Powered by
MOMENTUM
MEDIA
National plaintiff firm Slater & Gordon has moved to reinforce its industrial and employment law offering across two key states, appointing three experienced practitioners to strengthen its presence in the sector.
Slater & Gordon has strengthened its industrial and employment law practice across NSW and Queensland with the appointment of three lawyers who bring longstanding experience representing unions and workers.
Those who have been appointed include Tim McCauley (senior practice leader), Nicola Maher-Boyle (legal counsel), and Emma Brown (associate).
In a statement, the national law firm shared how the expansion would enhance its ability to “support unions and their members across key jurisdictions” while reaffirming its “ongoing commitment to the union movement”.
For 90 years, Slater & Gordon has championed workers’ rights, drawing on extensive practical experience to provide legal support across areas, ranging from industrial protection and unfair dismissal to complex workplace disputes.
With decades of experience representing unions and individual workers, McCauley most recently spent nearly 10 years as a partner at Taylor & Scott Lawyers, where he led high-profile industrial and employment matters.
McCauley also spent over a decade as a senior in-house lawyer for unions, including the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, the Electrical Trades Union, and the UK-based UNISON.
Maher-Boyle also brings considerable experience in this area, having previously held senior roles at the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, where she led teams of lawyers and industrial officers in landmark public sector wage and gender undervaluation cases.
She has specialist knowledge across union rules and governance, bargaining, sexual harassment, discrimination, and workplace rights, and a track record of representing unions and members in both federal and state courts and tribunals.
Brown has a strong track record in industrial and employment law, representing clients across multiple forums, including the Fair Work Commission, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, and anti-discrimination bodies.
Most recently, she worked at the NSW branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, contributing to a high-profile work value and gender undervaluation case that aimed to secure a 35 per cent pay rise for NSW public sector nurses and midwives.
Geoff Borenstein, the national head of the industrial and employment practice at Slater & Gordon, shared how the trio bring extensive union experience and a strong commitment to supporting working people, bolstering the firm’s NSW and Queensland teams to deliver practical, strategic industrial and employment advice.
“Tim, Nicola, and Emma each bring extensive union experience and a strong commitment to standing with working people across industries and services,” Borenstein said.
“Together with our existing NSW and Queensland team, they strengthen our capacity to support unions both locally and nationally, providing practical, strategic, and determined industrial and employment advice and advocacy.
“They understand the movement, the pressures unions face, and what it takes to deliver real outcomes for members and their families.”
This news follows the firm’s appointment of the former deputy premier of Victoria as its new independent chair and independent director at the end of 2025.
