We’re 5! And not to sound too cliché, but what a rollercoaster it’s been (pandemic, anyone?)! Here are some of our highlights and lowlights from the last 5 years.
Highlights
Happily, there have been plenty of these. In 2017 and 2018, we were named Australia’s Best Law Firm in the NAB Professional Services Awards. These awards were entirely voted by clients, so were (and still are) very special. In 2018, Marianne was named Sole Practitioner of the Year at the Australian Law Awards in Sydney – a packed out gala event (remember those?). It was also the last year she would consider herself a sole practitioner, growing the firm by an additional 2 people in late 2018/early 2019 in response to considerable client growth.
In February 2019, our paralegal Alistair Dunbar was admitted as a lawyer. Alistair joined Legalite as a paralegal in 2017 and has continued to grow and flourish with the firm. He is the firm’s internal “Tech Champion”, and has been working away on a very exciting tech project (watch this space!).
Lauren Kelindeman joined the firm in April 2019, bringing a lovely, fresh approach to practising law and wellbeing. As Legalite’s official Wellbeing Champion, she even ran wellbeing sessions for the public during peak lockdown in 2020. Deservedly, Lauren was twice named Wellness Advocate of the Year, both in the Women in Law Awards 2020 and 30 Under 30 Awards 2021.
We were lucky to welcome 2 new stars to the Legalite team in 2021. Kiki Kutt joined us as the Marketing Manager with an impressive array of experience, and fun vibes to boot, and Kayla Davison joined us as a lawyer and made the move from sunny QLD down to Melbourne. Anyone who has worked with Kayla will know her technical skills are impeccable, and she has a wonderful, positive work energy.
That year also saw us welcoming a new team member of the miniature kind – Marianne welcomed her first child, Mason, on 25 July, and now appreciates the meaning behind the saying “the juggle is real!”. During Marianne’s maternity leave, the team was led by Lauren who absolutely smashed it out of the park, and was promoted to Senior Associate in October.
In early 2022, the whole team was exceptionally excited to welcome Katelyn Tobin as our new Legal and Operations Support. She has been with the firm for only 2 weeks and already a stand-out.
Lowlights
Of course, COVID has been the most obvious lowlight for us and for our clients. We are still witnessing many of our clients reeling from the after-effects of long lockdowns and ongoing market uncertainty.
There have also been a couple of sad farewells. In 2020, we received the devastating news that one of our long-standing clients had passed away. We continue to support the family business, but their absence is deeply felt.
Our previous Legal and Operations Support, Leah Gaylard, retired at the end of 2021 and is happily caravanning around Australia as we speak. Leah was with the firm since 2018, and a good friend long before then, and is already very missed.
Some Final Words
As we reflect on the last 5 years, it strikes us that it’s our people that play a big part in our highs and lows. One of our goals at Legalite is for people to “love their lawyer” – yes, love! As a team that genuinely loves each other, loves our clients, and loves our community, we hope that you, too, can take a moment to reflect on your highlights and lowlights, and the people that you love.