One-on-one with Crew Legal's Hayley Clark

Originally published in October 2025. As part of International Women’s Day 2026, we’re revisiting conversations with women leading and shaping the City of Moreton Bay.

As Moreton Bay marks International Women’s Day 2026, stories like Hayley Clark’s highlight the growing influence of women in leadership across our city.

As Director of Crew Legal, Hayley has built a respected legal practice while navigating the realities of business ownership, leadership and community responsibility.

Her journey reflects the resilience, ambition and determination that International Women’s Day celebrates. Here is our conversation with Hayley.

International Women’s Day 2026: One-on-one with Crew Legal’s Hayley Clark

Hayley Clark’s path to a career in law wasn’t in a straight line, and she concedes she did it the hard way, but it’s given her a solid foundation and an appreciation of what’s important in life.

The Crew Legal Director opens up to Moreton Daily.

Sipping coffee at The Landing bakery at Scarborough, Hayley takes us back to the moment a career in law first entered her mind.

“Apparently, I wrote an assignment to my mum when I was eight or nine about what I wanted to when I was older, and I said I wanted to be a lawyer. I have no idea why,” she says smiling.

“I think, from there, it just became ingrained in my brain that’s what I was going to do. It still took a while to get there.”

When she finished school, she was living on the Sunshine Coast and the university had opened but didn’t offer law.

“Mum convinced me to do accounting or do something business-related. I got a job straight away out of school, because that’s just what we did, and studied part-time at night,” Hayley recalls.

The Long Road to Law

She had been working in an accounting firm and studying for a few years, when she realised she didn’t want to pursue a career in finance and went on to help manage her parents’ business.

“When I was 23 or 24, I decided that I should probably apply to see if I could get into law school,” Hayley recalls.

“There was also this thing in the back of my head that said you were always going to be a lawyer so maybe you need to do that.”

She successfully applied at QUT to study part-time, externally, and subsequently moved to Brisbane in search of a job.

“In my mind, just getting in wasn’t enough. I needed to be working in the industry because what I learnt from accounting is that uni doesn’t teach you how to do that job. Hands-on experience teaches you and that is particularly so with law,” Hayley explains.

“I definitely did it the hard way. It took me two attempts because I quit my degree at one point and just went I don’t want to do this, this is awful … until the boss I had at the time made me go back and finish.

“I asked him for a promotion from an admin role and he said, ‘if you want a promotion, go back to uni and finish your degree’.

Hayley says she often asks work experience students why they want to do law, because it’s not the stereotype portrayed on TV and in films.

“Particularly, with personal injury, there’s a mental toll that goes along with that. If you’re constantly in that role and your mind is constantly there, vicarious trauma is real and burn out is real,” she says.

Finding a balance

Key to managing the pressure of the role has been carving out quiet time with family, travel and the other things Hayley loves.

“I remember asking Shane Crew, many years ago when I was still at uni … I said, ‘you generally look pretty happy and not that stressed … what’s the secret?’

“He said, ‘Hayley, always have a holiday booked’. It’s just something to look forward to.

“My husband Terry and I love to travel and we try to travel as often as we can, within reason.”

In March, they went on a three-week trip to France, coincidently after last year’s Crew Legal Spring Gala Ball which had a Parisian theme.

Hayley says they enjoyed walking tours and learning the history of Paris, particularly its wartime past, indulging in culinary delights, the French Alps and a special bike ride in Annecy.

“People call it the Venice of France. Wherever we go, my husband Terry likes to do a bike ride. So, it’s become a thing. We did 40km around the lake,” she says.

They have also previously completed rides in San Francisco and New Zealand.

Other escapes are simpler and closer to home.

“On a Sunday afternoon, we love going to Newport Park and putting down a blanket. There’s a food truck, so we sit in the park for a while and then order a pizza. That’s a really nice way to relax by the water,” Hayley says.

“I also love just listening to music at home on a Sunday. Our vice is to turn on some acoustic music and sit around and have a coffee and relax.

“Those slow days are beyond important. It’s not often enough that you have those weekends when you do nothing. When you can, grab hold of them. It’s really important.”

Community connection

The team at Crew Legal has worked hard to build genuine community connections since opening in January, 2020, and having to rethink how to build the business when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“We had plans for how we would open and how we would network to build our brand, and we couldn’t do any of it,” Hayley recalls.

“I think it made us a little more resilient as a new business.”

Crew Legal has formed strong community connections during the past five years, in particular through its support of the Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital initiative and its Spring Gala Ball fundraiser which has been running since 2022.

“Nobody does anything like that here (anymore). The idea was to bring back an event that was community-focused, where people want to come and get dressed up have a night out and have a bit of fun and raise money for a worthy cause to the community, for a cause that is relevant to everyone,” Hayley says.

“The community aspect is really important to all of our staff. We live and work here. We’re actually your locals.

“If you want a professional who understands the area, that’s us … We’re really community focused.”

Visit crewlegal.com.au

More from our International Women’s Day 2026 series

You can read more stories celebrating women across the City of Moreton Bay here.

Meet Moreton Bay’s Business Woman of the Year: Candice Kiss

Leading with purpose: Tash Wheeler

Service to lifesaving: Lynda Barry

A lifetime in hockey: Jenny Heron

This story is part of our International Women’s Day 2026 coverage. Explore more local profiles and features here.