
Clare Kerley
Partner
Hall & Wilcox
Clare has over 13 years’ experience as an employment lawyer, having had a previous career in journalism. She is a practical and results-oriented lawyer who takes pride in providing commercially-minded advice, exceptional communication and effective problem-solving skills to all types of employment, industrial relations and safety issues.
Clare has strong skills in workplace and industrial relations, including negotiating enterprise agreements, representing employers in union disputes, and dealing with industrial action in all forms. She is proficient in achieving commercially-sound outcomes to potential and actual litigation, advising employers on managing injured workers, communicating effectively with stakeholders and drafting plain-English employment documents.
Clare's current clients are from a broad range of industries, including government, manufacturing, construction, retail, financial services, insurance, recruitment, and maritime.
Clare undertakes a wide range of workplace investigations, including sexual harassment, bullying and assault, for a varied list of client organisations, including healthcare, community services and local government. She also provides commercially sound advice on restructures including those arising from council amalgamations.
Clare appears as an advocate in contentious matters in the Fair Work Commission and the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, as well as regularly appearing for employers in conciliations, mediations and conferences.
SESSIONS
2:40
Panel: Managing conduct vs performance
This panel session exposes real-world scenarios where misclassifying issues or mishandling communications lead to employee claims, costly disputes, and regulatory action, showing HR leaders exactly how to act decisively to reduce risk.
Critical distinctions between conduct (behavioural breaches) vs performance (capability or output issues) and why mismanagement of either can trigger legal exposure.
Practical frameworks for early intervention, defensible investigations, and structured performance feedback to protect your organisation.
Panelist:
Sydney: Alicia Mataere, Partner, Holman Webb
Sydney: Brigid Clark, Partner, Addisons
Sydney: Kate Kossain, Special Counsel, Maddocks
Sydney: Clare Kerley, Partner, Hall & Wilcox
Melbourne: Adam Lambert, Principal Solicitor, KHQ Lawyers
Melbourne: Gerard Twomey, Senior Associate, Maddocks
Melbourne: Peter McNulty, Partner, Ashurst
Melbourne: Piers Mitchem, Special Counsel, Hall & Wilcox
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