their teams. However, management continues to cite ‘market uncertainty’ to justify postponing recruitment. The exception to this has been in Western Australia and Queensland where in-house legal teams have been beefed up, particularly with project lawyers to work specifically on large gas projects.

As in-house teams are being stretched, companies have been forced to send work externally, and as a result, private practice construction teams are busy. At EA International, we expect the situation to shortly reach a tipping point where there will be sufficient ‘market certainty’ together with external legal cost pressures and large state infrastructure projects (North-West Rail Link/Port Botany etc) that will push in-house legal teams – and management – to recruit. When this happens there will be a rush for talented construction lawyers.

If you are considering making such a transition, please get in contact with one of our in-house consultants on +61 2 9266 2900 for a confidential discussion about your career.

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