Claire practises across public, regulatory, commercial, and human rights law, with a particular focus on litigation involving statutory construction, serious regulatory allegations, and contested factual issues. She regularly appears, led and unled, in interlocutory and final hearings in federal and state courts, and is experienced in managing large documentary briefs, working closely with experts, and examining and cross-examining witnesses in sensitive and complex matters.
Claire has substantial experience in commissions of inquiry and the coronial jurisdiction. In 2023, she was briefed as Counsel Assisting in the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes, where she was responsible for analysing extensive evidentiary material and assisting the Commissioner on complex factual and legal questions.
In 2026, Claire was ranked as a leading junior counsel in the Legal 500 Guide for Crime and Regulatory (including White Collar Crime), where she was described as “incredibly hard working and meticulous in her preparation of cases… highly intelligent and [with] a sound knowledge of many different areas of law.”
Before coming to the Bar, Claire practised at Allens in Sydney and Shearman & Sterling in London. She served as Associate to the Honourable Justice Brian Tamberlin in the Federal Court of Australia and to the Honourable Chief Justice Peter Shivute in the Supreme Court of Namibia. In 2022, she lectured in Advanced Statutory Interpretation at the University of New South Wales.
Claire holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford, which she attended on a Clarendon Scholarship. Her doctoral research examined the accountability of transnational corporations for serious human rights violations. She also holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours I) and Bachelor of Laws (Honours I) from the University of Sydney, where she was awarded the Henry S Albinski Prize for best honours thesis in Australian foreign and defence policy. Her monograph, Making and Breaking the Rules in Business and Human Rights, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2026.
In 2017, Claire was the inaugural recipient of the Katrina Dawson Award, which encourages young women to practise at the Bar. She served on the NSW Bar Council from 2020 to 2023 and currently sits on one of the NSW Bar Association’s Professional Conduct Committees.
