Lee is an accredited family law specialist and partner in the family & relationship law team.
With over 38 years of specialist experience, Lee is one of Melbourne's most respected family law practitioners. Lee's extensive experience has given her a strong understanding of, and ability to deal with, the myriad of issues pertaining to family law.
Lee is regarded by her clients and her extensive referrer network as a trusted and astute practitioner who advocates tirelessly for her clients. Recognising that each family's circumstances are different, Lee is empathetic and understanding of her clients' needs. She is flexible and lateral in her approach and frequently explores alternative options to reach outcomes that align with her clients' interests.
Lee has particular interest in complex financial trusts, and estate planning work, as-well-as in all types of parenting disputes. She frequently drafts prenuptial and post-nuptial financial agreements and is renowned for this area of her practice.
Lee was a member of the Family Law Advisory Committee as-well-as the Accreditation Board of the Law Institute of Victoria for Family Law for 13 years and Chair from 2019 to 2021.
Lee has consistently been recognised by the national peer reviewed publication, Doyle's Guide, as a leading family lawyer. In the 2023 edition of Doyle's Guide, Lee was named a Preeminent Parenting and Children's matters practitioner (Victoria), a Leading Family and Divorce Lawyer (Australia and Melbourne) and a Leading Family lawyer in High Value & Complex Property Matters (Victoria). Lee is frequently invited to speak at legal conferences and seminars on family law and is a regular contributor to several preeminent legal publications.
Expertise
Lee's areas of expertise include:
- financial matters, including complex property settlements involving corporate entities, trust and partnerships
- parenting matters for the care of children, including those that involve interstate and international relocation
- international family law matters
- child support
- spousal maintenance
- divorce applications
- all forms of alternative dispute resolution services for both parenting and property matters
- drafting financial agreements.
Career highlights
- When acting for a client who had been subjected to serious family violence, Lee obtained a court order to protect the primary parent and the children, with the court determining that to facilitate time between the violent spouse and the children would impact the primary parent's capacity to care for the children.
- Lee represented a vulnerable client who had been presented with an unfavourable prenuptial agreement from her spouse. Lee negotiated on behalf of her client for a significantly fairer agreement, to the satisfaction of both parties.
- Lee successfully argued on behalf of a school that had been subpoenaed to produce its counsellor's notes in relation to one of it's students. The court agreed that releasing the records would be detrimental to the child.
Client feedback
"Thank you for your skill, patience, and dedication in resolving my matter. I really appreciate the wise counsel, and calm and confident manner you so expertly deployed in obtaining the outcome - for which I am grateful. Thank you for the team you pulled together to help. I am very indebted."
"I want to thank you for being my lawyer and to let you know how much your help in resolving the issue quickly has meant to me. I am so ever grateful to have you by my side in guiding, comforting ,caring for me through the legal process. Thank you for your hard work in making my case before judges very easy to get across successfully. I always felt very supported and confident by your presence, understanding and attention to my matter."
"Thank you for having a genuine interest in my case and helping me. You are the best lawyer, and I would not hesitate to recommend you to my friends and family."