About Emily Turnbull
Emily is a general commercial litigator and ESG specialist based in Melbourne.
She advises on contentious matters (including Federal and Supreme Court litigation, domestic and international arbitration, regulatory enforcement and investigations, and commissions and inquiries), as well as on investment agreements and treaties. Emily also assists clients in non-judicial processes, such as OECD National Contact Point and UN Special Procedure complaints, and with designing grievance mechanisms and remediation protocols.
She works with clients across industries and sectors, and has particular experience in mining and resources, financial services and private capital, clean energy, healthcare, infrastructure and industrials.
Emily is a member of our ESG centre of excellence and co-leads our Business Human Rights practice with Rachel Nicolson. A significant part of Emily's practice involves working with inhouse teams and boards to uplift, embed and evolve ESG, drawing on her contentious-disputes experience to work with clients on strategies to mitigate legal risks and leverage opportunities.
She was recognised as one to watch in Chambers & Partners 2024 Business Human Rights Law.
Emily's experience at Allens includes:
Disputes and investigations
- Ford: class action proceedings in the Federal Court (and on appeal to the Full Federal Court and High Court) regarding allegedly defective vehicle transmissions.
- Woodside: final injunction application by the Australian Conservation Foundation in the Federal Court, concerning alleged climate change impacts on the Great Barrier Reef.
- Pacific Hydro: regulatory enforcement proceedings by the Australian Energy Regulator in the Federal Court in relation to the 2016 South Australia black system event.
- A multinational financial services company: preliminary discovery application in the Federal Court regarding risk management and reporting of climate change and nature-related risks.
- A multinational financial services company: climate change litigation in the Federal Court by strategic litigants in relation to commitments in a public-facing ESG policy.
- Superannuation funds: response to ESG related regulatory investigations and enforcement actions by ASIC.
- AGL: proceedings in the Victorian Supreme Court in relation to allegations of nuisance at the Macarthur windfarm.
- Alinta: judicial review proceedings by Environment Victoria to quash the EPA's decision to amend operational air emissions limits—this was a test case in relation to the requirements of the Climate Change Act 2017 (Vic).
- A global mining group: representative proceedings in the PNG courts.
- A PNG mining company: representative proceedings in the Singapore Court of Appeal alleging environmental damage and related breaches of fiduciary duties and the tort of deceit.
- A range of companies: non-curial complaints to the Australian OECD National Contact Point and UN Special Procedures relating to allegations of human rights and environmental impacts at operations in Australia, Chile, the Philippines and PNG.
- A number of banks and superannuation funds: human rights grievance by Traditional Owners regarding allegations of human rights and environmental impacts.
- Advising on the application of biosecurity legislation and related claims.
- Bribery investigations by the Australian Federal Police.
- The Aged Care and Disability Royal Commissions.
ESG
- Environment
- responding to shareholder activism and defending litigation.
- climate- and nature-related corporate commitments.
- disclosures of climate- and nature-related risks.
- greenwashing assurance reviews and verification.
- Social
- compliance with human rights laws and material investigations.
- alignment with international human rights laws, standards and frameworks.
- human rights policy design.
- operational and value chain risk management (including human rights saliency and impact assessments, human rights due diligence and connection to impact analysis).
- human rights contract clauses and transactional due diligence.
- disclosures, including modern slavery reporting.
- bluewashing assurance reviews and verification.
- engagement and consultation, including the interaction between business and First Nations peoples.
- Governance
- ESG head office support, including developing sustainability strategies, policies and disclosures (including annual reports and standalone sustainability reports).
- AGM preparation on sustainability matters, including shareholder engagement and activism.
- intersection of ESG with other matters such as responsible AI and AML compliance.
- integrity and corporate crime matters.
Before joining Allens, Emily was an associate in the Disputes and Investigations team at Slaughter and May, and then a member of the Environment and Climate Change team at Allen and Overy in London.