Moores is delighted to announce the recent appointment of James Dimond as Special Counsel, where he has joined as a leader of the highly regarded Estate Litigation team.
James brings to Moores over 10 years’ experience working exclusively with private clients in succession law. He has extensive experience across all aspects of Wills and Estates, with a particular focus on resolving complex disputes regarding estates, trusts, superannuation and Guardianship and Administration; a focus which he will continue at Moores.
As an LIV Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates, James is the fifth member of the Private Clients team at Moores to have achieved this qualification. James is also a Full Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Speaking of his recent appointment, Lachlan McKenzie, Practice Leader in the Private Clients team, said “James is the perfect addition to the depth of expertise already present in the Estate Litigation team – his knowledge of the area, staunch advocacy for his clients and his ability to achieve effective outcomes is already well established and highly regarded by his peers across the field. We’re wrapped to have him on board.”
When asked ‘why Moores?’, James said “In my line of work, you work up-close with and against many lawyers and firms in various challenging scenarios. I had a very high regard for Moores’ Private Clients team from afar for some time and how they went about their work – so I decided to become a part of it.”
We’re thrilled to welcome James to our Moores Community.
To find out more, or to get in touch with James, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Jennifer Dixon, Lachlan McKenzie, Krista Fitzgerald, Luke Haley and Michael Labiris have all featured as Leading Lawyers and Rowdy Johnson as Rising Star in the latest Doyle’s Guide. Recognised by their peers and referrers for their expertise in Wills & Estates Litigation and/or Wills, Estates and Succession Planning.
This ranks Moores as a First Tier Law firm in both the ‘Wills & Estates Litigation‘ and ‘Wills, Estates & Succession Planning‘ categories this year.
Our expert team is experienced in assisting families with complex Estate Planning arrangements as well as challenging and defending all manner of Disputes relating to Wills, Estates, Trusts, SMSF and Bequests.
For more information or to speak with one of our experienced lawyers, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Moores is delighted to announce the appointment of Amanda Junkeer as a Practice Leader at Moores joining our Corporate Advisory Team.
Amanda has extensive experience in all aspects of employment law with a focus on industrial relations advice and representation, enterprise bargaining strategy, and managing employment disputes and grievances.
Amanda joins Moores bringing over 20 years’ experience in workplace relations including recent appointments as General Counsel at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Special Counsel at Clayton Utz, and General Manager of Workplace Relations at Spotless.
Amanda will work closely with Skye Rose, Som Leung and members of the Corporate Advisory Team to deliver workplace relations, industrial relations and compliance work in commercial and for-purpose sectors such as disability, health, aged care and housing.
When asked ‘why Moores?’, Amanda said “Moores is unique in its approach to client services, from value pricing to value alignment with its clients. Moores partners with great clients and embraces a culture of care for its people. That is fantastic not only for everyone who works at Moores but also for clients who benefit from the genuine team work that contributes to its results.”
We’re thrilled to welcome Amanda.
To find out more, please do not hesitate to contact us.
To assist families with planning and support beyond their estate plans, Moores has partnered with Future Living, an organisation dedicated to helping parents plan for the future of their child with a developmental disability. They understand the challenges parents face in planning for their child’s long-term future and offer a unique range of disability planning advice and support in direct response to the question ‘Who will be there when we are not?”
Future Living have developed the Safe & Secure online resource where you can learn how to take the steps that will safeguard your child’s future. Click on the following link to access the resource www.safeandsecure.org.au and learn how to build a roadmap to protect your child’s long-term future from the comfort of your own home. With unlimited access, this online resource is filled with practical, relevant information from disability professionals, including Moores’ expert estate lawyers.
You can also visit our Vulnerable Beneficiaries page for more information.
Congratulations to Michael Labiris, Senior Lawyer in our Private Clients group at Moores, who has been recognised as a Rising Star in Wills, Estates & Succession Planning – Australia, 2020.
Michael has been identified by senior level Wills & Estates lawyers and barristers for his outstanding knowledge and expertise in this area.
As an accredited specialist in Wills & Estates, Michael regularly advises executors and beneficiaries in the areas of estate challenges and disputes, superannuation benefit claims and implementing tax-effective estate planning strategies.
Congratulations Michael.
To find out more about our Wills, Estate Planning and Structuring team at Moores, click here.
Moores’ Elder Financial Abuse lawyer, Jessica Latimer has been crowned Winner of the ‘Special Counsel of the Year’ Award at the Australian Law Awards 2020.
Jessica joined Moores in 2018 to establish one of Australia’s only dedicated elder financial abuse and elder law practices. We are so proud that Jessica’s innovation, passion and dedication has been recognised and awarded as the winner of the ‘Special Counsel of the Year’ Award.
As a passionate industry leader, Jessica applies her commercial litigation skills and her understanding of elder law to achieve outcomes for often distressed older clients who have lost property or funds as a result of elder financial abuse.
Find out more about Jessica’s practice here or for more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Jennifer Dixon, Lachlan McKenzie, Krista Fitzgerald and Luke Haley have all featured as leading lawyers in Doyles Guide 2020, recognised by their peers and referrers for their expertise in Wills & Estates Litigation and/or Wills, Estates and Succession Planning.
Moores is delighted to announce Rebecca Lambert-Smith’s appointment as a Practice Leader of the firm, leading the For Purpose team at Moores.
As a long-standing member of the Moores team, we are thrilled to welcome Rebecca to the Practice Leadership, in recognition of her exceptional talent as a charity law expert as well as her valuable strategic insights and leadership capabilities.
Rebecca works with a range of clients including charities, not-for-profits and social ventures on a wide range of legal and governance matters.
As a trusted advisor to For Purpose clients experiencing creation, crisis and change, Rebecca enjoys helping clients navigate the challenges of the current regulatory environment. This includes helping new organisations get established, providing complex structuring advice, improving governance, resolving internal disputes and responding to ACNC investigations.
Congratulations Rebecca.
Melbourne, Australia: Values-driven law firm, Moores, today announced former Manager of the Legal Unit at the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission, Tessa van Duyn, has been appointed as CEO and Practice Leader, after joining the team as Practice Leader in July 2019.
Ms van Duyn is a leading human rights and public law expert with over 15 years’ experience. She brings to Moores a proven record in creating positive social change through strategic litigation, establishing effective partnerships across different sectors and influencing public policy.
Previously, Ms van Duyn held an impressive 11-year tenure at the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission, which saw her lead some of the most significant human rights cases in Australia. Tessa’s advocacy led to significant public policy reforms in the community housing, justice and education sectors, where human rights have become central to decision-making and service delivery. Prior to this, Ms van Duyn held the role of Senior Lawyer and Pro Bono Coordinator at Clayton Utz.
Moores was the first major law firm in Australia to abandon time based billing, which enabled the company to introduce a revolutionary, new business model that priced value, not time. In the last two years, the company has grown more than 14 per cent, and was recently recognised by Macquarie as a “high performer” in the $10-$50m category.
As a forward-looking law firm with a team of 80 staff, Moores is proudly flexible, inclusive and diverse. The company has no gender pay gap, 50 per cent of practice leaders are women (this stands in contrast to the broader legal industry, where law firms are struggling to gain equality-some are aspiring to have 35 per cent in the next five years), and three quarters of staff and two thirds of practice leaders utilise part-time or flexible working arrangements.
Moores has a Private Client practice with one of the largest specialist estate planning teams in the country, as well as an Organisational Client practice with deep expertise focused on not-for-profits and purpose aligned organisations.
Speaking of her appointment to the role of CEO and Practice Leader, Ms van Duyn said she was looking forward to continuing to build on the strong legacy left by outgoing Managing Principal, David Wells.
Tessa van Duyn, CEO and Practice Leader at Moores, said: “In Moores, I have found the perfect fit with my values, my experience and my purpose. I am delighted to be entrusted by the team to lead Moores into the next version of itself.
“Throughout my career, I have always been driven by a desire to create a positive and meaningful impact in the community, so the values alignment with Moores shone bright. We clearly walk the talk on some fundamental areas. We actually innovate – we were the first law firm to ditch timesheets in favour of value pricing. Our staff love working here – in 2018, Moores ranked in the top 5 per cent of Australian organisations surveyed by InSync in relation to employee engagement. And, we are a purpose-driven organisation – we focus on working with ethical clients to deliver great outcomes that benefit the community.”
Ms van Duyn added: “David Wells and the ambitious leadership team’s visionary outlook has served Moores brilliantly over the years, and I’m privileged to have inherited something founded and grounded in such strong values, to continue to advance the company into an even healthier workplace. I am looking forward to being part of Moores’ journey and helping the firm evolve.”
Andrew Sudholz, Board member and Practice Leader at Moores, said: “We are thrilled to have Tessa take over the leadership of the firm. With its values-driven approach and its purpose of doing good, there is a natural alignment between Moores and Tessa’s commitment to social justice, equality and subject matter expertise. As we grow we want to remain the best version of ourselves, with our finger on the pulse, and we believe Tessa is the best person to guide us on this moving forward.”
Having been with the company now for over 30 years, Andrew has seen first-hand just how vital the value pricing model has been to Moores’ ongoing success.
“The culture of time-billing is competitive, stressful, fails to award efficiency, inhibits communication and certainty for clients, and discourages collaboration amongst employees. It was a bold move to remove billable targets firmwide, however it has paid off, and I’m proud of the firm we are today,” Mr Sudholz added.
Ms van Duyn continued: “Our human capital is Moores’ key to success. We will always be people-before-profits-driven, because we know that if we have the right people, the profits will follow. We focus on community and connection and the health and wellbeing of our people is a core focus as it enables our strong relational approach. As such, meeting employees’ needs in the context of what they value personally will remain paramount to the success of the company.”
To find out more about Moores, visit: https://moores.com.au/ or do not hesitate to contact us.
Moores is delighted to announce the appointment of Tessa van Duyn as a Practice Leader of the firm in our Corporate Advisory Team.
Tessa is a leading human rights and public law expert with over 12 years’ experience providing expert legal and strategic solutions.
Previously head of the legal unit at the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission, Tessa joins Moores to continue her commitment to social justice, equality and inclusion.
Tessa brings to Moores a strong record in governance support, developing collaborative partners and leading innovative projects to be impactful and effect social change. And as a passionate leader with an inclusive nature, we are all looking forward to working with Tessa and introducing her to our clients.
Welcome aboard Tessa.