A local legend of endurance racing has opened his own legal practice on the Sunshine Coast.
After claiming two Ultraman world titles, Richard Thompson is stepping back to his original career as a lawyer with the opening of Thompson Legal, which specialises in property, commercial law, wills and estates, and estate litigation.
In keeping with the ‘all or nothing’ approach that took him to the top of his sport as an athlete and coach, Mr Thompson has left no stone unturned to ensure Thompson Legal is a success from day one.
“If I was going to do it, my vision was to go big and go all in,” he said.
“It’s part of my DNA and I’ve been able to prove through my career as a professional athlete as well as in my career as a lawyer that being both strategic and bold with my intentions is the key to achieving high-performing success.
“Thompson Legal is a multi-disciplinary law firm which is focused on the long-term future.
“We have secured a spacious 220sqm within the Bli Bli Village precinct and I am extremely fortunate to have five incredible staff members who have all settled in and are ready to go.
“It is a big commitment but no success is without teamwork and I’ve assembled a great team, headed by highly experienced and well respected local succession lawyer Mahoney Neuwirth as well as property law young gun Tayla Rawlings.
“We’ve also employed Teresa Mundt as our head of support staff and Cody Osborne as our practice manager.
“We’ve also managed to coax legal industry stalwart John Kruger out of retirement to join us as a specialist consultant.
“John’s experience over many years and his passion for law will be incredible not only for our clients but I’m sure all of our team will benefit from his presence.”
After completing his law and accounting degrees from QUT, Mr Thompson spent a number of years working as a solicitor, including a successful stint with renowned legal identity Peter Boyce at Butler McDermott in Nambour, where he practiced in all areas of commercial law as well as succession and elder law.
During the past five years, Mr Thompson focused on his career as a professional Ultraman triathlete which took him across the globe, winning two world titles (2018 and 2022) and claiming a then-world record (2017) for the gruelling three-day event that encompasses 515km of swimming, riding and running.
The Thompson name is synonymous within the local legal and business community with Richard’s grandfather Fraser Thompson establishing one of the region’s first law firms at Mooloolaba in the 1970s.
“As far as I know we are the only legal practice with a permanent office based in Bli Bli, and while we believe there is significant potential for growth in our local area, our vision is to be a law firm which will service the whole of the Sunshine Coast as well as the broader South-East Queensland market,” he said.
White’s Grocers director Michael White said he was pleased to have a law firm based within the Bli Bli Village.
“We have known Richard for a number of years and supported him to pursue his journey to become a world champion ultra ironman,” he said.
“We’ve long believed that Bli Bli needed a law firm which was based locally to serve the whole community and we couldn’t think of anyone better to take on this role than Richard.
“He has done a fantastic job fitting out his office space, it looks fantastic.
“It’s a large 220sqm floor plate which will meet his current and future needs as the business grows to service the whole Sunshine Coast. We look forward to watching his progress.”
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