About Danielle

Danielle Strain is a specialist construction and engineering lawyer with over 10 years of experience in project delivery and contentious matters.

Danielle has a particular focus on project advice and dispute resolution in infrastructure and complex engineering disputes, including commercial/residential towers, renewable energy projects, hospital, road, rail, oil and gas. Her matters are often with a focus on delay, disruption, programming and technical engineering.

She advises a broad range of clients, including contractors, developers, some government clients, consultants and large scale suppliers in relation to issues that arise during construction and post-project completion.

Danielle has assisted clients across various Australian jurisdictions and internationally throughout South East Asia, providing advice and instructing in Supreme and Country Court matters, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and the Building Appeals Tribunal, as well as arbitrations, expert determinations, mediations and adjudications under the various states' security of payment regimes.

She also specialises in advising construction clients in relation to building products and legislative compliance for materials across various state and territory regimes, including in relation to potentially combustible cladding.

Experience

• Major National Contractor

  Danielle was seconded to a major national contractor to provide project delivery advice during construction and through to project completion. The role involved advising on a number of technical variation claims, preparing adjudications, and settlements, renegotiating contract documents as well as supervising a team responsible for the day to day correspondence for the project.

  Danielle also advised a number of major national contractors on claims which arise during construction and after completion of the works. During the pandemic, Danielle provided practical advice to these contractors regarding claims upstream and downstream related to COVID-19 and associated time and cost-related claims.

  Danielle has also advised a number of contractors in respect of potentially combustible cladding, including in relation to proceedings before the Building Appeals Board.

• Renewable Energy

  Danielle has been seconded on a number of occasions to a major wind turbine manufacturer to advise on projects in Australia and South East Asia. The role involved advising on technical aspects of project delivery and disputes, acting in a dispute with an international shipping contractor, providing advice in respect of the day to day management of projects and compliance with regulatory authorities.

  Danielle has advised solar farm developers and operations and maintenance contractors engaged on several solar farms throughout Australia. The advice was broad-ranging and involved highly technical disputes regarding construction methodology and equipment, as well as environmental and COVID-related claims.

• Multiplex Global

  Danielle acted on behalf of Multiplex in the Victorian Supreme Court proceeding Brighton Australia Pty Ltd v Multiplex Constructions Pty Ltd [2018] VSC 246. Multiplex successfully defended a claim made by a major plastering subcontractor, for claims relating to delay, disruption, acceleration and misleading and deceptive conduct. Danielle had the day to day conduct of the matter under a supervising partner, throughout the trial and the adoption hearing before Justice Riordan.