Two leading Brisbane family law specialists have merged, making the city’s largest firm in the sector.
Brisbane family law specialists Rice Naughton and Jones McCarthy have announced they’ll be teaming up, making Rice Naughton McCarthy, the largest specialist family law firm in Brisbane.
Partner Anne-Marie Rice said the merger evolved out of a share commitment to family law practice and an opportunity to combine expertise and resources.
“To secure our place as Brisbane’s premier family law practice by doing the traditional lawyering better than anyone else and continuing to be agile and open to changes in the practice of law and expectations of service delivery for clients,” partner Kieran McCarthy told Australasian Lawyer.
The firm will now offer a depth of expertise in all aspects of family and relationship law, including representation in mediation, arbitration, collaboration and litigation.
“The merged firm brings intellectual horsepower, diverse skills and youthful enthusiasm,” McCarthy said.
“The merger gives us renewed energy and obviously that flows through to our clients: that we are deeply committed to each other, to our practice and of course to those clients.”
The merged firm will be led by Anne-Marie Rice and James Naughton from Rice Naughton and Kieran McCarthy from Jones McCarthy, as well as specialist Bruce Dodd. Two other accredited specialists, four solicitors and six support staff complete the new team.
Despite industry disruption and talk of the pending ‘demise of the legal firm’, partner Anne-Marie Rice said clients won’t be seeing any major changes in the short term.
“We recognize the need for innovation,” she said.
“But in our field, clients benefit and indeed crave, the comfort and assurance of personal investment in them, and their issues, by their experienced legal representatives.
“Rice Naughton McCarthy provides flexible, focused and dignified representation that meets the particular needs of each of our clients.”
