Recently appointed counsel rejoins global law firm from Pinsent Masons
Global law firm Clifford Chance has announced the expansion of its international construction group through the establishment of a transactional construction team in Australia, headed by newly appointed counsel Katie Joukadjian.
In its media release, Clifford Chance said its recently launched transactional construction team aims to offer front-end support regarding the procurement aspects of significant projects in Australia and across the Asia–Pacific.
“This milestone marks an exciting expansion of our offering in Australia,” said Nadia Kalic, partner and global co-head of energy and resources, in the media release.
In its media release, Clifford Chance said its new transactional construction team seeks to help it continue growing its presence in the country and strengthen its real estate practice, spearheaded by Sydney-based partner Philip Podzebenko.
The firm shared that Podzebenko and his team recently assisted Scape, a student accommodation provider, in acquiring Aveo Group for $3.85 bn. The firm noted that this is the largest direct real estate deal in the country’s history.
Clifford Chance further noted that the transactional construction team’s establishment follows the firm’s addition of Brad Woodhouse as class actions head and partner and its re-establishment of its mergers and acquisitions practice in Perth, to be led by Liz Humphry and Brett Cohen, incoming partners recruited from Clayton Utz.
In its media release, Clifford Chance shared that Joukadjian previously worked with its international construction group in Abu Dhabi, UAE. She recently returned to Clifford Chance from Pinsent Masons, where she served as special counsel. Before that, she was an associate at Minter Ellison.
Based in Sydney, she has assisted developers, sponsors, lenders, investors, and contractors with significant projects around the world. Her experience covers conventional and renewable energy, digital technology, water and waste, mining, oil and gas, and large-scale real estate and infrastructure.
“We're committed to supporting our clients across all stages of their investment into major projects and Katie's extensive front-end construction experience will complement our existing transactional and disputes practices,” Kalic said in the firm’s media release.
“Given the scale of investment activity we are seeing in the energy and infrastructure sectors across Asia Pacific and indeed the associated need for truly specialist transactional construction expertise, Katie re-joining the Clifford Chance team will clearly enhance our critical offering to clients in this space,” added Matt Buchanan, partner and head of construction, Asia–Pacific.
Joukadjian’s biography on the firm’s website provides more information on her professional and educational background. She is a lawyer admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia.
She obtained her bachelor of arts and law degrees from Monash University and completed the business leadership course at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.
