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Welcome, we’re glad you’re here.
We have many of ACT’s best family & wills lawyers and support our clients in resolving matters out of court whenever possible.
In the family law space, we advocate out of Court solutions and Collaborative law to help parties have a fast, amicable settlement wherever possible. Somebody’s ‘rights’ under the law are not the only thing that matters. But we also understand that tough skilled Court work is needed in some cases.
We are based in the Canberra CBD at Level 1, 10 Rudd Street, Canberra. Give us a call on 02 6115 9000.
Adam Bak
Family Lawyer
Adam joined the firm in 2006 and became a Director in 2013. Having built his reputation as one of our best litigators, he has been recognised for several years as one of Canberra’s preeminent family lawyers. He is regularly referred new clients by people he has acted both for and against previously. Adam’s approach is assertive and proactive. He is outcome focused and not afraid to tackle apparently insurmountable challenges.
Ramya Balachandren
Senior Family Law Solicitor
Ramya joined us after working in several Canberra based and national family law firms. Ramya has been practicing family law exclusively since her admission and is passionate about the intricacies and challenges involved in this area of law. Ramya’s empathetic and compassionate nature, coupled with her knowledge of the law, assists clients in getting through what is often one of the most difficult times of their lives.
Jim Dunn
CEO
Despite his youthful good looks Jim has in excess of 40 years of experience. Once upon a time Jim was one of Australia’s fiercest litigators; but having now attained a state of zen he is passionate about the benefits of collaboration for clients. When he isn’t reading books on why lawyers should eat bananas he manages to keep the rest of us feeling good about ourselves and he has steered the firm through 20 successful years (and counting).
Juliette Ford
Family Lawyer
Juliette is the Deputy MD at Farrar Gesini Dunn and has been with FGD since 2001. She has worked in the legal industry for 24 years mainly in the area of Family Law. In her practice, she specialises in out of court solutions and managing and understanding conflict – drawing upon her experience as a litigation lawyer, as a Registrar of the Family Court of Australia and the work she has done in the area of Collaborative Law.
Kasey Fox
Family Lawyer
Kasey began her family law career with us back in 2004 and was made a Director in 2013. Originally from Alice Springs, Kasey has made Canberra her home more than 17 years. She is pragmatic, thorough, passionate about her work and very protective of her clients. When necessary, Kasey is a fierce litigator, but she also is an advocate for Collaborative Law and tries to reach negotiated outcomes whenever possible.
Renata Hercok
Family Law Solicitor
Renata joined us in the middle of a global pandemic – suitable given that she’s never gone about life in a conventional way. Renata chose the ‘life experience’ path after completing her legal qualifications, leaving the indoor office and swapping it for outdoor ones at Perisher and Park City in Utah, USA for 8 back to back snow seasons. At Perisher she ran the largest children’s ski school program in the southern hemisphere, and at Park City she worked as an instructor as well as a trainer of other instructors.
Jiaying Goh
Family Law Solicitor
Jiaying is known around the office for being a quick operator and human computer. She has experience in Family Law and Wills. Since joining the firm in 2018, she has been thinking a lot about how to make the law a better place for our clients. After much thinking she coded the AI behind our online family law service www.moderndivorce.com.au. Jiaying spent most of her childhood in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia and speaks Mandarin at a native level.
Jessica Kennedy
Family Lawyer
Jessica is one of those people who is brilliant at everything she does. She has a PhD in Law and wrote her thesis on the legislation aimed at protecting victims of violent crimes in Court proceedings in the ACT. Having finished everything there is to do in the world of academia, she joined us and quickly became one of Canberra’s leading family lawyers, particularly in dealing with domestic violence and complex parenting issues.
Anastasios Keramianakis
Family Law Solicitor
Tassi joined us in 2019 after working in property development and planning law for 3 years. His move away from business and into family law was driven by a desire to help people. Tassi is a member of our family law team and provides ongoing support to our solicitors in managing a wide range of financial and parenting matters. Tassi has a second degree in accounting that assists him in sorting through complex financial arrangements and business structures.
Daniel Magnussen
Family Law Solicitor
Daniel joined us in 2018 after working in a boutique Canberra family law firm. He moved across to family law after spending two years working in politics. Daniel is a lawyer in our family law team and has experience across a broad range of areas within this field. He specialises in complex disputes between married and de facto/same-sex partners, including negotiated property settlements, parenting disputes, relocation matters, child support matters and family/domestic violence matters.
Haydn Marsh
Family Law Solicitor
Haydn is committed to assisting his clients to resolve their disputes as swiftly and amicably as possible. An experienced litigator and a persuasive advocate, Haydn relishes the opportunity to argue his client’s position, whether it be before the Court, or in the context of negotiations. Haydn gained accreditation as a mediator in 2012. He is well regarded in the Canberra legal community and draws on his relationships with other professionals to obtain good results for his clients.
Kirsty McLeod
Family Lawyer
Kirsty began her career in New Zealand but (fortunately for us) moved to Australia in 2010. She is our go-to person for surrogacy and parentage work (which is really complicated, so you’ll need an expert) and has spoken at conferences and even participated in a parliamentary roundtable inquiry on the subject. She has run lots of contested and tricky parenting cases. Kirsty also has a degree in economics, so she’s all over hard financial cases.
Ann Northcote
Family Lawyer
Ann has been with the firm since its opening in 1995 and became a director in 2000. Ann runs a busy and diverse case load but her degree in Economics means she is particularly good at complex financial cases. She is a master of defined benefit and Commonwealth superannuation schemes and also understands the complexities of self managed superannuation.
Robert Routh
Family Lawyer
Robert is a former Registrar of the Family Court of Australia and is also a registered Dispute Resolution Practitioner in Family Law. Robert’s experience of more than 20 years has enabled him to assist many clients in resolving their legal issues at an early stage. His emphasis is in early settlement of legal disputes. Robert’s pragmatic approach to matters allows clients to focus on the “bigger picture”.
Nicholas Smith
Family Lawyer
Nick joined us after having worked in insurance litigation at global law firms in Sydney for over five years. As a family lawyer, he works across a range of financial and parenting matters. He is particularly interested in property issues involving trusts, claims by third party creditors and complex business structures. He is currently in the final stages of a Master of Applied Law (Family Law).
Melany Toombs
Family Lawyer
Melany formerly worked as a Legal Associate in the Family Court of Australia and is well-equipped with an understanding of complex parenting cases, particularly those involving questions of risk and what is in the child’s best interests. She has experience delving into unusual property matters involving superannuation and cryptocurrency. Melany harnesses her keen legal research skills and meticulous attention to detail to ensure that clients receive high quality and long-lasting solutions to complex problems.