The Brief:
Clyde & Co has appointed Sarah Wood as Employment practice leader in Australia, joining from Gilchrist Connell with a newly recruited team.
The hire comes as the firm’s Australian partnership grows 15% over the past 12 months, a marked turnaround after a wave of exits in 2024.
Clyde & Co has bolstered its Australian offering, appointing Sarah Wood as Employment practice leader.
The move
Wood advises corporates and insurers across the full spectrum of employment, industrial relations and safety matters, spanning both advisory and litigation work.
Her practice covers:
Executive employment issues
Restructures and redundancies
Workplace investigations and regulatory compliance
Enterprise bargaining and people-related risk management
She joins from Gilchrist Connell, where she built extensive insurance experience acting for large insurers and global corporates. Wood brings a newly recruited team with her and will be based in Sydney.
The hire also establishes dedicated leadership for the firm’s Australian Employment practice.
The backdrop
Australia Managing Partner Rebecca Kelly said the hire responds to rising client demand.
“Our clients are increasingly seeking proactive employment advice to manage rising workplace risk, alongside support on disputes when they arise. Sarah’s appointment and the growth of our employment team expand our firm’s advisory capability and strengthens its ability to respond to complex employment claims and investigations, positioning the team to capitalise on growing demand from large corporates, insurers and multinational organisations.”
The appointment lands amid a sharp rise in workplace disputes. The Fair Work Commission logged more than 44,000 applications in the 2024-25 financial year, a 24% jump above the five-year average.
It’s also a notable moment for Clyde & Co itself. The firm’s Australian arm was rocked in late 2024 by a wave of partner exits.
But the latest AFR Law Partnership Survey shows the firm has since turned a corner, with its partner headcount climbing 15% over the past year to land at 23 partners. Corporate insurance and regulatory partners Yvonne Lam and Malcolm Wood, and insurance partner Jessica Thurtell are amongst the recent additions.
Source: Clyde & Co