About Our Firm
Baker Merz Construction Lawyers – trading as Construction.Lawyer (ABN 40 650 782 317) – is Australia\'s only RICS-regulated construction law firm and the only legal practice in this country where every lawyer is also a qualified engineer. We did not set out to build an ordinary law firm. We built the firm we wished existed when we were running major construction projects across Australia and around the world – a practice where legal advice is grounded in first-hand project experience, where technical fluency is not outsourced to external consultants, and where clients never have to explain how a construction site works to their lawyer.
Our story is not the story of lawyers who decided to specialise in construction. It is the story of construction professionals – engineers, project managers, and quantity surveyors – who recognised that the legal advice available to the industry was fundamentally disconnected from the technical realities of building. We became lawyers to close that gap, and the result is something no other Australian practice can replicate: dual-qualified Engineer-Lawyers who understand both the technical complexity of construction and the legal frameworks that govern it. When we review a delay claim under AS4000, we do not need an external scheduler to explain the critical path methodology – we have administered those schedules ourselves on live projects.
With offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Darwin, we advise clients across every Australian jurisdiction and in international arbitration centres worldwide. Our approach is always technically rigorous, commercially pragmatic, and focused on achieving the best possible outcome for our clients.
Our History
The origins of Baker Merz Construction Lawyers can be traced back to the early 2000s, when our founder Albert Merolla was working as a senior engineer and project manager on some of Australia\'s most complex construction and infrastructure projects. Having spent decades navigating the technical challenges of major developments – from heavy rail corridors to mining process plants to defence facilities – Albert became increasingly frustrated with the quality of legal advice available to construction professionals. Time and again, he found himself explaining fundamental construction concepts to lawyers who were supposedly advising on multi-million dollar disputes.
The pivotal moment came when Albert was managing a major infrastructure project and found himself caught in a complex contractual dispute. The law firm engaged to advise spent weeks briefing external engineers simply to understand the project, racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees before any meaningful legal advice was delivered. It was in that moment that the vision for our firm crystallised: a construction law practice where the lawyers already understood the technical issues, because they had lived them.
Albert made the decision to study law while continuing his engineering practice, completing his Juris Doctor through the University of Southern Queensland while maintaining senior roles on active construction projects. The evolution of the Construction.Lawyer brand was a deliberate strategic decision. While Baker Merz Construction Lawyers remains our formal legal entity, we adopted the Construction.Lawyer trading name because it embodies everything we stand for: directness, clarity, and an unambiguous focus on our area of expertise.
Our Team
Albert Merolla JD – Principal and Chief Executive Officer
Albert Merolla is the Chief Executive Officer and Principal of Baker Merz Construction Lawyers. His career spans more than three decades at the intersection of construction and law, and his qualifications reflect a depth of expertise that is genuinely unique in the Australian legal market. He holds the following professional designations: MCIBSE (Member of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers), MRICS (Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), MAIPM (Member of Australian Institute of Project Management), and DJUR (Doctor of Jurisprudence). He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a practising solicitor of the Queensland Law Society.
Albert\'s early career was spent in senior engineering roles on some of Australia\'s most significant construction and infrastructure projects. His decision to study law was not made lightly – it came after years of observing the disconnect between legal advice and technical reality on the projects he was managing. The creation of the engineer-lawyer model that defines our firm was Albert\'s direct response to the market gap he had experienced.
Notable matters in Albert\'s career include the defence of a $40 million temporary detours claim on a major infrastructure project, where his combined engineering and legal analysis identified a fundamental contractual flaw that saved the client millions. He has acted in proceedings before the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), and has advised on disputes in Riyadh and Santiago. His project experience covers landmark projects including the Star City Casino development and the Chifley Tower, major heavy rail and metro projects, wind farm and solar installations across multiple jurisdictions, iron ore and gold mining operations, and defence facilities for the Australian Army.
Our Support Team and Collaborative Approach
Beyond our principal, our team includes paralegals, legal assistants, and administrative staff who share our commitment to technical excellence and client service. Every member of our team understands that construction law is not a generic legal discipline – it requires familiarity with industry terminology, an appreciation of project delivery methodologies, and an awareness of the commercial pressures that drive construction disputes. Our collaborative approach means that matters are reviewed collectively, with input from multiple team members to ensure that no technical detail is overlooked.
Why We Chose Construction Law
The decision to focus exclusively on construction law was not made for commercial reasons alone – it was born from a genuine conviction that the construction industry deserved better legal representation than it was receiving. The gap we saw in the market was stark: construction is one of the most litigious industries in Australia, yet the lawyers advising on construction disputes frequently lacked the technical background to understand the matters they were handling.
Traditional law firms handling construction matters compound these problems with their business models. They bill by the hour, which creates an incentive to maximise time spent rather than achieve efficient outcomes. They engage external experts at additional cost to the client, then charge further hours to manage and translate those expert engagements. Our vision was for a better model: a firm where technical knowledge is in-house, where advice is delivered efficiently because we do not need to learn the basics of construction for every new matter, and where our recommendations are driven by the client\'s commercial interests rather than our revenue targets.
The results we have achieved for our clients validate this approach. We have resolved disputes in weeks that other firms predicted would take years. We have identified contractual defences that traditional lawyers missed because they did not understand the technical context. We have saved clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in expert fees by providing technical analysis internally.
Our Unique Approach – Engineer-Lawyers in Practice
The difference between an engineer-lawyer and a traditional construction lawyer is not merely academic. It manifests in every aspect of how we advise our clients, from the speed of our initial assessments to the sophistication of our technical arguments. The construction industry is governed by complex technical standards – Australian Standards, RICS guidance notes, CIBSE codes, project-specific specifications – and disputes frequently turn on whether these standards have been met.
Consider a typical scenario: a contractor approaches us with a claim for additional costs arising from alleged design errors. A traditional law firm would review the contract and then engage an external engineer to advise on whether the design was defective, whether the methodology was reasonable, and whether the costs were justified. That engagement might take weeks and cost tens of thousands – and the lawyer would still depend on someone else to understand the technical issues.
We handle that same matter entirely internally. Our engineer-lawyers read the drawings, assess the construction methodology, and evaluate the quantum – all while simultaneously analysing the contractual entitlement, the notice requirements under clause 41 of AS4000, and the evidentiary standards for adjudication under the BIF Act or litigation in the Supreme Court. The result is faster advice, lower cost, and technical arguments integrated with legal strategy from the very outset.
The $40 Million Temporary Detours Claim illustrates this perfectly. We were engaged to review a claim for additional costs arising from temporary traffic detours on a major infrastructure project – a claim exceeding $40 million supported by extensive technical documentation. Within days, our engineer-lawyers identified a fundamental flaw in the contractual basis of the claim. This insight saved our client millions in settlement exposure.
Our Credentials and Memberships
Our professional credentials are not decorations. They are regulated qualifications that impose ongoing obligations of competence, ethics, and continuing professional development – giving our clients confidence that the advice they receive meets the highest standards.
We hold Queensland Law Society practising certificates, which authorise us to practise as solicitors in Queensland and subject us to rigorous professional standards. We are regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) – the global professional body that sets standards for the built environment profession. Baker Merz Construction Lawyers is the only law firm in Australia regulated by RICS.
Our principal and senior lawyers hold Chartered Engineer (CEng) status through the Engineering Council, recognising the highest level of engineering competence. Our membership of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) reflects our deep technical knowledge of building services. We are members of the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) and hold registrations with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC).
Our Values
Professionalism and integrity are the foundation of everything we do. Our clients come to us at moments of significant commercial stress – when a dispute is threatening a project, when payment has been withheld, when a contract has gone wrong. They need advisors they can trust absolutely. We do not overstate the merits of a position to win work, advise litigation when negotiation would serve better, or promise outcomes we cannot deliver.
Technical excellence is non-negotiable because construction disputes are won and lost on technical detail. A delay claim that misunderstands the critical path will fail. A defects claim that misidentifies causation will be demolished under cross-examination. A payment claim that gets the reference date wrong under the BIF Act will be dismissed for jurisdictional error. We get these details right because we understand the technical issues ourselves.
Client-focused outcomes means we measure success by what we achieve for our clients, not by hours billed. If a $5 million dispute can be settled for $3 million in a week, that may be a better outcome than spending two years and $1 million to achieve a $4.5 million judgment. We advise on the full range of resolution options – negotiation, mediation, adjudication, arbitration, and litigation – and recommend the path that best serves our client\'s commercial objectives.
Continuous learning is essential in a field where law, technology, and industry practice constantly evolve. We stay current with legislative changes – amendments to the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld), developments under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 2000, new QBCC regulatory requirements – and with technical developments in scheduling software, building information modelling, and construction methodology.
Client Success Stories
Case Study: The Subcontractor and the $800,000 Backcharge Dispute
Jameson Civil Pty Ltd, a mid-tier civil subcontractor based in Queensland, was engaged to perform earthworks and drainage on a major residential subdivision project. Upon completion, the head contractor issued a final payment schedule containing backcharges totalling $800,000 – a sum that exceeded the entire contract value. Their initial lawyers had advised that the matter would need to proceed to litigation and had quoted six-figure legal fees just to get to trial.
When Jameson Civil engaged us, our engineer-lawyers immediately reviewed the backcharge schedule against the contract documents and the physical works. Our technical assessment revealed that the majority of the backcharges were either unsupported by the contract terms or related to defects that were not visible upon proper inspection. We commenced adjudication proceedings under the BIF Act and simultaneously prepared for litigation in the Queensland Supreme Court. Within eight weeks, the adjudicator determined in our client\'s favour on the majority of the backcharges, reducing the $800,000 claim to $50,000 – a reduction of more than ninety percent.
Case Study: Defending a $5 Million Delay Claim
Metropolitan Developments Pty Ltd, the developer of a $200 million mixed-use tower in Brisbane\'s inner suburbs, was facing a $5 million delay claim from their head contractor. The developer\'s previous lawyers had advised that the claim had merit and recommended a negotiated settlement in the range of $3 million to $4 million.
When Metropolitan Developments engaged us, we conducted a detailed review of the project records. Our engineer-lawyers identified several critical weaknesses in the contractor\'s delay analysis. The critical path methodology used by the contractor\'s scheduler was fundamentally flawed: activities that were not actually on the critical path had been included. We also identified $1.2 million in counterclaims for liquidated damages and defective work. The matter settled at mediation for $200,000 – a fraction of the original claim.
Community and Industry Involvement
Our commitment to the construction industry extends beyond our client work. We maintain active memberships in leading industry associations including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM), and the Queensland Law Society Construction and Infrastructure Law Committee. Our principal and senior lawyers are regularly invited to speak at industry conferences, seminars, and professional development events on topics ranging from BIF Act compliance to delay claim preparation to contract risk allocation under NEC4 and AS4000.
We are committed to pro bono work for deserving causes within the construction community, particularly for subcontractors and small contractors who have been the victims of unfair payment practices. We also mentor young engineers and law students who are interested in construction law as a career.
Working With Us
When you contact us, your enquiry is handled directly by a lawyer – not by a receptionist or intake clerk. During our initial consultation, which we offer without obligation, we listen to your situation, ask the technical questions that matter, and provide an immediate preliminary assessment of your position. Because we understand construction, we can usually identify the key issues within the first conversation.
We communicate in plain English, not legal jargon. We respond to emails and phone calls within one business day as a matter of policy, and we provide regular updates on matter progress so that you are never left wondering what is happening with your case. We offer both fixed-fee and time-based billing arrangements, and we are transparent about costs from the outset.
What makes working with us different is the immediate sense that your lawyer understands your world. You will not need to explain what a progress claim is, or how retention monies work, or why the reference date matters under the BIF Act. We know these things because we have administered them ourselves. That shared understanding creates a rapport and an efficiency that transforms the lawyer-client relationship from a transactional service into a genuine partnership.
Contact Us
Whether you are a principal preparing to tender a major infrastructure project, a contractor facing a payment dispute under the BIF Act, a homeowner concerned about defects under the Domestic Building Contracts Act, or a developer defending a delay claim on a commercial project, our dual-qualified engineer-lawyers can help.
Call us today on 1300 710 864 or book a consultation online. Our offices are in Brisbane (Suite 140, 167 Eagle Street, Brisbane QLD 4000), Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Darwin.