Construction
Ben Cotter
Ben is an experienced construction lawyer with more than ten years’ experience acting for clients in both transactions and disputes in both the public and private sectors. He acts for asset owners, developers, contractors, consultants and financiers in respect of construction, engineering and infrastructure projects.
With a grounding in property law and planning law, Ben is proactive in identifying and addressing potential issues before they become problematic. He is pragmatic, clear, and concise, and always looks to achieve commercially sound outcomes for his clients.
His experience includes drafting and negotiating a range of agreements including construction contracts, consultancy agreements, project development agreements and supply contracts (with and without installation).
Ben also regularly assists clients in administering their contracts and advises clients in relation to claims and disputes arising from their projects (including security of payment claims).
Mark Dessi
Mark specialises in the construction, energy and infrastructure sectors and is the lead partner in the firms energy practice.
Mark acts for owners, developers, project companies and contractors on a range of projects across numerous industry sectors including energy, water, manufacturing, PPP and social housing.
Kristy Dorney
Kristy has over 20 years' experience advising the property investment industry with a focus on development and construction projects, leasing and tenant disputes and property management generally.
She advises property investors, fund managers, asset and property managers, developers, and financiers on matters such as joint venture arrangements, development management agreements, fund through arrangements, construction contracts and regulatory compliance, tripartite agreements, solar installation, cladding remediation, embedded network compliance, retail shop lease legislation compliance, sustainability matters and redevelopment projects, including tenant management, relocation, and dispute resolution.
Kristy regularly advises on enforcement of leases, construction contracts, and other real estate contracts. Her experience also includes construction and real estate disputes
Stefan Fenk
Stefan has over 10 years’ experience in construction, engineering and infrastructure law and previously acted in commercial litigation cases including, amongst other things, international litigation cases with aspects of European Union competition law for clients in Australia and Germany.
Prior to joining Hall & Wilcox in 2022, Stefan worked for top-tier and leading legal practices in Australia specialising in construction dispute resolution. Stefan has acted in an array of large-scale project disputes, arbitrations, expert determinations, adjudications, mediations and facilitated negotiations.
Stefan is admitted as a solicitor of the High Court of Australia and Supreme Court of NSW.
Stefan has been recognised by his clients for his drive to quickly understand the commercial aspects, the construction issues and the legal framework to enable his clients to focus on the successful delivery of a project and enabling his clients to avoid or mitigate disputes and lengthy litigation.
Also, acting regularly for major contractors and developers, Stefan has an astute understanding of the legal and commercial framework in which his clients operate and has a track record of providing advice and dispute resolution strategies which assist project teams to successfully deliver projects within budget and on time.
Kathryn Howard
Kathryn leads the Public Sector industry group at Hall & Wilcox, and is a partner in our Commercial Dispute Resolution.
Kathryn is a senior commercial disputes specialist, having practised in Melbourne, Tokyo and London. Her areas of expertise include commercial disputes, alternative dispute resolution, administrative law and public law.
Emma Leys
Emma has over 25 years’ experience practising in the areas of non-contentious property, finance, corporate, commercial and local government law, with a focus on property law.
Emma acts for a broad range of private, corporate, institutional, local government, State Government department, and statutory corporation clients.
Before joining Hall & Wilcox, Emma was a partner of the property and commercial team of Western Australian firm Kott Gunning for 16 years.
Since 2019, Emma has been a committee member of the Property Council of Australia, WA Division Commercial Committee.
Catie Moore
Catie is a projects and infrastructure lawyer with over 25 years’ experience, specialising in energy, transport and infrastructure projects. She has advised and acted for both the public and private sector on large construction, procurement and outsourcing projects, including projects delivered as public private partnerships.
Catie also has considerable experience in a broad range of areas including commercial contracts, logistics and supply contracts, legal advisory, property, competition law (ACCC matters), restructuring, joint ventures and M&A (including FIRB and ASIC).
Her knowledge has been acquired from a variety of roles, as a partner in major international and Australian law firms and as General Counsel where she has provided strategic and commercial advice across a range of Australian and international projects.
Katrina Reye
Katrina practises principally in the areas of commercial law and property law and development. She has advised many local government bodies, and the private sector, in relation to major property developments and property related issues including land due diligence, multi-million dollar purchases and sales, commercial and retail leasing, licensing, compulsory acquisitions, easements, restrictive covenants, public private partnerships and Crown land matters.
Katrina’s clients include a number of government and institutional clients including Newcastle Airport Limited, Lake Macquarie City Council, McCloy Group, Compass Housing, Port Stephens Council, Hunter Development Corporation, Hunter Water Corporation, Newcastle Permanent Building Society and Ausgrid (formerly EnergyAustralia).
Admitted as a solicitor in 2004, Katrina was awarded numerous awards throughout her university career, including the Evatt Medal (awarded for the best performance in the Bachelor of Law course). In recognition of her experience in commercial property, Katrina was invited to be a member of the Hunter Chapter of the Property Council of Australia and has been a member of the Committee since 2011. Katrina is the sole legal representative on the Committee.
Shaun Whittaker
Shaun specialises in new economy transactions revolving around social infrastructure, technology and impact investment.
He has extensive experience advising on the structuring, delivery and financing of various social and affordable housing projects, build-to-rent projects, specialist disability accommodation (SDA) projects, hospital and healthcare projects, childcare facilities and technology platforms integrating with these sectors.
Shaun’s clients benefit from his considerable projects and finance expertise. He regularly advises on bankability risks in infrastructure projects, with particular experience in capital grants, impact investment funding, alternative debt funding and subsidised arrangements. His experience in structuring, joint ventures, corporate, investment and finance enables him to provide ‘whole of project’ solutions to clients.
Shaun has a deep understanding of the political, commercial and regulatory issues around funding and delivery of successful new businesses and projects, drawing on his experience acting for public and private entities, including not-for-profit and startup enterprises, to provide a holistic service to clients.
Team Services
Construction is the third largest industry in Australia generating over $360 billion in revenue and producing 9% of Australia’s GDP. Our Construction team guides clients through the challenges of front and back-end construction issues.
We understand the issues, risks and opportunities across a broad range of sectors including commercial, residential, health care, energy, resources, utilities, transport and social infrastructure, including NDIS projects and PPPs.
We advise a wide range of clients including institutional and private developers, builders, consultants, financiers, state and local governments, hospitals, health and aged care providers, and owners, operators and developers of transport, energy and utility infrastructure. Our clients trust and benefit from our expertise and commercial insight, and can be confident that they’re getting the best advice for the best value.