About Emily Turnbull
Emily specialises in Disputes and Investigations and is based in Melbourne.
Emily advises on complex litigation, commercial arbitration, and material investigations, as well as issues arising under international investment agreements and treaties. She has particular experience advising on extractives, energy, and environment disputes.
Emily is also a member of the firm's Risk & Compliance Advisory practice, with particular experience in sustainability & ESG controls design and implementation. Emily frequently advises clients on managing relationships with home/host governments and regulators in Australia and overseas, including the application of voluntary standards and grievance mechanisms.
Emily's experience at Allens includes advising:
- Ford 'Powershift' class action – acting for Ford Australia in first instance and Court of Appeals proceedings in defence of a class action in the Federal Court of Australia seeking compensation in relation to allegedly defective transmissions in certain Ford vehicles.
- Ok Tedi Mining Limited class action – acting for OTML (in conjunction with Drew & Napier) in Singapore first instance and Court of Appeal representative proceedings alleging environmental damage and related breaches of fiduciary duties and tort of deceit.
- Pacific Hydro regulatory enforcement – in proceedings brought by the Australian Energy Regulator in the Federal Court of Australia in relation to the 2016 South Australia black system event.
- Newcrest and Harmony judicial review – in proceedings in PNG in relation to the Wafi Golpu Joint Venture.
- Alinta judicial review – in proceedings issued by Environment Victoria against EPA Victoria in relation to a review of licence conditions.
- AGL – in proceedings in the Victorian Supreme Court in relation to allegations of nuisance at its MacArthur windfarm.
- Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability – acting for one of the largest Australian aged care providers in relation to the Royal Commissions.
- Advising an Australian professional services engineering company on a bribery investigation being conducted by the Australian Federal Police, including conducting an independent investigation, and advising on associated regulatory matters.
- Advising clients on ESG related litigation risk (including climate change, biodiversity and modern slavery) and proceedings relating to allegations of misleading or deceptive conduct and directors' duties.
- Advising on responses to specific instances in the Australian OECD National Contact Point and complaints to the United Nations Human Rights Special Procedures.
- Advising clients in a range of sectors on the application of the modern slavery reporting regime, and the design and implementation of modern slavery compliance programs, including risk assessment and preparation of modern slavery statements.
- Conducting independent investigations in connection with potential human rights impacts and advising clients on development and implementation of human rights compliance programs.
- Designing and implementing anti-bribery policy and compliance programs, and conducting bribery risk assessments, for a broad range of companies.
- Advising on the design of grievance mechanisms and whistleblowing processes, and approach to remedy, including advising the Equator Principles Association on opportunities to enhance access to effective remedy in the context of project financings covered by the Equator Principles.
- Advising on alignment with ESG-related international agreements and voluntary frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, UN Global Compact, Equator Principles, RE100, the Paris Agreement, the Principles for Responsible Banking, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
- Advising on the application of anti-bribery laws and human rights law to proposed transaction structures, including transactional due diligence.
Before joining Allens, Emily was an associate in Disputes and Investigations at Slaughter and May, and then a member of the Environment and Climate Change team at Allen and Overy in London.