Experienced construction and infrastructure partner joins in Melbourne

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright announced today that Stephen Natoli will join as an experienced construction and infrastructure partner in Australia. 

Stephen has over 16 years’ experience in infrastructure and construction law, with particular experience in major infrastructure projects, PPPs, healthcare, residential and commercial development, as well as dispute management representation on domestic and international projects.  He has been involved in several of Melbourne’s largest and most iconic projects.

He advises all types of participants, including developers, investors, financiers and contractors. He also provides front-end procurement and drafting advice for government clients, through the drafting of key project transaction documents, tender processes, tender evaluations, probity and advisory and project delivery.  Stephen also has a particular experience in working with clients in the energy sector, especially in the waste and renewables area. He is therefore closely aligned with, and will strongly support, the firm’s national construction, energy and Victorian Government practices.

Stephen joins from national law firm Holding Redlich, where he has been a partner since 2013, as well as head of the firm’s construction practice. Prior to that he worked at Allens in Australia and Mayer Brown in London. He joins in our Melbourne office early in the New Year.

Norton Rose Fulbright managing partner Alison Deitz commented:

“Stephen is a key appointment for our firm and its clients.  Given that major infrastructure projects will feature heavily in Australia’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Stephen’s extensive experience as a trusted advisor to the private sector and government, working across health, transport, water, education and social infrastructure projects make him an outstanding addition to our market leading global infrastructure practice.”

Stephen Natoli commented:

“When an economic crisis occurs, clients place a premium on their advisors’ ability to understand the pressures their industries are facing, and to draw from a wealth of experience and diverse thinking when solving their problems. Norton Rose Fulbright, through the combination of domestic scale and genuinely global reach and capability, has what clients need most right now. The opportunity to connect clients with the firm’s deep and diverse teams across infrastructure, construction, government, project finance and dispute resolution was a major reason why I chose to join this firm.”

The appointment follows other recent partner additions in the construction and infrastructure practice: Joanne Emerson Taqi in Sydney in March and Ren Niemann in Brisbane in February. In October, highly experienced corporate M&A partner Bryan Pointon joined in Sydney.