Bernice Lum
Lawyer
Katrina Emmerick
Senior Associate
Leigh Holder
Partner
Cindy Do
Lawyer
Eleanor Pike
Consultant
Edwina McCarthy
Lawyer
Darren Sutton
Lawyer
Ariana Farahani
Lawyer

Keenan Smith

Lawyer

Keenan is a lawyer in the Workplace & Safety team with extensive experience in regulatory investigations. Keenan takes a considered and commercial approach to all matters and enjoys finding innovative solutions to complex challenges.

Keenan combines a strong understanding of the law with close attention to commercial, economic and legislative developments to provide clients with practical and timely advice. He closely follows the development of public policy and market movements, with a particular interest in the industrial relations and safety space.

Keenan has extensive experience working with a broad range of national and international clients in sectors including logistics, technology, construction, commercial real estate, mining, transport, healthcare, chemicals, sports, academia, and telecommunications. He also has experience working with major federal government organisations and departments. He has worked with these clients in a broad array of workplace and industrial relations matters. This has included complex workplace disputes involving whistleblower protection regimes, criminal prosecutions, explosives and major hazard facility licencing, conducting privileged investigations into complex workplace incidents and advising on duties and obligations under legislation. He has also been involved in enterprise bargaining for the establishment of a Greenfields Agreement.

Prior to joining Hamilton Locke, Keenan worked in the Regulatory & Investigations team at Clyde & Co, working on a range of significant matters involving both criminal prosecutions and governance considerations.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Investigations; Enforceable undertakings; Enterprise bargaining; Prosecutions; Legislative Interpretation; Public Policy

QUALIFICATIONS
  • Bachelor of Laws (Hons) – Macquarie University
  • Bachelor of Arts (Public Policy and Governance)  – Macquarie University

 

SELECTED REPRESENTATIONS
  • Acting on behalf of an international chemical production company in obtaining an external review in relation to a decision by a regulator to deny a major hazard facility licence renewal, and successfully having the licence renewed.
  • Acting on behalf of a major mining company in defending novel possession charges under the Explosives Act 1999 (Qld), resulting in the withdrawal of charges by the Prosecutor.
  • Acting on behalf of a major company in the timber industry in developing and personally delivering over 20 training sessions on worker duties and officer due diligence. These sessions were part of an industry roadshow delivered across NSW under an enforceable undertaking.
  • Acting on behalf of a highly reputable tertiary education provider in the Supreme Court of NSW in a novel matter relating to whistleblowing and integrity legislation.
  • Acting on behalf of a major construction company in negotiating a landmark enforceable undertaking with the NSW workplace safety regulator relating to a fatality, involving over $1.6M in expenditure and the application of artificial intelligence.
  • Advising a technology company on workplace health and safety liability issues in deploying autonomous robots in an aged care context.
  • Advising an international resources company in relation to the establishment of a Greenfields Agreement.
  • Advising a foreign policy think-tank on the application of public safety legislation in Australia.
  • Preparing executive-level training on officer due diligence for companies in the telecommunications, construction and logistics sectors, along with major federal government organisations.
  • Advising a national logistics company on how to effectively capture safety considerations in their short-term incentive program and drafting a guide to assist with the effective implementation.
  • Undertaking analysis of legislative reform in relation to key workplace health and safety legislation.
  • Conducting legal compliance safety audits for international companies in the telecommunications, construction and logistics industries.
  • Acting in criminal prosecutions alleging offences under work health and safety laws, including defended hearings.
  • Acting in relation to a claim brought in the Federal Court alleging copyright infringement and a cross-claim alleging copyright infringement and misleading and deceptive conduct.
  • Developing a discussion paper on the future of safety, focusing on key trends including Industry 4.0 and artificial intelligence.