Profile
Year of Call:
2015Overview
Claire has a civil and commercial practice, with particular expertise in the areas of construction & infrastructure, competition & consumer law, financial services regulation, corporations law, commercial property, and banking & insolvency. She has appeared led and unled in both state and federal jurisdictions at trial and appellate level. In 2018, Claire was briefed to appear with Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.
Claire has been recognised by Australasian Lawyer as one of the 50 Rising Stars of the legal profession and is listed in the Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession as a Leading Construction & Infrastructure and Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Junior Counsel. She is also one of only six junior barristers in Australia listed in the Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific guide as a leading junior for Construction & Infrastructure and ranked for Construction by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. Claire is a member of the Law Council of Australia’s Competition & Consumer Committee.
She has been a director and board member of companies, charitable associations and community groups, including the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation, the Multicultural Development Association Inc (Now “MDA Ltd”), Brigidine College Indooroopilly, and the Mater Foundation‘s Community Fundraising Committee.
Before being called to the Bar, Claire worked as a Senior Associate in the commercial litigation group of a global firm. Prior to that, she was the Associate to Justice Patrick Keane in the Queensland Court of Appeal.
Experience
Recent experience includes:
› Appearing with Senior Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry
› Appearing unled in the Supreme Court of Queensland for a national investment company in successfully opposing an application to set aside a statutory demand
› Acting for Santos Limited in an application to the Supreme Court of Queensland seeking access to the financial records of a contractor under an EPC contract
› Acting for the ACCC in an appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia against penalties in relation to anti-competitive arrangements
› Acting for Santos Limited in a claim brought in the Supreme Court of Queensland for repayment under an EPC Contract of amounts in excess of $1 billion
› Acting for a national commercial property lessor in an appeal brought in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal – Appeals
› Advising a national property development company in relation to the validity of conditions imposed under certain works permits
› Advising on breaches of the Australian Consumer Law and the availability, scope and quantum of loss of opportunity damages which might be claimed in response to the breach
› Advising on various disputes arising between the parties to an alliance agreement entered into in relation to a major infrastructure project
› Acting for lenders in enforcement proceedings against mortgagors.
Recommendations
Australian Financial Review Best Lawyers®
2025 – Listed for Commercial Law, Competition Law, and Construction & Infrastructure Law
2021-24 – Listed for Competition Law and Construction & Infrastructure Law
2023 – Listed as Brisbane’s Construction & Infrastructure ‘Lawyer of the Year’
2020 – Listed for Competition Law
Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific
2025 – Construction & Infrastructure – “Claire is a delight. A strong advocate, clever and one of the best in the business”, “No superlative is good enough for Claire. She is outstanding.”
2024 – Construction & Infrastructure – “a name nationally in the construction space” and “super-smart, hard-working and got across complicated matters quickly“.
2023 – Construction & Infrastructure
2022 – Construction & Infrastructure – “extremely well regarded“.
2021 – Construction & Infrastructure – “incredibly gifted and in very high demand“.
2020 – Construction & Infrastructure – “very pragmatic and commercial, and she’s very thoughtful and generally very sensible” and “capacity to absorb all kinds of major information is very good. She has that judgement of what’s likely to work even though all the evidence isn’t there, and then the ability to tailor it as things go on“.
Chambers & Partners Global
2021-2022, 2024 – Construction & Infrastructure
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
2025 – “Claire is an outstanding barrister. She is outstanding in every respect, her written work is succinct, easy to read and most importantly persuasive. She is a first class cross examination and her verbal submissions clear and precise”.
2024 – “Very clever and hard working. Delivers quality work on time”.
2023 – “…an outstanding lawyer with judgment beyond her years and an absolute delight to work with. When it gets tough she moves up a gear with grace and charm. Cannot fault her at any level“.
2022
2021 – “…a very diligent junior counsel with excellent strategic judgment and advocacy skills“.
Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2024 – Recommended Litigation & Dispute Resolution Junior Counsel (QLD), Preeminent Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel (QLD), Leading Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel (Aus).
Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2023 – Recommended Litigation & Dispute Resolution Junior Counsel (QLD), Preeminent Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel (QLD), Leading Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel (Aus), Recommended Insolvency & Restructuring Junior Counsel (QLD).
Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2021-22 – Leading Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Junior Counsel (QLD).
Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2019-22 – Leading Construction & Infrastructure and Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Junior Counsel (Qld), Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel (Aus).
Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2018 – Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel (Qld)
Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2017 – Emerging Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel (Qld)
Appointments
2017 Member of the Law Council of Australia’s Competition and Consumer Committee
2015-present Member, Board of Advice of the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation
2014–present Member, Mater Foundation Community Fundraising Committee
2014–2016 Director, Brigidine College Indooroopilly Limited
2009–2012 Member and Secretary to the Board of Management, Multicultural Development Association Inc (now MDA Ltd)
2007–2009 Vice President, Board of the Society of St Vincent de Paul Queensland
Member
Bar Association of Queensland
Women Lawyers Association of Queensland
LawRight
Career
July 2013–April 2015 Senior Associate, Litigation, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
August 2010–July 2013 Associate, Litigation, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
January 2009–July 2010 Lawyer, Litigation, Mallesons Stephen Jaques (now King & Wood Mallesons)
January 2008–December 2008 Associate to the Hon Justice Patrick Keane, Queensland Court of Appeal
December 2008 Admitted as a legal practitioner, Supreme Court of Queensland
Education
2001–2007 Bachelor of Laws (Hons IIA), University of Queensland
2001–2007 Bachelor of Arts (Political Science), University of Queensland
2004 Australian National Internships Program (Hons), Australian National University
Awards
2014 Women in Law Awards – Finalist, National Pro Bono Award
2014 Australasian Lawyer 50 Rising Stars Award
2013 Lawyers Weekly Top 30 Lawyers under 30 – Winner, “Dispute Resolution” Award
Directory / Industry Comments