A lawyer with experience at top-tier firms in Australia and overseas has opened her first legal firm on the Sunshine Coast.
Sian McNamara opened Good Law QLD in Aura in July, the first law firm in the booming masterplanned community.
She got her start in law in 2007 and has worked in several locations both within and outside Australia.
“I started out at a boutique planning and environment firm when I was still studying law at university,” Sian said.
“I quickly moved on to top tiers, working at Capsticks International in London, McCullough Robertson in Brisbane and Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney.”
She decided to start the firm after wanting to see a change in the structure of law firms.
“What you see typically in a law firm is a very triangular structure where the principal or director, which would be me, is the only one really making money on the enterprise,” she said.
“I really did not like that structure when I worked within it and wanted to flatten it.”
The Good Law team currently consists of four staff members, including two conveyancers and a conveyancing assistant, with two more set to come on board in September.
“I’ve actually had people coming to me, rather than advertising for positions,” she said.
Despite being the first law firm based in the Aura area, the majority of Good Law’s clients are based elsewhere.
“Most of our stuff is in greater Queensland – that’s the wonderful world of global tech. I’ve got clients in Victoria, I’ve got clients who are in Mount Isa, Laidley and Brisbane,” Sian said.
“We do have clients who are from Nirimba, Banya, Baringa and Caloundra West, who we love working with, but the vast majority of our clients are not in our postcode.”
Sian said what set her firm apart from others was its “client-centric focus”.
“(Big firms) are trying to increase cost effectiveness by using AI and decentralising focus away from clients,” Sian said.
“We don’t do that. Our focus is our clients.
“We’re all very approachable and friendly, and we try to not use legal jargon.”
Sian has high hopes for the future of Good Law.
“I’d love to become Aura’s trusted legal adviser, and I would love to enable more female leadership in the legal industry,” she said.
“It is often very male-dominated at the pointy end of the triangle, so I am trying to flatten that down and enable women to take leadership pathways in law.”
Good Law is at 1/7 Bells Reach Drive, Caloundra West.
Kelsey Reid is a journalism intern with Sunshine Coast News.
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