Martin Lovell
Deputy Managing Partner
Adelaide
Profile
Martin is one of Australia’s leading energy, infrastructure and projects lawyers, national head of the firm’s Projects, Infrastructure & Construction practice and co-head of its Energy & Resources team. He is recognised as a Leading Partner for Energy by Legal 500, ranked by Chambers Asia-Pacific for Energy & Natural Resources, and named Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year for Project Finance and Development Law in Adelaide.
Martin advises infrastructure investors, developers, government, contractors and financial institutions on the transactional, financing, regulatory and delivery aspects of major projects across the energy, transport, defence and resources sectors. His practice spans the full project lifecycle, from regulatory strategy and project structuring through to financing, procurement, construction and project delivery under models including EPC, D&C and alliancing.
Martin takes an integrated approach to major projects, bringing together project structuring, finance and project delivery so that the lawyers negotiating project documents understand their bankability and risk-allocation implications. This enables clients to address the commercial, financing and delivery elements of a project as an integrated whole rather than coordinating separate legal workstreams. The approach is particularly relevant to Australia’s energy transition, where new generation, storage and transmission infrastructure requires an understanding of both project delivery and financing structures.
Martin has led the Piper Alderman team on some of Australia’s most significant infrastructure mandates, including advising ElectraNet on the $2.28bn SA–NSW Interconnector (Project EnergyConnect) and advising Hitachi Rail on ETCS rail technology for Queensland’s Cross River Rail network. His broader project experience includes major transport, defence, water and data centre infrastructure as well as hydrogen and grid-scale battery storage projects, including Piper Alderman’s role on the $15.4bn Torrens to Darlington project. He also advises on joint ventures, offtake agreements, consortium arrangements and other complex project-related transactions.
Martin advises sponsors and financial institutions on project finance, structured finance and secured lending, with his financing expertise directly integrated with his projects practice.
He holds a Master of Law with first class honours from the University of Cambridge.
“Martin Lovell is the lawyer I ring when I have a bet-the-house judgement call to make. He is commercial, has a great gut instinct, understands the competitive tensions, and understands the business. When I need to emphasise a point internally, I add Martin’s name into the conversation.”
— The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific: Infrastructure Projects and Construction
Expertise
Recognition
Martin is ranked by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia-Pacific for Energy & Natural Resources and recognised by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific for Energy (Leading Partner) and Infrastructure Projects and Construction. He is a two-time Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year in Adelaide for Project Finance and Development Practice, and a Doyle’s Guide Leading Lawyer in South Australia for Banking & Finance, Energy & Resources, and Front End Construction & Infrastructure.
“Martin Lovell is the lawyer I ring when I have a bet-the-house judgement call to make. He is commercial, has a great gut instinct, understands the competitive tensions, and understands the business. When I need to emphasise a point internally, I add Martin’s name into the conversation.”
The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific, Infrastructure Projects and Construction“The team are strongly led by Martin Lovell… whenever challenged we always feel we have the best negotiator in the room. He has a balanced, non-threatening approach which nearly always ends in a win-win scenario.”
The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific, Energy (transactions and regulatory)“Martin’s level of service is second to none. When he gives you a timeline, he hits it every time.”
Chambers Asia-Pacific“Martin Lovell runs an excellent, high quality team. There is simply no better lawyer in Adelaide.”
The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific, Energy (transactions and regulatory)“No other Partner comes close to the quality of Martin Lovell’s work and his work ethic. He is the one you should call first, not once others have messed up the transactions.”
The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific, Energy (transactions and regulatory)
Accolades
Chambers and Partners
- Chambers Global: Energy & Natural Resources: Utilities, Band 4 (2023, 2025 and 2026)
- Chambers Asia-Pacific: Energy & Natural Resources: Utilities, Band 4, since 2023
The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific
- Leading Partner, Energy (transactions and regulatory): since 2025
- Recommended, Infrastructure Projects and Construction: since 2020
Best Lawyers in Australia
- Lawyer of the Year, Adelaide: Project Finance and Development Practice (2020 and 2026)
- Lawyer of the Year, Adelaide: Commercial Law (2020)
- Recognised since 2014, in 12 practice areas:
- Project Finance and Development Practice (since 2014)
- Construction / Infrastructure Law (since 2023)
- Energy Law (since 2025)
- Natural Resources Law (since 2025)
- Oil and Gas Law (since 2027)
- Banking and Finance Law (since 2027)
- Structured Finance Law (since 2014)
- Asset Finance Law (since 2025)
- Equipment Finance Law (since 2026)
- Debt Capital Markets Law (since 2025)
- Corporate Law (since 2025)
- Commercial Law (since 2019)
Doyle’s Guide, South Australia
- Leading Energy & Resources Lawyer: since 2021
- Leading Front End Construction & Infrastructure Lawyer: since 2026
- Leading Banking & Finance Lawyer: since 2015
Memberships
- Australian Institute of Energy (AIE)
- Banking & Financial Services Law Association (BFSLA)
- Law Council of Australia – Financial Services Committee and PPSA Sub-Committee
- SACOME Infrastructure Committee
- Flinders University of South Australia, Adjunct Lecturer
- University of Adelaide, GDLP Lecturer
