Grace
Brunton-Makeham
Partner
Melbourne
Level 4, 50 Queen Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
An experienced employment lawyer and litigator with business acumen and a focus on early dispute resolution, Grace is strategic and pragmatic in protecting employer interests.
EXPERIENCE
Grace is an accomplished litigation lawyer with particular expertise in employment disputes, regulatory investigations and prosecutions. She is also experienced in managing complex wage remediation projects and wage disputes.
Having worked as a lawyer both in private practice and in-house at some of Australia's leading institutions, she has the proven ability to provide practical and commercial solutions to complex legal issues.
Grace appears on behalf of her clients in tribunals, commissions and superior courts in matters relating to sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination, general protections and regulatory prosecutions, as well as defamation, contractual interpretation, administrative law and freedom of information. Clients particularly value Grace's strategic and practical approach to resolving disputes early and efficiently.
With the growing complexity of Australia's industrial relations landscape, Grace's practice includes a deep focus on payroll and wage compliance, including assisting clients conduct proactive payroll assurance reviews and managing wage-remediation programs, as well as advising clients on engagement with regulators, unions, staff and media.
Grace has acted for businesses across a range of sectors including higher education, retail, technology, property and resources.
RECENT WORK
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Defending a large regulatory prosecution in the Federal Court of Australia resulting in a discontinuance of the prosecution by the regulator.
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Managing a comprehensive payroll review and wage remediation program spanning over 10 years and multiple enterprise agreements, resulting in over $50M plus oncosts being remediated.
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Review of institutional tail liability for historical sexual harassment and sexual assault claims.
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High-profile defamation proceeding regarding allegations of sexual assault.
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Advice to clients’ senior management on sensitive personnel issues involving significant media attention and reputational considerations.
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Managing a response to a large regulatory investigation, including negotiating down terms of Notices to Produce.
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Discrimination and sexual harassment proceedings instigated by multiple plaintiffs against an organisation attracting significant adverse media attention, resulting in a satisfactory mediated outcome.
ADMISSIONS
Australian legal practitioner
Admitted to the High Court of Australia