Family Lawyers

Carolyn grew up on a farm in central west NSW and most Sunday afternoons were spent with her family checking the sheep in the paddocks. She enjoyed helping out and watching the sheep, marvelling at how one or two would break away from the pack and take a different path to the rest of the herd. Her mum and dad would tell her to go and bring back the rogue sheep. She always did as she was told but secretly she cheered on the rebel sheep and admired their tenacity.

At the age of 17, Carolyn packed her bags and moved to the city to study law. After graduating, she accepted a job at a law firm, like most of her peers, and settled into her new career. She quickly became frustrated and disillusioned with the legal system, confronted by the fact that so many people weren’t eligible for Legal Aid but then couldn’t afford the alternative of paying the high fees charged by law firms. Carolyn was determined to find a way to help and change the system. After much research Carolyn began to envisage the concept of a ‘non profit law firm’, and in 2009, in true reminiscent style of a breakaway sheep, Carolyn took the ground breaking step of establishing Australia’s first non profit law firm, New Way Lawyers.

Carolyn’s skill set is perfectly suited to her role as CEO of Australia’s first non profit law firm. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice. She is admitted to Practice in the High Court of Australia, the Supreme Court of Queensland and the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Carolyn also holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters in Human Services, specialising in the management of non profit organisations.

Carolyn has been publicly recognised and awarded for her work in establishing New Way Lawyers. In 2012 she was a finalist in the Queensland Telstra Business Women’s Awards being nominated for the Community and Government, Innovation and Young Business Women’s categories and she was the winner of the Community and Government Award. She is a recognised voice in the legal and community sectors and she regularly speaks at conferences and events. 

Carolyn and the team at New Way Lawyers also initiated a Facebook group called Lunch with a Lawyer, to improve access to free family law information for those in difficult family circumstances.

Although modest about her achievements, when asked about her work with New Way Lawyers Carolyn often refers to the famous stanza of the Road Not Taken poem by Robert Frost. I shall be telling this with sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence, two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference. Carolyn shares that her deepest desire is that her divergent career path on the road less taken will make a difference and help families who are facing difficult legal situations who otherwise wouldn’t be able to access legal services.

Andrew spent the first few years of his life in England, and also some of his childhood living in Papua New Guinea. He has fond memories of attending the local school in New Guinea, which had one teacher and 20 students, and learning to speak in Pidgin English. After his adventures in Papua New Guinea, Andrew moved to Australia to complete his schooling. He credits this diverse set of experiences with shaping his willingness to understand and help people of different backgrounds.  

Andrew is respected and admired within the legal profession for his honesty, resoluteness and tenacity, and his clients praise his patience, empathy and care.

His reputation stems from his noteworthy list of qualifications. He holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Queensland University of Technology and a Master of Applied Law (in Family Law), from the College of Law. He is admitted to practise in the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia, and holds memberships with the Family Law Practitioners’ Association and the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia. 

Andrew commenced his legal career as an Articled Clerk with a national law firm, and has since accumulated over 20 years’ experience as a lawyer. He has practised almost exclusively in the areas of Family Law and Wills and Estates since 2002, and in 2011 he brought that wealth of knowledge to New Way Lawyers when he joined the team as Principal Lawyer.

Some examples of Andrew’s recent matters include:

• The successful return of a child to Australia, through Hague Convention proceedings, after a parent removed the child to a Scandinavian country;
• A successful application allowing a parent and child to relocate to a new location in Australia;
• A property settlement case where the client obtained 3 significant Costs Orders following the Trial, resulting in them receiving the majority of the parties’ assets; and
• A property settlement case involving a family business with a multi-million dollar turnover.

Andrew has a keen interest in mentoring junior lawyers, and has previously lectured in Family Law to students of the College of Law’s Post-Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice. An interesting article published by the College of Law on Andrew and his work at New Way Lawyers can be found here.

He also has a strong commitment to volunteer work within the community, having volunteered regularly with a local community legal service since 2003. He has also previously volunteered on a long-term basis with Sunnybank Meals on Wheels, as a volunteer tutor of refugees, and as a presenter of Family Law workshops with the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (‘RAILS’).

Joanne brings methodical wisdom and extensive expertise to the corporate team. Having been with New Way Lawyers for over 6 years, Joanne has worked in most aspects of the firm.  A lawyer, Joanne brings a rich wealth of family law knowledge and oversees client care, projects and supports the New Way team to provide quality services to our community. Passionate about providing compassionate, empathetic and accessible services, Joanne’s caring nature is felt by the team and clients alike. 

Molly practised as a barrister & solicitor in Malaysia since 2000 and is a Nationally Accredited Mediator (NMAS) with the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators. In 2003, Molly established her chambers in Kuala Lumpur and her practise predominantly consisted of family law matters. Throughout this duration, she has appeared in all tiers of the Malaysian Court system, as a barrister. Molly’s understanding of different and diverse cultures within the family law system is further enhanced through her experience of practising in a jurisdiction where there are two distinct and diverse family law systems, namely Civil and Sharia. While practising in Malaysia, Molly was involved in cases which involved international cross jurisdictional family law issues.Molly’s practice consists of all areas of family law; including separation and divorce, property settlements and parenting arrangements. Molly also assists in wills and estate matters, including estate litigation, Probate, Administration of Estates and Challenges to Wills. By nature an empathetic and affable person, Molly builds a natural rapport with the clients and understands that it is an extremely stressful and difficult time for individuals going through this process. Molly believes that resolution should be encouraged through negotiation, mediation and dispute resolution, however where not possible, Molly is tenacious and leads her clients through a swift and prompt resolution of litigation, ensuring that they are able to continue with the next stage of their lives, as quickly as possible whilst maintaining their dignity and self-respect. Outside hours, Molly is passionate about health, fitness and nutrition, and is constantly promoting the invaluable mental, emotional and physical benefits that effective training and wholesome nutrition provides. Molly is a qualified Les Mills instructor and an avid Crossfitter. Molly also speaks Malay, Bahasa Indonesia and some Cantonese.

In the famous song written by the Cruel Sea some wise words are imparted ‘ Better get a lawyer…Better get a real good one. Your gonna need a good one to get you out of this one’. With Linda you can be sure that you have found a good lawyer, in fact she is a really good one. She is smart, savvy and an unwavering advocate for her clients. She is also incredibly caring and kind. In addition, as a mum of 4 she brings a practical and common sense approach to family law matters.

Linda has the qualifications to back up the claim that she is a really good lawyer. She holds a Law Degree and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from Bond University and she is admitted to practice in the High Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of Queensland. She has practised exclusively in family law since becoming a lawyer and is a member of the Queensland Law Society and the Family Law Practitioners Association.

Some of the matters that Linda has successfully resolved include:

• A property settlement matter involving a challenge to the terms of a Binding Financial Agreement.
• A complex parenting matter involving issues of international relocation.
• A complicated property settlement matter requiring the split of an international pension fund.

Linda enjoys sharing her wealth of information and experience with other families through our community legal education and information sessions.

Jennifer will proudly share with you that she was born and raised “in the bush”. Her family was living in Broken Hill when she was born and she has fond memories of growing up in this country town.

When you meet Jennifer one of the first things she will ask you is “would you like a cup of tea”. Jennifer loves her tea, Irish Breakfast is her favourite, and she prides herself of making a perfectly brewed cup. Having grown up in the bush she is a believer in the philosophy that a lot of problems can be helped by a chat and a cup of tea. Anyone who has seen Jennifer at our Capalaba office will agree that she makes a good cup of tea and she is a good listener.

Jennifer’s approach to resolving complex legal situations extends beyond just having a chat and a cup of tea. She is a highly experienced Lawyer having practiced exclusively in the areas of family law and estate law for the past 8 years. Her experience is backed by formal qualifications of an Associate Degree in Law, a Bachelor of Laws and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice and she is admitted to Practice in the High Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of Queensland. Some examples of matters that Jennifer has recently resolved include:

• A complex will dispute where a parent left insufficient provision for two adult children with significant health needs.
• A difficult parenting matter where two young children were left orphaned after their mother and father passed away and needed to be placed in the care of an aunt.
• A complex property and spousal support settlement between a husband and wife which involved a business interest with a third party

Jennifer is a strong communicator and presenter and she has presented information sessions on various family law and estate law topics to community groups. She has also presented a webinar on technical aspects of estate law to other lawyers within the legal profession.

Ryan likes to whistle while he works. Some favourites on his play list are ‘Baby Shark’, if he has been listening to this with his daughter, while other times it is ‘That’s Life’ by Frank Sinatra.

According to the little known version of the folk song called ‘Whistle While You Work’ whistling is a wonderful way to bring joy and happiness to the workplace. “When there’s much to do, don’t let it bother you, forget your trouble, try to be, just like the cheerful chickadee, and whistle while you work.” Ryan’s friendly and good natured personality, in addition to his whistling, always brings such a warmth and care in his role as Lawyer.

To top it off Ryan’s intellect and growing knowledge adds to the depth of experience within our team. Ryan has completed a Bachelor of Laws from the Southern Cross University and has also completed his Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice through the College of Law. Ryan has been exclusively practising family law and estate law since his admission as a lawyer.

Ryan has a wide range of experience working on challenging family law and estate law matters, and some of the recent matters he has worked on include:

• Obtaining an order for a parent to have sole parental responsibility and care of their daughter due to family violence concerns.
• Contesting an application for a protection order and having the application withdrawn.
• Securing an arrest warrant against a parent who failed to appear at Court after relocating interstate with the child.

All of Sarah’s favourite things in life tend to start with the letter ‘f’; family, friends, fun, fashion and food! She has a particular knack for combining all these things together into a fabulous fusion.
To top it off Sarah is also quite simply fantastic in her professional sphere.

Sarah provides a friendly welcome to anyone who calls or drops into our office. She provides a listening ear to new clients who are looking for legal assistance and provides assistance responding to all other general enquiries.

Sarah brings a particular finesse to everything that she does thanks to her education and previous experience. She is currently completing a course in Community Justice Services (Justice of the Peace [Qualified]) and has previous experience working in the areas of criminal law, conveyancing and wills and estates.

Maxine enjoys art, particularly the visual arts. One of her favourite artists is Mall Licudine, appreciating the layered details and creative themes of her masterpieces.

The approach that Maxine brings to her work as our Corporate Specialist of Finance shares many similarities with her favoured artist, encompassing both a high level of detail and a flair of creativity.  

Maxine studied at the Queensland University of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) and through this study developed her strong technical skills and a keen eye for detail. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Education and is registered with the Queensland College of Teachers, and thanks to her outside work with children Maxine brings a solid theoretical understanding of working with families in a community setting. Maxine’s blend of corporate and community perspectives make her the perfect fit for all the work that is done at our New Way Lawyers Corporate Office. 

According to a well-known quote “people who love and care for animals have some of the biggest hearts around,” Laura certainly has a big heart then, as she is a proud mumma to three fur babies, a rescue dog named Bambi and two cats named Rio and Arlo.
 
Laura’s natural ability for love and care extends not only to animals but also to everyone around her. She has a way of making people feel important and special and is always ready with a listening ear and a word of encouragement. This makes her a perfect fit for her role as Legal Secretary of our Burleigh Waters office.
 
In addition to her warm and caring personality Laura has extensive experience in customer service and office administration across a range of different industries. She has also previously worked in the health services field.
 
Laura recently started studying a Law Degree through the Southern Cross University and she is now focusing on building her experience in the legal profession in preparation for becoming a family lawyer.