Moores - here for good

Here for Good | Discover our Expertise

At Moores, our expertise and experience covers all aspects of family law from putting in place financial agreements when entering into a relationship, to the initial phase of divorce or separation, child custody, through to court based resolution where necessary.

The Family and Relationship Law team at Moores includes Sarah Lacey, Special Counsel and Bani Mishra, Special Counsel who both bring a deep understanding and experience in dealing with the unique circumstances and challenges associated with Family Law.

To find out more about our Family and Relationship Law expertise, visit: https://buff.ly/3M3xjzz

Moores would like to welcome Bani Mishra as a Special Counsel to our Family and Relationship Law team.

Bani is a highly experienced Family Lawyer with over 20 years of experience, combining technical legal skills with experience working with a wide variety of clients.

Bani excels in assisting clients to navigate through their challenges with compassion and empathy. She is dedicated to helping clients resolve family law disputes as efficiently and effectively as possible, employing a strategic yet practical approach.

Welcome to Moores!

Find out more about Bani and her expertise here: https://buff.ly/4ddNNRh

Moores would like to welcome Kristen Elliott-Newell as an Associate to our Corporate Advisory Team.

Kristen brings a wealth of experience in privacy law, regulatory strategy and legal communication to our team. With years of experience working for various state and federal regulators, Kristen has deep insight into regulatory strategy, compliance and enforcement.

As part of the Education and Privacy team, Kristen is dedicated to making the law approachable and compliance attainable for all her clients.

Welcome to Moores!

Find out more about Kristen and her expertise here: https://buff.ly/3LdJQAd

Congratulations to our new practicing lawyers - Samantha, Cheryl and Tim, who have recently been admitted to practice, after successful completion of the Moores' Graduate Program.

Samantha Guo - Samantha specialises in child safety, safeguarding and workplace relations. She is dedicated to minimising and preventing risk of harm to vulnerable individuals.

Cheryl Au - Cheryl is a dedicated lawyer specialising in estate planning, Wills and powers of attorney. With a deep understanding of the intricacies involved in estate planning, Cheryl ensures that her clients' interests are protected and their wishes are honoured.

Tim Cleaver - As part of the workplace relations team, Tim provides clients with expert guidance on a variety of employment law issues.

Join us in welcoming Laura Evans-McKendry as a Special Counsel to our Estate Planning team.

Laura specialises in estate planning and structuring, bringing a wealth of expertise in creating complex Wills, including testamentary and protective trusts.

Laura's approach is centered on collaboration. She works closely with clients to fully understand their priorities and intentions, providing them with tailored solutions and options that align with their unique situations.

Welcome to Moores!

Find out more about Laura and her expertise here: https://buff.ly/45GehbN

Meet our team | Senior Lawyer, Tal Shmerling

Tal specialises in the areas of discrimination, child safety, safeguarding and workplace relations.

Tal is an expert in discrimination and equality laws, having worked in senior legal and policy roles at Victoria’s equal opportunity regulator, Ambulance Victoria and the Victorian Government. He has advised on many significant discrimination and human rights cases and led investigations into discrimination and harassment. He is known for providing clear, practical and pragmatic solutions that create safer workplaces, schools and organisations and position his clients as leading employers, educators and service providers.

Why Moores?
“At Moores, the mantra of ‘helping good grow’ is embedded into our fabric. By assisting our clients to create meaningful and positive change within their organisations, our impact is far-reaching. I appreciate that Moores is deeply committed to our clients, whilst maintaining a strong focus on our values and our people.”

Also...
Tal loves a good coffee in the morning and spending time in nature with his partner and young daughters. He also enjoys going to the footy with his family and going to the theatre or a comedy show.

Learn more about Tal and his expertise: https://buff.ly/4aR0rnA

Data breaches are on the rise and it is more important than ever that all organisations take the necessary steps to protect their value client data.

Practice Leader, Cecelia Irvine-So, and Senior Lawyer, Penny Liberogiannis, recently presented a Moores webinar discussing some practical steps organisations can take to prevent data breaches. In this webinar, we break down measures to enhance data protection into three main factors: people, culture and systems.

To learn more watch our free webinar recording here: https://buff.ly/3VgpCKS

Moores would like to welcome Peter Azam as a Senior Lawyer to our Estate Planning team.

Peter specialises in Estate Planning and Structuring and is an expert in Taxation, assisting clients with complex financial needs.

His approach to helping clients is holistic, leveraging his expertise across various specialist areas including trusts, self-managed superannuation and taxation.

Welcome to Moores!

Find out more about Peter and his expertise here: https://buff.ly/4dNjBO1

Yesterday was a milestone day as our trainees, Samantha Guo, Cheryl Au and Tim Cleaver, along with 2023/24 trainees Vanessa Manfrin and Ropa Dzingai, were admitted into practice at the Supreme Court in the presence of family & friends.

A huge congratulations to all our 2023/24 trainees…now soon to be lawyers!

Join us in welcoming Catherine Iliadis as an Associate to our Estate Litigation and Administration team.

Catherine is an understanding and passionate advocate that is driven to assist clients in a way that is accessible to them. She specialises in estate litigation and supports clients with trust disputes, VCAT administration and guardianship matters and elder abuse.

Welcome to Moores!

Find out more about Catherine and her expertise here: https://buff.ly/3WnUM4W

Meet our team | Special Counsel, Jessica Kinnear

Jessica is a trusted and personable retirement living lawyer, with over 12 years experience in property and retirement living. Jessica’s expertise spans across organisational and private clients.

Prior to joining Moores, Jessica ran her own legal practice dedicated to helping residents and prospective residents of retirement villages. Jessica’s extensive experience and unique skill set, particularly on the consumer side, enables her to understand the complex needs of her clients and provide them with clarity and practical advice.

Why Moores?
"The people at Moores make Moores. To put it simply, they are good people doing good. I am honoured to be part of the team at Moores."

Also...
Jessica juggles her professional pursuits with her love of spending time with her family and Bernese Mountain Dog.

Learn more about Jessica and her expertise: https://buff.ly/3w3Jrwa

We are proud to share that Practice Leader, James Dimond, has been included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in Australia™ for Trusts and Estates.

The Best Lawyers in Australia™ awards recognises lawyers across Australia based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation.

James has been instructed in a number of high-value private trust disputes and has extensive experience across all aspects of Wills and Estates practice, with a particular focus on resolving complex disputes regarding trusts, deceased estates, superannuation and Guardianship and Administration.

James is an Accredited Specialist Wills and Estates Lawyer and heads up Moores’ Elder Financial Abuse Team. He also accepts private and Court appointments as Administrator from time to time and assists clients and family groups with succession planning and structuring, including complex wills, testamentary trusts, asset protection and pro-active measures to avoid family disputes.

Find out more: https://buff.ly/3xOi5L1

Moores is delighted to welcome Melissa Srbinovski as an Associate to our Estate Litigation and Administration team.

Melissa's previous experience with family law has provided her with a breadth of knowledge to understand the layers and complexities that later form part of estate administration and litigation.

She aims to provides practical solutions and comprehensive guidance tailored to her client’s needs ensuring that when they walk out of Moores they feel confident their problem is in the right hands.

Welcome to Moores!

Find out more about Melissa and her expertise here: https://buff.ly/3JmU4gH

In celebration of International Women's Day 2024 we welcomed Senior Relationship Manager at Macquarie Bank, Kodie Stephens for a breakfast presentation last week.

In her discussion with CEO Tessa van Duyn, Kodie explored pathways to greater economic inclusion for women and girls including how we can contribute to more equal access to economic empowerment.

Thank you to Kodie for sharing your knowledge and experience and helping us to discover creative ways we can economically support women and girls.

Pictured: Kodie Stephens (left), CEO Tessa van Duyn (centre) and CFO Jane Denehy (right)

Over the last few months we've welcomed three new team members to the Moores team. Welcome to Karolina Chadwick, Legal Assistant in our Corporate Advisory team, Sarah Adam, Administration Support in our Estate Planning team and Jane Korneyko, Digital Transformation Lead in our Business Operations team.

Welcome to Moores Karolina, Sarah and Jane!

Join us in welcoming Laura Di Dio as an Associate to our Private Clients team.

Laura brings a wealth of experience from working in boutique firms in two very different areas of Victoria. This exposed Laura to a wide range of matters and gave her the skills to adapt and learn.

Laura aims to make complex legal jargon accessible to her clients so they are confident in understanding the estate planning and estate administration of their loved ones.

Welcome to Moores!

Find out more about Laura and her expertise here: https://buff.ly/3uybjrH

Managing online risks is more important than ever, especially for those working in the education or not-for-profit sectors.

Last week we hosted a webinar to mark Safer Internet Day 2024 and share learnings from high profile matters related to online harm and safeguarding in the education and not-for-profit sectors.

Practice Leaders Skye Rose and Cecelia Irvine-So shared ways to manage online risks and explored developments and emerging issues in relation to online grooming, cyberbullying, technology-based coercive control and more.

If you work in the education or not-for-profit sector and want to better understand the current online safety risks, watch our webinar recording here: https://buff.ly/3I8OSfE

Last week we celebrated the completion of our 2023 graduate program. Over the past 12 months our trainees have rotated across the different practice areas at Moores, giving them unique opportunities to learn and grow within their careers.

It has been a fantastic experience and we have benefitted from their unique perspective and curiosity.

Thank you to Sam, Tim, Ropa, Vanessa and Cheryl. It has been exciting having you at Moores and seeing you grow in your legal careers!

We are pleased to welcome Stephen Benjamin Mitchell as a Lawyer to our Private Clients team.

Working in the areas of Estate Litigation, Elder Financial Abuse, VCAT Guardianship and Administration and Deceased Estates, Stephen supports his clients through what can be a challenging and emotional experience. He has experience in family law, property law and criminal law which provides him a broad perspective in helping his clients.

Welcome to Moores!

Find out more about Stephen and his expertise here: https://buff.ly/3Ij9eTP

Moores is delighted to announce Leah Anderson’s appointment as a Practice Leader of the firm. Leah joins our Corporate Advisory Team at Moores and leads our Workplace Relations team.

Leah brings over 25 years’ experience as a workplace relations lawyer in private practice and in-house and has recently managed high-profile enterprise bargaining and wage compliance disputes at Coles, Uber, and ANZ.

Skye Rose, fellow Practice Leader in our Corporate Advisory Team said, “We are thrilled to welcome Leah to Moores. Leah’s expertise aligns seamlessly with our desire to assist and advise our clients in the ever-evolving landscape of workplace law.”

Welcome aboard Leah.

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