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GC joins Baker McKenzie’s construction team
Global law firm Baker McKenzie has appointed the former general counsel and company secretary at MPC Kinetic as a new partner in its construction practice in Brisbane.
Jerome Doraisamy
Melanie Harwood has joined Baker McKenzie in its growing construction practice. She will be based in the firm’s Brisbane office.
She has come across from MPC Kinetic, where she advised on essential infrastructure services and solutions, including for large-scale wind and battery projects. She also brings, the firm said, expertise across infrastructure sectors comprising transportation, renewables (wind, solar, battery storage, hydrogen), water, waste, and health.
The news follows the firm’s mid-year promotions, in which 18 professionals were elevated to more senior roles, including three to the partnership.
Speaking about the appointment, Bakers national managing partner Anne-Marie Allgrove said: “Melanie is a market-leading construction lawyer, with a career spanning in-house and private practice, both in Australia and the Middle East, across a large range of industry sectors, including transportation, health, power, water, and renewables. We are thrilled to have her join our Brisbane office.”
The firm’s head of construction, Emanuel Confos, said: “Melanie joins us at a time of significant growth in our Brisbane practice, which will draw heavily on her extensive experience advising clients on major infrastructure and energy projects around the world.”
Harwood said: “Baker McKenzie is at the forefront of growing the digital infrastructure of the future. A firm that has led the market in supporting [its] clients’ advancement in AI, cloud computing and big data processing (i.e. data centres), along with the requisite renewable energy production, transmission, and storage infrastructure.”
“It’s well known as a firm [that] is regularly called upon to advise major companies on their energy transition plans and hence knows, perhaps more than any other, how to support clients build and secure the sustainable infrastructure of tomorrow.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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