Why did you become a lawyer?

I became a Fam­i­ly Lawyer (specif­i­cal­ly, as I knew very ear­ly on that this was the area I want­ed to spe­cialise in) because I feel real­ly strong­ly that it’s a priv­i­lege to help peo­ple nav­i­gate the most inti­mate, painful and stress­ful dis­pute’ of their lives. I believe that it’s so impor­tant that the right’ peo­ple work in this area of the law as a Fam­i­ly Lawyer can assist fam­i­lies in work­ing coop­er­a­tive­ly to reach a res­o­lu­tion that allows every­one to move for­ward with hope and con­fi­dence, rather than mak­ing the process more dev­as­tat­ing both for the par­ties and also for their chil­dren. What I real­ly love about Fam­i­ly Law is that it relates to real life” and there­fore encom­pass­es so many oth­er dis­ci­plines such as account­ing and psychology.

Why Swaab?

Swaab’s Fam­i­ly Law Team have a real com­mit­ment to being solu­tion’ focussed. The cul­ture at Swaab real­ly focuss­es on sup­port­ing clients and pay­ing atten­tion to the out­come that serves their needs rather than pro­tract­ing con­flict or lit­i­gat­ing for lit­i­ga­tion’s sake’.

What’s your best mem­o­ry or client success?

There is noth­ing more reward­ing that watch­ing the trans­for­ma­tion that so many Fam­i­ly Law clients go through. I can think of a num­ber of clients that start­ed the process so dev­as­tat­ed and hope­less, and with time found such strength, resilience and real­ly pos­i­tive out­look on the new chap­ter of their lives.

Who has been your great­est influence?

My par­ents are very sup­port­ive, lov­ing and hard­work­ing peo­ple. From a very young age they taught me the val­ue of edu­ca­tion but also of being open mind­ed and hav­ing hob­bies. I think a life­long com­mit­ment to curios­i­ty and learn­ing (in all areas of life) is incred­i­bly enriching.

What do you like to do out­side of work?

I love to cook and am always feed­ing my loved ones. I find the whole process of cook­ing a fun, yet ther­a­peu­tic chal­lenge – espe­cial­ly if a lit­tle George Michael is play­ing in the back­ground. I also love to relax by read­ing at the beach or at my local café.

If you would like to repub­lish this arti­cle, it is gen­er­al­ly approved, but pri­or to doing so please con­tact the Mar­ket­ing team at marketing@​swaab.​com.​au. This arti­cle is not legal advice and the views and com­ments are of a gen­er­al nature only. This arti­cle is not to be relied upon in sub­sti­tu­tion for detailed legal advice.

Publications

The Paper­cut Deci­sion and the Cur­rent Posi­tion on WFH

The FWC’s John­son v Paper­Cut Soft­ware deci­sion has renewed debate about the lim­its of work­ing from home rights. While some have…

Valen­tine’s Day in the Work­place (2026 Edition)

Valentine’s Day may appear harm­less, but in work­places it can cre­ate legal and cul­tur­al risks. Even well‑meant roman­tic ges­tures can…

Aus­tralia Day Sub­sti­tu­tion: The Legal Issues (2026 Edition)

As more major employ­ers allow staff to work on Aus­tralia Day and take the pub­lic hol­i­day lat­er, impor­tant legal ques­tions…

In the News

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, Antho­ny Albanese’s moves to sack Pauline Hanson’s One Nation staffers comes under legal threat”, pub­lished in the Aus­tralian on 28 Feb­ru­ary 2026

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“Antho­ny Albanese’s moves to sack Pauline Hanson’s One Nation staffers comes under legal…

Michael Byrnes appeared on Mon­ey News with James Willis on 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR on 24 Feb­ru­ary 2026 to dis­cuss the pro­pos­al to dis­cuss the impact of AI on claims before the Fair Work Commission

Michael Byrnes appeared on Mon­ey News with James Willis on 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR on 24 Feb­ru­ary 2026 to…

More than harm­less fun: How Valentine’s Day can blur the line between cel­e­bra­tion and harassment

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“More than harm­less fun: How Valentine’s Day can blur the line between cel­e­bra­tion…

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