Family & Divorce Lawyers Brisbane, Toowoomba, Ipswich & North Lakes

Kara Best is the Legal Practice Director, Lawyer & Accredited Family Law Specialist at Best Wilson Buckley Family Law.

Kara Best is the Legal Practice Director at Best Wilson Buckley Family Law and has practiced exclusively in family law following her Admission to Practice in 2001. Kara was born and bred in the local area and returned to Toowoomba in 2007. She is a former Senior Legal Associate to the Chief Justice of the Family Court in Melbourne, an appointment which followed a period in private practice in Brisbane and an earlier period in which she was Associate to the Honourable Justice Michelle May of the Family Court and the broader Trial Division of the Brisbane Registry of the Family Court.

Amity Anderson is an Accredited Family Law Specialist and Legal Partner at Best Wilson Buckley Family Law’s Ipswich office.

Amity has practised exclusively in family law since her admission in 2008 with extensive experience in a top tier firm in Brisbane. Having been born and bred in Ipswich.

Amity looks forward to practising family law in her local area whilst providing a compassionate and practical approach to the needs of her clients.

Luke is a Legal Partner at Best Wilson Buckley Family Law’s Brisbane office.

Luke has practised exclusively in family law since 2003 in Brisbane. This experience provides Luke with an intimate knowledge of the family law fraternity and associated courts that benefits clients attempting to navigate a complex system.

Andrew McCormack is a Senior Associate | Accredited Family Law Specialist and Collaborative Lawyer at Best Wilson Buckley Family Law.

Prior to 2005, Andrew had experience in general practice areas including litigation, succession law, wills and estate administration, and agency matters.

Lynn Armstrong is a Senior Associate and Accredited Family Law Specialist in the firm’s Toowoomba office.

As an established Toowoomba family lawyer, Lynn has over 12 years’ experience in exclusively practising family law and has an exceptional knowledge in her specialisation across all areas of property and parenting, with further extensive experience in child protection matters, and domestic violence cases. Lynn enjoys providing support and guidance to her clients so that they can achieve the best possible outcomes in their matter.

Prior to her calling to practise the law, Lynn was a Registered Nurse in New Zealand and Australia.

Neal is a Senior Associate at Best Wilson Buckley Family Law in the firm’s Toowoomba office.

Neal has specialised in family law since his admission in 2008. Neal has worked exclusively in family law since his admission in 2008. Prior to joining the Best Wilson Buckley Family Law Team as an Associate in early 2015 Neal worked exclusively in dedicated family law firms in Brisbane.

Linda is a Senior Associate and Accredited Family Law Specialist in our North Lakes office.

With a Bachelor of Laws from Southern Cross University in Lismore, Linda has practiced exclusively in family law since her admission in 2003. Although she fell into the practice area by accident, Linda was hooked right from the beginning after discovering the positive impact she could have on the lives of her clients and their families.

Zoe Adams is a Senior Associate in the firm’s Brisbane office.

Zoe has specialised in family law since her admission in 2006. Having hailed from the Gold Coast, Zoe worked in the firm’s Toowoomba office before relocating to Brisbane.

Zoe is motivated by helping clients through what is often a traumatic event in their life by listening and providing advice that may be hard to hear but is in the best interests of the client and their family for the long-term.

Alecia Connor is an Associate at Best Wilson Buckley Family Law and is one of the firm’s founding North Lakes’ family lawyers.

Alecia has practised exclusively in family and de facto relationship law for seven years following her admission in 2011. Alecia was a founding member of the Ipswich family law team when the office opened in February 2017, but is looking forward to returning to north Brisbane and practising family law in her local area.

Tina is an Associate in Best Wilson Buckley’s North Lakes office.

Since being admitted in 2007, Tina has practised in both commercial and family law in firms across Queensland.

Her commercial background has allowed her to develop a thorough understanding of complex and high net-worth property settlement matters involving family trusts and corporate restructuring. Tina’s clients appreciate her empathetic and compassionate approach to their family law matters.

Samantha Iwers is a Senior Solicitor with Best Wilson Buckley Family Law.

Samantha holds a Bachelor of Law (Hons) from the University of Southern Queensland and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the College of Law. Samantha is currently studying a Masters of Applied Law (Family Law) program.

Jo Maloney is a Senior Solicitor with Best Wilson Buckley Family Law.

Jo is our in-house Estate Planning Lawyer and works with our family lawyers to review our client’s estate planning in the context of their family law matters and future pathways.

Jo graduated from the Queensland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Business (Communications)/Bachelor of Laws in 2004 and has been practicing in Wills & Estates law since her admission in 2005.

Carla Franchina is a Senior Solicitor in Best Wilson Buckley Family Law’s Brisbane office.

Following her admission to practise law in 2013, Carla has practised exclusively in family law within specialised firms in Brisbane.

A desire to guide clients through a difficult time by delivering expert service and advice is Carla’s motivation in family law. Carla is passionate about assisting clients to resolve their family law matter quickly and cost effectively to minimise their emotional and financial stress.

John Patterson is a Senior Solicitor at Best Wilson Buckley Family Law in the firm’s Ipswich office.

Originally from Toowoomba, John worked in the Brisbane office from 2015 before relocating to Ipswich at the beginning of 2018 and is looking forward to being closer to his local area and providing family law services to clients outside of the capital city.

Max Sutton is a Solicitor in the firm’s Toowoomba office.

Max joined BWB in 2014 as a member of the administrative team, bringing with him prior experience in legal administrative support, marketing and client support. In mid-2016 he took on the role as Office Manager, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the firms’ Toowoomba, Brisbane and Ipswich offices.

Kiara is a Paralegal/Graduate Solicitor in the firm’s Ipswich office working with Amity Anderson.

Kiara holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/Bachelor of Journalism from Bond University and was admitted to legal practice in 2017. Kiara began working for Best Wilson Buckley in 2016 as a Paralegal providing support to the Brisbane family law team, assisted Alecia Connor in the establishment of our North Lakes office in the beginning of 2018, and then transitioned to the Ipswich office to provide support to our local team of family lawyers.

Tammy is a Paralegal in our Toowoomba office providing support to Kara Best.

TTammy has been providing top-level Paralegal support to our Legal Practice Director Kara Best since she joined the team in 2014. With extensive legal industry experience across family law, dispute resolution, wills and estates, succession planning, estate administration, and companies and trust. Tammy is also qualified as a Justice of the Peace.

Jessica is a Paralegal in our Toowoomba office working primarily with Lynn Armstrong.

With over five years’ experience as a Paralegal in the area of family law, Jess brings with her a caring and personable approach to supporting and working with clients, hoping to relieve their stress and assisting them through what can be a difficult time during their lives.

Jodie Handley is a Paralegal in the firm’s Toowoomba office, working with Neal Wood.

With over seven years’ as a Paralegal working in the areas of criminal, wills and estate planning, commercial law and litigation Jodie has experience on her side.

Having recently joined the family law fraternity Jodie’s knack for brightening people’s day and a genuine interest in their story are motivators for joining the BWB team.

Jessica Kilner is a Paralegal in the firm’s Toowoomba office working primarily with Samantha Iwers.

Jessica has over 10 years’ of paralegal experience working primarily in property law before making the switch to family law. Jessica’s property background allowed for a smooth transition across to family law and she is particularly effective in understanding property settlement matters.

Jessica enjoys being a part of the Best Wilson Buckley Family Law team and assisting people and their families through a difficult time.

Katie Avery is a Paralegal in the firm’s Toowoomba office, providing overflow support to all Solicitor and Paralegal teams as is required.

Katie started with Best Wilson Buckley in 2010 and enjoys being a part of such a passionate and diverse team that strives to achieve excellent outcomes for their clients. In addition to her Paralegal role, Katie also provides reception and administrative assistance across the office.

Courtney is a Paralegal in the Toowoomba Office supporting all Solicitor and Paralegal teams as required.

Courtney also provides support to our General Manager and Accounts team in her role as Finance Officer. Courtney joined the team in 2018 bringing with her prior paralegal and accounting experience across a number of different law firms and accounting firms.

Hillary is a Paralegal in the firm’s Brisbane office, providing support to both Carla Franchina and John Patterson.

Hillary was admitted to practice in 2017, having graduated from QUT in 2016 with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Business (Distinction). Hillary is new to family law having joined the firm in late 2017, but enjoys having a meaningful impact on clients and providing support to them and their families during a difficult time of their lives.

Mikaela is a Paralegal in our Brisbane office working with Zoe Adams and Teigan Jones.

Mikaela is a Paralegal in our Brisbane office working with Zoe Adams and Teigan Jones. Mikaela has experience in a number of fields including aviation, engineering, legal, and radio, but returned to the world of family law when she joined our team in late 2018.

Zoe is a Settlements Clerk / Paralegal in our Estate Planning department

Zoe is based in our Ipswich office and works as our Settlements Clerk and Estate Planning Paralegal. Zoe works with most of our clients right across our four office locations to help tidy up those vital loose ends when it comes to separation and divorce.

Lauren Kruger is a Paralegal in Best Wilson Buckley’s Ipswich office, working primarily with Amity Anderson and John Patterson.

Lauren has nearly 15 years’ of legal support experience in insurance law, litigation, and now family law.

Lauren has found her passion in family law and finds it incredibly rewarding being able to help clients achieve a positive result and gain a sense of relief and closure at the end of their family law matter.

Samantha is a Paralegal in our North Lakes office working primarily with Alecia Connor.

Samantha was admitted to practise Law in 2017, having graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Business Management (Human Resources Major) in 2016. Samantha fell in love with the world of family law after spending some time throughout her university studies as a volunteer with the Women’s Legal Service.

Emma is a Paralegal in our North Lakes office working with Linda Cannings and Tina Reynolds.

Emma joined the team in late-2018 bringing with her a wealth of experience. With a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Sunshine Coast, two family members that practice in family law, and work experience in law firms dating back to 2013, Emma provides a high level of support to our North Lakes team and their clients.

Jennifer Ryder is the General Manager at Best Wilson Buckley Family Law.

Jennifer Ryder is the General Manager at Best Wilson Buckley Family Law.

Jennifer joined Best Wilson Buckley Family Law in February 2014.

Bringing with her general management experience in the health and financial services industries, Jennifer is excited to grow and develop Best Wilson Buckley as a unique family law firm, while maintaining the commitment to superior family law service delivery that has always been at the core of the firm.

Leandra Herberts is the Operations Manager at Best Wilson Buckley Family Law.

Leandra Herberts joined Best Wilson Buckley Family Law as Operations Manager in September 2017.
Having predominantly worked across Local Government and professional services industries, Leandra brings extensive experience in human resources and business operations. With a passion for innovation, leadership and engagement, Leandra is excited to join our growing and evolving business to deliver exceptional service to our clients and their families.

Madeline is Best Wilson Buckley’s Office Administrator and is based in our Brisbane Office.

Her contributions to the firm are crucial in keeping operations running smoothly so that our legal team can focus their energies on what matters most, the wellbeing of our clients and their family.

Esther is the firm’s Accounts Officer and is based in our head office in Toowoomba.

Esther has nearly 15 years of experience in law firms throughout Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast and brings to Best Wilson Buckley a wealth of knowledge in client servicing.

Jessica is an Administration Assistant in the firm’s Toowoomba office.

Jessica is new to the world of family law having joined the team in early 2018. Jessica brings with her an extensive background of administrative support and her duties are crucial in ensuring the smooth day-to-day operations in our firm’s busy head office.

Joan is an Administration Assistant in the firm’s Toowoomba office.

Joan has over 10 years of administrative and secretarial support experience working in both law firms and with the Department of Education. Joan enjoys being a part of a busy team and her hard-working nature allows her to provide a high level of support to all Solicitor and Paralegal teams in the Toowoomba office.

Cassandra is a Receptionist in our Toowoomba office.

Cassandra is one of the friendly and reassuring voices you will hear on the other end of the phone when making contact with Best Wilson Buckley’s Toowoomba office.

Tricia is a Receptionist in our Toowoomba office.

Trang is the Administration Officer for our Brisbane team.

Trang joined the team in mid-2018 and provides administration and reception support to our Brisbane team of lawyers and support staff. Although new to the world of family law, Trang brings with her experience in the health industry and enjoys creating meaningful relationships with clients and their families through her friendly, empathetic and approachable manner.

Joy Andrews is an Administration Assistant in our North Lakes office.

Joy has been working in law firms for nearly 40 years, including the 11 years she spent as a Judicial Associate to Her Honour Justice Flohm (now retired) in the Parramatta Registry of the Family Court of Australia.