The construction law space has undergone a tumultuous time throughout the pandemic, with rising prices, supply chain issues and labour shortages creating a number of challenges.

“It’s really tough out there for industry, and it’s been a rollercoaster ride since COVID. It’s been one after the other, actually. So COVID has put a lot of stress on the supply chain. Materials are expensive. There are a lot of builders out there that are stuck on lump-sum contracts that can’t deliver for the price they’ve been contracted to, and that’s caused, again, insolvency. So, we are at a nine-year high in insolvencies right now,” Ms Rippon explained.

“On the flip side, you’ve got developers that have bought land at a very high price over the last few years, and now the feasibilities don’t stack up. They can’t actually make a profit. You’ve got a lot of regulation over the top of that, that industry is trying to grapple with at the same time. That regulation was well overdue, it’s needed, but in my view, it’s come at a time [when] industry’s already dealing with a lot of stress at the moment.

“We’ve got a housing shortage. We’ve got high migration coming through. The government’s trying to resolve how to increase approvals. So, it’s a perfect storm. And lawyers that are advising industry, they need to understand the stress in the market and that they need to work with clients.”

In this “perfect storm”, there are also a number of flow-on challenges for lawyers on the ground – and Ms Rippon said that in times like these, making sure her staff are prepared has been of high priority.

“I’m a big fan of ongoing continuing legal education. So, we’ve got a lunch and learn program that we roll out at Construction Legal. So once a month, we have external speakers come in and educate us on topical matters that are live in the industry at the moment. It could range from barristers; it could range from building experts, delay experts, programming experts, quantity surveyors, or just building companies. So, I think education and ongoing training is very important.

“I think having that direct client relationship is very important. Allowing the juniors to empower themselves to talk to clients, ring them up to say, ‘Hey, how are you doing? What is keeping you busy? What is keeping you worried at the moment? How can we help?’ And we also have a formal mentoring session. So once a month, all the lawyers can access all the senior members. They can access my time. I say to them, ‘Write down the issues or topics you want to learn about, and let’s have a breakfast session, and let’s unpack and let’s talk about them’,” she added.

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“We’ve got a flat structure and an open-door policy. I think it’s really important for young people to just be able to know that there are senior people there that are willing to help them. And it’s that ongoing client contact. They need to know what’s out there and what’s happening.”

Being both reactive and proactive in her approach has also allowed Ms Rippon to anticipate changes on the horizon and predict certain trends.

“I think once we ride this wave and the market turns for the better, I think [the construction industry] is going to come out of this better for it. There’s a huge push to change the way builders and developers think. And it’s all about improving quality. It’s all about trustworthiness to the end consumer. Consumers are very worried, and with the price of housing at the moment, a lot of consumers are going to be turning to apartments. And they’re worried about the quality of those apartments since Opal, since Mascot,” she explained.

“[But] the quality of construction is going to improve across the board. Consumers are going to get their confidence back, and we’re not going to have those buildings that are full of defects anymore. And then, we can focus on sustainable building and green building. And I think long term, it’s going to be better for all of us. That’s where I would like to see it going.”

But in terms of improving the quality within the industry moving forward, Ms Rippon added that “it’s fundamental that the mindset changes” for key players in the construction space.

“You’ve got a lot of industry participants. You’ve got certifiers, which are supposed to be the government’s eyes and ears during construction to make sure that the building is built properly. You’ve got the engineers that sign off on the core elements of a building. You’ve got the developers that promise the consumer that they will deliver a quality apartment for them. And then you’ve got the builder that manages all the subcontractors,” she said.

“So, every single key player needs to have education. They need to understand that building quality is extremely important. So, I think for me, education is a big part of it, and the government is improving the courses that are being offered in universities and the courses being offered at TAFE. So, if we start early with the apprentices, that should ripple right through the industry, and overall, we should see a strong change in the next five years.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Jessica Rippon, click below: