Rachael is a Partner and co-manages our Brisbane Family and Relationship Law practice. She provides exceptional advice with emotional intelligence to help clients make the best decisions at the start and end of their significant relationships. The technical skills Rachael offers are highly sought and highly regarded among clients needing support through sensitive, high-net wealth and complex settlements.
Having worked solely in family and relationship law since 2002, Rachael specialises in complex property and other financial matters arising from relationship breakdowns. Rachael possesses particular expertise and interest in cases involving parties’ interests in corporate and trust structures, and relationship planning by use of binding financial agreements. Her practice has a specific focus that includes complex parenting matters involving international parenting disputes, drug and alcohol abuse, cases involving mental health issues and children with special needs (particularly matters involving autism/Asperger’s and other spectrum disorders).
Rachael is also trained in collaborative law, mediation and parenting coordination. In her work as a parenting coordinator, Rachael coaches parents in post-separation communication strategies and conflict resolution. Rachael arms parents with the tools they need to make positive and constructive contributions to their child’s development, and helps them avoid the poor outcomes traditionally associated with children who have been exposed to parental conflict.
Expertise
Rachael’s expertise includes:
- Divorce and relationship breakdowns – including court and non-court based dispute resolution, Family Court appeals, de facto relationships, domestic violence, international disputes, same sex relationships, separation and spousal maintenance
- Property settlements – including advising high-net-wealth individuals and those with trusts, corporate entities and family businesses
- Non court based conflict resolution in family law matters – including parenting coordination, mediation and collaborative law
- Financial agreements – including structuring and planning prenuptial agreements and cohabitation agreements
- Children’s issues – including adoption, child abuse, child support, grandparents’ rights and step-parents’ rights, interstate and international relocation, Hague Convention cases, parenting agreements, surrogacy, IVF and gender dysphoria cases
- International matters – including assisting Australian expatriates living abroad, cross-border pre-nuptial agreements and property settlements and liaison with leading international family law practices in most jurisdictions
Professional Memberships / Accreditation & Activities
- Leading Lawyer, Family & Divorce Law, Doyles Guide
- Leading Lawyer, Parenting & Children’s Matters, Doyles Guide
- Leading Lawyer, High-Value & Complex Property Matters, Doyle’s Guide
- Recognised Lawyer, Family Law, Family Law Mediation and Non-Profit / Charities Law, The Best Lawyers in Australia
- Member, Family Law Practitioners’ Association
- Member, Child Protection Practitioners Association of Queensland
- Member, Parenting Coordination Australia
- Member, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
- Member, Queensland Collaborative Law
- Partner of the Year Finalist , Family Law, Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year
Sector
- Family Law ,