Pearsons Lawyers

⚖️ Thriving Together at the Pearsons Lawyers Conference! ⚖️
On July 19, 2024, the Pearsons Lawyers team gathered for a day of inspiration, learning, and connection at our annual conference! We were thrilled to have the esteemed Barrister Cath Devine share her expertise on drafting and editing Binding Child Support Agreements—truly a session to remember.
Michael Schiffner from Collective Intelligence provided us with invaluable networking tips, while Tax Lawyer George Kolliou shared his expertise, giving us an in-depth understanding of financial statements, loan accounts, and tax red flags in Family Law property settlements.
The day was alive with insightful discussions and knowledge exchange on topics vital to our daily practice. At Pearsons Lawyers, our commitment to continuous professional growth and excellence in family law is unwavering. 💼📚

Pearsons Family Lawyers are excited to invite you to our upcoming online seminar, ‘Thinking of Separating? What do I need to know?’

Partner Amanda Vella will host the event, which will be full of great advice and plenty of time for viewer questions and answers.

Join us for what will be a very informative online event, as Amanda shares her expert insights on the early stages of divorce and separation.

You can register to join us on Tuesday, June 18th, 2024, from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm AEST.

Admission is free, but you can reserve your spot and access more details via our Eventbrite link below.

Event Schedule:

6:00 PM - Introduction
6:05 PM - Seminar by Amanda Vella
6:30 PM - Q&A Session
6:55 PM - Closing

This is a great opportunity to gain valuable knowledge, ask questions and make informed decisions. The session will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel for those who can't attend live.

Don't miss out! Click the link below to register and secure your spot. We look forward to seeing you there!

Thinking of Separating in Australia? What Do I Need to Know? be informed. helps you make good decisions. This Session will explore Separation and Divorce.

Pearsons Lawyers celebrate International Women’s Day.

The team of solicitors at Pearsons Lawyers and their many guests had the pleasure of celebrating International Women’s Day at the Higher Ground café in Melbourne this International Women’s Day in March 2024.

We all had the opportunity to catch up and also be inspired by the wonderful presentation given by Tracey Gaudry, the Chief Executive Officer of Comm Unity Plus Services Ltd (commUnity+), who spoke openly about her journey through life to become CEO, her desire to give back to the community and thus leave the corporate world and the need for all of us to consider the contribution we can make to those less privileged and who are in need.

It is always a privilege and a pleasure to catch up with other professional women and hear about their journey as well.

Thank you to all of our guests who attended.

Business Merri-bek International Women’s Day Invites Leanne Abela of Pearsons Lawyers to be their Guest Speaker.

On Tuesday, the 5th of March 2024, Leanne Abela had the privilege of being invited by the Merri-bek Business Women's Network to be the Guest Speaker at their International Women’s Day Event.

Leanne had the pleasure of presenting her journey from childhood to Partner at Pearsons, providing tips and anecdotes that have shaped her along the way. She was also privileged enough to be on the Speakers’ Podium with the very interesting Ashley Vola – Founder of an exciting new enterprise celebrating the distinctive food of Cameroon in Africa.

It was a great event attended by approximately 50 different Business Women. It was inspiring to be in the presence of so many intelligent, hardworking and interesting women.

Part time Wills and Probate Lawyer

3 to 4 Days per week or Full time (minimum 3 years’ experience).

A position is available at Pearsons Lawyers for a Wills and Probate lawyer, with minimum of 3 years’ experience to secure this role.

You will:
• Work with a Probate clerk
• Have some experience in Probate and Wills
• Wish to work 3 or 4 days per week – 8:30 am to 5:00 pm (one hour closure for lunch)
• Would appreciate great working conditions as part of a very experienced and
friendly team of lawyers and support staff
• Will have the opportunity to mentor junior lawyers
• Provided with high quality work in a team environment
• Great work life balance

A position is available at our Glenroy office for you.

Please mark all resumes to the attention of Margaret Stockdale our Practice Manager at:
[email protected]

Applications close 30/06/2023

Junior Family Lawyers - Full Time Positions

1 year to 2 years’ family law experience.

Pearsons Family Lawyers are in search of 3 energetic full time junior lawyers to work from our Glenroy office.

• Highly regarded and long-standing family law firm (Est 1922)
• One of Australia’s largest Boutique Family Law Firms
• Good career development opportunities
• Opportunity to be mentored by Senior Associates and Partners
• Great team environment and support
• Work/life balance valued
• Good working hours
• Variety of work and clients

If you want a career in family law this is an excellent opportunity for a talented 1st or 2nd year junior lawyer to join a friendly supportive and dynamic family law team.

Applications close 15.05.2023.

Please send all applications addressed to Margaret Stockdale Practice Manager, email to: [email protected]

Family Lawyer Full Time Position
2+ Years Experience - Pearsons Family Lawyers

• One of Australia’s largest boutique Family Law firms
• Great team environment and support
• Career development
• Variety of work and clients including complex property and children matters
• Position includes working with and mentoring junior solicitors
• Work / life balance valued with good working hours 8:30 am to 5:00 pm with one hour lunch shut down
• Glenroy or Melbourne CBD

If you have 2 years plus experience in Family Law and would enjoy working great hours in a friendly, supported team environment, then this is your opportunity to join one of the most reputable and long-standing Family Law firms (Est 1922).

The firm has experienced significate growth and is expanding its Family Law team.

Applications close 30/4/2023.
Please send all applications addressed to Margaret Stockdale Practice Manager, email to:
[email protected]

Probate Lawyers - Pearsons Family Lawyers

Location – Glenroy or Melbourne CBD

If you have 4+ years’ experience in probate law and would enjoy working great hours between 8.30am and 5.00pm (with one hour closure for lunch) then this is your opportunity to join a well-established firm (established in 1922) to conduct Probate work.

The role involves:

• Running files;
• No need to create own bills as there is a costing clerk;
• Working in a great team environment with established support;
• Career development, and
• Full time, 3 days, or 4 days available

Salary is commensurate with experience.

Applications close 20th April 2023.

Please send all applications addressed to Margaret Stockdale, Practice Manager email to: [email protected]

Senior Managing Solicitors - Pearsons Family Lawyers

Pearsons has an opportunity for two very experienced Senior Solicitors to lead our Melbourne CBD practice with assistance from partners Joseph Schepis and Leanne Abela.

This is a great opportunity for a Senior Solicitor to take on a leadership role in our new large CBD office which is next to the Family Court. The premises has an extensive number of offices as well as open plan working areas, and a Mediation Centre for in-house Mediations, as well as external Mediations to be conducted.

Working conditions are excellent including:

• An opportunity to work either full time or four days per week;
Work / life balance value with working hours 8:30am to 5:00pm with one hour closure for lunch;
• The opportunity to receive bonuses upon meeting budget;
• An additional 5 days annual leave over and above 20 days annual leave;
• Is one of Australia’s largest boutique Family Law practices;
• Has a great team environment and support;
• Offers career development opportunities;
• Offers a variety of work and clients including complex property and children matters;
• The position includes working with and mentoring solicitors.

If you have 10 years or more experience in Family Law and would enjoy working great hours with an excellent salary in a friendly, supported team environment, then this is your opportunity to join one of the most reputable and long-standing Family Law firms, (Est 1922).

Pearsons has experienced significant growth and is expanding its Family Law team in the CBD.

The Role includes;

• Running files independently;
• Delegating to and mentoring solicitors;
• Appearance work;
• Networking with referral sources and organisations; and
• Practicing in a broad range of children and property matters

Salary $150,000 to $250,000 dependant on experience.

Applications close Friday 10/4/2023

Please send all applications addressed to Margaret Stockdale Practice Manager, to: [email protected]

PEARSONS CHRISTMAS TOY FUNDRAISER

At Pearsons Lawyers we are well known for our philanthropic events which we hold on a yearly basis. This year has been somewhat different as it has been difficult to invite people to any events for the purpose of fundraising for great causes.

Our wonderful Practice Manager, Margaret Stockdale, came up with the great idea for all of our staff to donate toys to ensure that children in the area have a present to open up on Christmas Day particularly during these times when many in our community are doing it tough.

Margaret is to be congratulated on her wonderful initiative and the Pearsons staff on the great effort they went to to purchase and donate all of these wonderful toys which are sure to put smiles on the faces of children in our local community and in collaboration with the Hope Centre.

On Thursday 25 November 2021 Leanne Abela and Benita Crocker from Pearsons presented to the CPA Eastern Suburbs Discussion Group Inc at their 31st Anniversary Conference at the RACV Cape Schanck.

The presentation covered many relevant topics for the Group including:

1. How Accountants & Financial Advisors can advise their clients regarding asset protection in the event of a separation or when entering the relationship;

2. Advising how to response to a subpoena to give evidence or produce documents;

3. When does a conflict of interest arise when the clients you are presenting separate.

The response from the conference participants was engaging and educational for all.

Here is a response to the presentation from the event organiser:

“What a marvellous presentation from Leanne Abela and Benita Crocker from Pearsons. I am not sure I have laughed that hard, that often during a presentation for a long time. It was both highly educational and funny. The advice is so practical, how could you not engage Pearson’s, unless it’s a Pre-Nup. 😊 *crack em open!!! Thank you Leanne and Benita for sponsoring and a fantastic presentation."

On 1 December 2021 Leanne Abela, Partner and Deborah Sim, Senior Associate and Solicitors Helen Le and Brenda Ling attended the Asian Business Women’s Association & International Women’s Federation of Commerce & Industry at the Kooyong Tennis Courts to listen to guest speaker, Dr Susan Alberti AC whose talk was both informative and incredibly moving.

She has worked tirelessly to raise funds for diabetes research and to launch women’s AFL.

A great time was had by all who attended and it was a wonderful opportunity to mix with other likeminded positive women.

Congratulations to our Associate Solicitor, Deborah Sim on obtaining her accreditation as a specialist family lawyer.

What a great achievement Deborah.

The Partners, Leanne Abela & Joseph Schepis are very proud of you.

What a wonderful asset Deborah is to our team of lawyers at Pearsons.

A huge congratulations and appreciation to our loyal staff, Lorien Voss and Belinda Mignanelli both of whom clocked up 15 years of service at Pearsons Lawyers in November 2021.

The Partners, Joseph Schepis & Leanne Abela acknowledge their vast knowledge and incredible contribution to Pearsons Lawyers.

Congratulations to both of you!

Burying cash under a watchdog’s kennel, sending money offshore and overpaying credit cards are among the strategies warring partners use.

How divorcing couples hide (and find) family assets

Pearsons Family Lawyers are seeking to employ a 2nd to 5th-year solicitor with experience in Family Law who will work with Family Law Managing Senior Solicitor Helen Chetcuti in our Glenroy office.

Pearsons is a Family Law firm practising across CBD, Glenroy and 14 other offices.

Founded in 1922 we are driven to provide outcomes that improve our client’s lives by using our skills and innovative capabilities.

Pearsons deals with complex Family Law and relationship issues including:

• Property Division
• Financial Support
• Children’s Issues
• Intervention Orders
• Family Violence
• Child Support

Our teams are tailored to each case drawing together the right mix of people from across our areas of expertise and experience.

This is a well-mentored position for the right candidate. All applications to Practice Manager Margaret Stockdale.

It’s the year 2040.

You sit with your teenager, both of you tense.

“Mum,” they say. “Who is my biological father?”

You look at their face, the eyes so like yours, the chin and nose that are not.

You think about how you tried to instil in your child resilience, self-esteem, and faith in the basic decency of others.

Those qualities are about to be tested. By you. Hard.

“I bought s***m from a stranger on Facebook,” you say.

Read more: https://bit.ly/34uyMtd

Sourcing s***m from social media is not the answer to your fertility problems Children must not be made in circumstances which do not uphold their best interests.

A COVID-fuelled “s***m drought” has heightened fears about unregulated s***m donations, with more women using social media to find donors and some allegedly being assaulted by men offering to help them conceive.

S***m drought fuels unregulated online market and s*x assault concerns A COVID-fuelled “s***m drought” has heightened fears about unregulated s***m donations, with more women flocking online to find donors and some being allegedly assaulted by men offering to help them conceive.

Police recorded an overall increase in family violence incidents of 9.4 per cent in 2020 compared with 2019, with new police data showing significant spikes in June and October when restrictions started to ease.

Spike in family violence reports recorded as Victoria eased out of lockdown The Crime Statistics Agency said the new data emphasises the importance of considering “potential barriers to reporting faced by victim-survivors when lockdown measures are in place”.

“We analysed what everyone agrees was a broken system and tried to demonstrate what the people of Australia would get with the extra funding – and how we could measure it.

“As a result of underfunding and other inefficiencies we had a massive backlog, an enormous amount of delay, and the cost of family law was far too high.

“When you match that with the level of family violence in our society, we had a totally unacceptable situation.”

- Family Court Chief Justice Will Alstergren

Federal Budget 2021: Chief Justice sets family law targets after funding boost The Chief Justice of the Family Court has set ambitious targets on the back of a big budget funding boost.

Federal budget 2021: Domestic violence prevention receives $1.1 billion funding boost with $416 million to support family law system

https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/politics/31346-budget-2021-416m-to-further-support-family-law-system?utm_source=LawyersWeekly&utm_campaign=11_05_2021&utm_medium=email&utm_content=1&utm_emailID=eb7d1e622bd45e874f56fdee4243c995d82ae6e808eb7c407a9f0fe0f73ff4f5

Budget 2021: $416m to further support family law system Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced nearly half a billion dollars in additional funding to combat family and domestic violence and strengthen the family law system. The 2021-22 Federal Budget wi

Protecting Your Assets Seminar to the Australian Asian Women’s Business Association

On Sunday the 18th of April 2021, Director & Partner, Leanne Abela, Senior Associate, Deborah Sim and Solicitor, Breana Cilia were fortunate enough to be asked to present to the Australian Asian Business Women’s Association in Collins Street, Melbourne.

In the beautiful art space at 417 Collins Street, Melbourne with gorgeous views of the amazing tree-lined iconic street from an upstairs auditorium, Pearsons Lawyers presented a seminar covering various topics including definitions of marriage and de facto relationships, the ways in which parents or siblings can gift to their children in setting up their financial lives, the ways in which to protect assets from family law claims in the future when gifting assets or funds and provided some anecdotes in interesting cases on these topics.

There was lively discussion and engagement from the audience and a great afternoon was spent interacting and networking with this energetic and professional group of women. It was a privilege and an honour to be able to present to this group.

🚨 New Podcast Alert 🚨

Episode #12 - Should the children spend time with both parents and how are the children’s voices heard?

🎙 Listen Here: https://bit.ly/3bhLxKA

Pearsons Family Law - Should the children spend time with both parents and how are the children’s voices heard? In this episode we talk about whether children should spend time with both parents after separation and also how the children’s wishes are taken into account in Family Law negotiations and during Court proceedings.

🚨 New Podcast Alert 🚨

Episode #11 - What happens to children arrangements in a separation?

🎙 Listen Here: https://bit.ly/3avaFy5

Pearsons Family Law - What happens to children arrangements in a separation? One of the most important questions that parents have when they separate is what happens to the children? In this episode we provide some guidance as to what happens to children arrangements when parents decide to separate.

A few weeks ago we celebrated International Women’s Day. Thank you to everyone who attended. $10 of each ticket went to the charity supporting the We raised approximately $810. It was amazing seeing you all again after such a long time.