KCL Law is delighted to announce the promotion of seven lawyers — including Emmalaura Messer and Lauren Buckley to Special Counsel, Ainsleigh Lugger, Deborah Andronaco and Dominic Brown to Senior Associate, and Basel Houchar and Priscilla McArdle to Associate — from across key practice areas Construction and Infrastructure, Estate Group, Family Law, Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Owners Corporation effective 1 July 2021.
Sam Frey, Principal Lawyer and Head of the Executive Committee, said: “these promotions are truly deserved and recognise each individual’s respective talent, knowledge and experience, along with their outstanding dedication and commitment to their clients, contribution to the firm and, more broadly, the profession.
“While COVID-19 has brought many challenges over the last 15 months, we are very proud of how our lawyers have adapted and remained focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for our clients through these adverse times.”
The Principal Lawyers and staff congratulate them all on their respective appointments and look forward to their continued success with the firm.
Emmalaura Messer, Special Counsel — Family Law
With over 10 years practising exclusively in family law, Emmalaura’s practice includes advising on all family law matters, including collaborative, simple and complex property, complex parenting, family violence, same sex relationships, financial agreements and maintenance claims, and involving high conflict parties.
Emmalaura’s approach to her practice is to put herself in the shoes of clients and minimise the stress of separation by taking a direct, common-sense approach. By providing tailored plain-language advice, Emmalaura informs and empowers her clients to navigate the separation process and to overcome obstacles throughout a difficult time. Acting in collaborative matters, Emmalaura assists clients to resolve their conflict using an amicable and respectful process, as well as being skilled in strategic litigation. To learn more about Emmalaura, click here.
Lauren Buckley, Special Counsel — Litigation and Dispute Resolution
A key member of KCL Law’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice, Lauren is an experienced litigator in all Victorian jurisdictions, as well as the Federal Court and High Court of Australia. Working across a wide range of areas, Lauren’s experience is diverse and includes having acted in a range of contractual and construction disputes, estate disputes, and corporation and employment law matters.
Lauren’s approach to her practice is to provide advice in a straight forward manner and to engage with clients to achieve commercial outcomes. To learn more about Lauren, click here.
Ainsleigh Lugger, Senior Associate — Estate Group
Ainsleigh practises principally in estate planning, estate litigation, probate and estate administration, trusts and challenges to superannuation death benefits. Her clients include individuals in a variety of personal circumstances, trustee companies, professional advisers and other law firms.
With over 14 years’ experience in private client services, Ainsleigh has worked with a range of firms and some of the most highly regarded specialists in the area. She has an in-depth understanding of the many issues encompassing estate law, and takes a holistic approach to provide pragmatic advice ― achieving the best possible outcome for her clients. To learn more about Ainsleigh, click here.
Deborah Andronaco, Senior Associate — Owners Corporation
An experienced lawyer and specialist in our Owners Corporation team, Deborah has a deep understanding of the owners corporation industry and works closely with clients to achieve the best possible outcomes in a timely manner.
Deborah regularly appears in VCAT at hearings, mediations and compulsory conferences in relation to a range of owners corporation issues, disputes and debt recovery. She also regularly liaises with owners corporation managers, committee members, surveyors, courts and ASIC on owners corporation issues, including owners corporation rules, license of common property, postal ballots, property defect disputes and enforcement of VCAT orders. To learn more about Deborah, click here.
Dominic Brown, Senior Associate — Construction and Infrastructure
A member of KCL Law’s Construction and Infrastructure team, Dominic acts for developers, head contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, suppliers and owners in both ‘front-end’ and ‘back-end’ construction and infrastructure matters, including all aspects contract management and disputes.
Dominic has experience acting for both claimants and respondents in adjudications made under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), including jurisdictional appeals to the Supreme Court of Victoria, and adjudications in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland made under the respective state legislation. He has also acted for clients in all Victorian courts and VCAT in a variety of complex construction matters, in Building Appeals Board matters and in relation to complaints made against construction professionals to the Victorian Building Authority. To learn more about Dominic, click here.
Basel Houchar, Associate — Construction and Infrastructure
A member of KCL Law’s Construction and Infrastructure team, Basel’s practice includes advising and acting for developers, principals, head contractors, subcontractors and owners in both front-end and back-end construction and infrastructure matters, including all aspects of contract management and disputes.
Basel’s approach to his practice is one of pragmatism and efficiency, while ensuring that he considers all options, including settlement when appropriate, so as to achieve a favourable outcome for his clients from both a legal and commercial perspective. To learn more about Basel, click here.
Priscilla McArdle, Associate — Family Law
A member of KCL Law’s Family Law team, Priscilla’s practice focuses on matters relating to parenting, property and child support. While caring and empathetic, Priscilla’s approach is to deliver the best possible outcome for her clients.
Since joining KCL Law, Priscilla has advised on a wide range of family law matters, including parenting matters involving welfare concerns regarding children, property disputes involving complex corporate structures and third parties, financial agreements and child support disputes. To learn more about Priscilla, click here.
More information
For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact Stuart Giles, Business Development & Marketing Manager, on (03) 8600 8822 or sgiles@kcllaw.com.au.