Paul Paxton is a Partner at MinterEllison in Sydney and is widely recognised as one of Australia's leading project and infrastructure lawyers. With over two decades of experience, he specialises in the structuring, delivery, and management of complex infrastructure projects, public–private partnerships (PPPs), and strategic mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
Paul has led legal teams on some of Australia's most significant PPPs. His expertise covers all stages of the project lifecycle-from procurement and financing to construction and operations.
Paul is also active in the M&A space, advising both public and private sector clients on complex transactions, particularly where they intersect with infrastructure assets, services, or regulated industries.
Beyond transactions, Paul regularly advises governments and institutions on PPP and infrastructure policy, helping shape frameworks that support long-term value and performance.
Known for his pragmatic and collaborative approach, Paul is consistently recognised for his leadership and impact on transformative projects across Australia's infrastructure, education, and services landscape.
FIRM PROFILE
MinterEllison is one of Australia's largest full‑service law and professional consulting firms, with a heritage spanning nearly 200 years and a presence across 13 offices in Australia, New Zealand, Greater China and London.
The firm's purpose-to create sustainable value for clients, people, and communities-underpins its work across industries ranging from infrastructure, energy and resources, financial services, education, and government, to dispute resolution, corporate transactions, risk, regulatory, insurance, tax, technology, real estate, and IP . Its clients include government agencies, private and publicly listed companies, SMEs, and global investors.
MinterEllison Consulting offers agile, outcome‑focused teams alongside legal practitioners, specialising in areas such as technology, risk & regulatory, in‑house legal optimisation, and education.
Together, the firm delivers strategic advice and transformation capability-from drafting machine‑learning legal solutions to operationalising remediation schemes and IT due diligence.
Highly regarded for its authentic culture, the firm emphasises inclusion, environmental responsibility, and community investment. Its values-Excellence, Curiosity, and Collaboration-drive its award‑winning pro‑bono work, diversity initiatives, and sustainability efforts.
MinterEllison's inclusive culture is built on nearly two centuries of enduring client relationships and expertise in tackling complex, cross‑border issues with commercial pragmatism
DEAL REPORT:
Cobbora Solar Farm is a 700MWac solar farm with a battery energy storage system in NSW which has now been acquired by Pacific Partnerships. Once developed, Cobbora Solar Farm will be one of the largest solar farms in Australia with an approximate footprint of up to 1600MGh of BESS to supply energy on demand.
This adds to Pacific Partnerships extensive portfolio of renewable energy projects across Australia. They will manage the construction, investment, delivery and operations of the solar farm working with CIMIC Group's
subsidiary, UGL in matters of development and maintenance of the solar farm and BESS.
Pacific Partnerships were assisted by Minter Ellison throughout this acquisition.
Commenting on the deal Partner, Paul Paxton, said:
"The solar farm forms part of CIMIC Group's strategic commitment to Australia's energy transition, and will contribute to the Australian Government's target of net zero emissions by 2050. We were pleased to assist Pacific Partnerships on this deal and once again, to display MinterEllison's commitment to being a leading adviser in renewable energy."
