Featured Profile: Juliette Ford, Director, Farrar Gesini & Dunn

By B2B, Canberra

One of Juliette Ford’s goals in life is to have an interesting career wherever that leads her: Juliette is definitely well down the path of achieving that goal.

Juliette grew up in Melbourne in a family that vigorously discussed politics over the dinner table and can remember from as young as six discussing the hot topic of the year – the dismissal of the Whitlam Government.“I suppose my interest in politics and national and international affairs came from my Dad’s side of the family. Dad’s mother was widowed when he was nine during the Depression. The bank foreclosed on their house and my grandmother went into the food business. Her rationale was that ‘No matter how bad things are people still need to eat’,” Juliette said.

Once Juliette finished her secondary schooling, she couldn’t wait to get to university.In 1985 Juliette commenced an Arts degree at Monash University and then transferred to Law. She completed her Law degree in 1990. Juliette says that despite people’s perceptions of what a feminist is, she is an active feminist.“It is important that women who have benefited from what feminism has achieved don’t disown the movement, but continue to redefine what feminism means for them and educate other people in relation to what has been achieved and what is still to be achieved,” Juliette said.

Juliette graduated in 1990 with a passion for family law but didn’t leap into a family law practice. Instead she did her articles with Meerkin and Apel, a boutique commercial law firm. “During my law degree I liked family law because I thought it would match my expertise as a lawyer and my interest in people. It was also a federal jurisdiction so if I was to move around Australia I could take it with me,” Juliette said.

Juliette was admitted as a lawyer in March 1992 and took a job in Perth with the Aboriginal Legal Service for Western Australia as their family lawyer in August 1993. “My boss at the time said ‘I’m extremely concerned as to whether you have the experience and ability to cope with this job but I’m giving it to you anyway,” Juliette said. Juliette threw herself into her work and relished working for a community-based organisation especially her court work and client work.“The level of resourcing meant I had to come up with a system for deciding which matters to take on. I also had to strip away some of my idealism and treat people as people,” Juliette said.

In 1996 Juliette joined one of Perth’s leading generalist law firms Dwyer Durack Lawyers and became accredited as a family law specialist.

“In 1997 I moved to Canberra because my husband Tony wanted to undertake a PhD in philosophy at ANU. So we packed up and moved,” Juliette said.

In 1998 Juliette worked for the Welfare Rights and Legal Service running a poverty law practice. In 1999 she worked for the Women’s Legal Centre doing policy and advice in family law and also started lecturing the undergraduate family law course in family law. In 2000 Juliette was appointed as a Registrar of the Family Court in Canberra.

In 2001 after being approached by Olivia Gesini, Juliette joined Farrar Gesini & Dunn as a Partner. Juliette says that one of the most innovative developments at Farrar Gesini & Dunn has been the adoption of collaborative law practices.

In collaborative law, the separating couple engage a lawyer and all four parties sign a contract committing to resolving issues without going to go court or making threats to go to court. It can also involve family consultants and accountants when required.

“The benefits of collaborative law are: it is more time efficient and therefore is more cost efficient; engages lawyers for facilitating a result rather than having one eye on litigation and there are four, or more, people solving one problem rather that competing teams fighting over a limited pool.”

Juliette says that one of the things that attracted her to Farrar Gesini & Dunn was their innovative approach to addressing the everyday challenge of maintaining a professional and interesting career and having a life outside.

 “As a Director I do not work full-time. All staff work a four-day week. The firm offers a personal trainer every Tuesday and Thursday to conduct a fitness class. Lunch and fresh fruit is supplied. There are also group trips away involving the whole firm and their partners and kids,” Juliette said.

Juliette Ford is also committed to Canberra.“Canberra is what I call a liveable city. You can have a very busy work life, work long hours and be home within ten minutes of finishing work. It is one of the few capital cities that has real seasonal change,” Juliette said.