CTI Lawyers is a specialist Construction and Workplace Relations law firm born in the grassroots of the construction industry in Western Sydney. Now a national firm with offices across Australia, CTI Lawyers has a growing footprint, along with a growing track record excellence for our clients, including taking on the biggest names in the industry – and winning.
Where we come from
Our roots trace back to 2010, when our practice was established to provide legal services to the National Electrical and Communications Association.
Evolving from within one of Australia’s most respected electrotechnology industry associations gave us something that most law firms simply cannot replicate: a deep, working knowledge of the construction sectors from the inside. When we are getting to know you and your business, we already know construction and what it means to be a contractor in the construction industry.
In 2016, CTI Lawyers was born to expand our reach beyond NECA, opening access to our specialized industry specific legal services to anyone who needed them. What has never changed is our commitment to the trades — the brave subcontractors and businesses that are willing to build this country on their own, yet are too often left exposed on the fine print and when disputes arise.
With its flagship office in the Sydney trade capital of Chullora, CTI Lawyers knows its roots and represents its clients directly from where the next generation of men and women in the construction industry learn their trade, where governments are lobbied, and the cause of contractors is championed.
What we do
CTI Lawyers does what it does best: construction contracts and disputes and workplace relations law.
Construction Law
It is not what we do but how we do it. Our construction team led by Frank Brown is driven by one over-riding objective: winning our clients the best protection and the best outcome in any dispute.
We understand you don’t want to need a lawyer. So we are here to make it count when you do.
Contracts and project documentation
- Reviewing, amending and negotiating standard-form contracts, including:
- Design and construct contracts: AS 4902 and GC21
- Construct-only contracts: AS 2124 and AS 4000
- Design-and-install and supply-and-install contracts: AS 4910
- Subcontracts and consultancy agreements
- Drafting bespoke construction contracts, subcontracts, consultancy agreements and supply agreements
Construction claims and disputes
- Security of Payment matters throughout Australia, including:
- Payment claims and payment schedules
- Adjudication applications and responses
- Enforcement and challenges of adjudication determinations
- Construction contract disputes, including:
- Unpaid work, variations and restitutionary claims
- Delay, extensions of time and liquidated damages
- Termination and breach-of-contract claims
- Defect and damages claims, including defending contractors and consultants in court proceedings
Licensing and regulatory
- Builder, contractor and trade licensing applications and disputes
- Regulatory investigations, disciplinary proceedings and prosecutions
- Building, home warranty and industry compliance advice
Our Construction practice also focuses on general commercial legal issues, ranging from assisting with transactions, documenting agreements, and registering interests to all manner of contract disputes.
Workplace Relations
Workplace relation is an important part of every business, with inadequate enterprise agreements, contracts and policies, workplace disputes, industrial activities, and workforce compliance issues derailing even the most well-run business.
Our workplace relations practice is built specifically for the construction and trades sector, where the regulatory environment is uniquely complex and specialised knowledge and experience is tantamount to good outcomes for your business.
Our workplace relations team supports its clients with:
- Award and legislative interpretation
- Employee benefits and entitlements
- Employee agreements and policies
- Enterprise agreements
- Employee management
- Performance management
- Termination and redundancy management
- Legal representation
- Discrimination and harassment
- Industrial relations
- Managing ill and injured employees
- Workplace health and safety
- Workplace investigations
- Dispute resolution
- Workplace training
- Advice on employment issues
Our People
CTI Lawyers is built on the expertise and commitment of a tight-knit team of legal professionals who specialise exclusively in construction and workplace relations law. Our team has decades of combined experience and a decade combined working together. Good teams work well together, and work well for you. We work as one, and our whole team is in the trenches with you from day one.
Frank Brown – Partner, Construction & Commercial
Frank leads our construction and commercial law practice and brings deep expertise in construction and engineering which started at MinterEllisonRuddWatts in New Zealand, transferred to Norton Rose Fulbright in Sydney and settled here at CTI Lawyers. He has never spent a day of his career practising any other area of law than construction law. With 6 years at top tier firms, representing top tier contractors, territorial authorities and developers, he knows how the industry ticks from the inside, and all the way up the food chain, because he was there. His trackrecord of results at CTI Lawyers representing subcontractor trades against major contractors and large law firms has made him one of the most impressive construction lawyers in the country. For lawyers on the other side, he can really spoil an afternoon. For clients, we think you’ll quite like him. Read Frank’s full profile.
Lisa Carey – Partner, Workplace Relations
Lisa heads our workplace relations practice, advising clients on the full spectrum of workplace matters, enterprise agreements, industrial disputes, and employment compliance within the trade sectors. Her command of the Fair Work framework and her industry-specific focus sets her apart from generalist practitioners. Read Lisa’s full profile.
Our broader team also includes:
- Kay Yun — Associate, Construction
- Leona Li — Solicitor
- Farah Rainey — Senior Associate
- Katrina Rigby — Senior Paralegal
- Aram Al-Badri — Senior Paralegal
Our National Footprint
Construction disputes do not stop at state borders, and neither do we. CTI Lawyers operates nationally, providing specialist construction law and workplace relations advice across:
- New South Wales (NSW)
- Western Australia (WA)
- Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
- Queensland (QLD)
- Tasmania (TAS)
- South Australia (SA)
- Northern Territory (NT)
- Victoria (VIC)
Wherever your business operates — and wherever a dispute arises — our team is equipped to represent you.
Ready to talk to a specialist?
If you are a subcontractor navigating a payment dispute, a contractual conflict, or a workplace relations challenge, do not wait until the situation escalates. The sooner you get the right legal advice, the stronger your position will be.
CTI Lawyers is ready to help.
Contact us today on 02 9021 9699 or submit your enquiry here.
