Clyde & Co boosts Australia employment offering with Partner hire of Sarah Wood

Partner hire bolsters firm’s employment, safety and regulatory offering across Australia Global law firm Clyde & Co today announces the partner appointment of Sarah Wood as Employment practice leader in Australia. She joins from Gilchrist Connell and will be based in Sydney, supported by a newly recruited team. The appointment further strengthens the global employment, immigration and pensions practice and reflects the firm's expanding employment law capabilities in Australia. Sarah advises corporates and insurers across the full spectrum of employment, industrial relation and safety matters. Her practice spans both advisory and litigation, including executive employment issues, restructures and redundancies, workplace investigations, regulatory compliance, enterprise bargaining and the management of people-related risks. The appointment establishes dedicated leadership for Clyde & Co's Employment practice in Australia and enhances the firm's ability to support clients navigating increasingly complex employment and workplace challenges across multiple jurisdictions. Increased employment claims, regulatory scrutiny and enforcement activity Employment-related issues present a rapidly expanding area of risk for insurers. Sarah has extensive insurance experience acting for several large insurers as well as global corporates. Her arrival comes at a time of significant growth in workplace disputes, with The Australian Fair Work Commission reporting more than 44,000 applications in the 2024–25 financial year, an increase of 24% above the five-year average. This coincides with intensifying regulatory scrutiny and significant enforcement activity relating to employer conduct, as well as new statutory obligations concerning workplace sexual harassment and psychosocial risks, which are increasing litigation exposure and insurance claim frequency. Rebecca Kelly, Australia Managing Partner, Brisbane, said: “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.” Sarah Wood said: “I am delighted to join a global firm with a significant offering across six continents and look forward to helping clients navigate the complex workplace regulatory environment marked by increased litigation exposure and enforcement activity.” Growing Global Employment and Regulatory Offering Sarah will work closely with the firm’s global employment, immigration and pensions practices across Asia, the Middle East, the UK and USA, as part of a connected, worldwide employment group providing integrated cross-border support to multinational and domestic clients. Sarah’s arrival follows the three recent partner hires in Sydney of corporate insurance and regulatory partners Yvonne Lam and Malcolm Wood in October 2025, and insurance partner Jessica Thurtell in March 2026.