DEANNE DRUMMOND
Practicing in Family Law and de facto law

Deanne was admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1996 and the High Court of Australia in 1997 obtained a degree in both Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws at the James Cook University, Townsville Campus, and completed a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice in Brisbane at the Queensland University of Technology. Deanne has been with Farrellys since early 1997, becoming an Associate in March 2000. Deanne is also qualified to act as an Independent Children's Lawyer in family law disputes and is a Queensland Law Society approved mediator.

Her professional associations include being a member of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, the Cairns branch of the Family Law Practitioners Association (FLPA) the Far North Queensland Law Association (FNQLA), and current President of the North Queensland Law Association (NQLA)

Deanne practices predominantly in the area of family law and associated jurisdictions with extensive experience in children's matters, property settlements, de facto property disputes, child support and spousal maintenance applications. Deanne also volunteered her time at the Cairns Community Legal Centre for over 8 years.

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ROWAN PACK - LLB
Practicing in Commercial & Litigation

Rowan is a litigation lawyer who comes to Farrellys with a background of practice ranging from rural and regional practice through to the world of international litigation.

Rowan started his career in Townsville working during the day as a Judge's Associate whilst studying for his law degree at night. He didn't have much time other than work and study then but the hard work was rewarded when, after a few years working at a large Townsville practice, he moved to London where life could not have been more different.

Initially the high flying world of international law was attractive, seeing Rowan work as an in-house lawyer for GlaxoSmithKline, a huge pharmaceutical company based in London where he had the opportunity of working on international disputes. Lawyers are accustomed to long hours and Rowan, with thoughts of travelling, took on a second job working nights with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, an international firm that worked around the clock. There Rowan entered the world of mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Rowan worked on a variety of projects including the sale of hedge funds and mining interests in the North Sea. Rowan also worked on large contractual agreements for major clients such as Virgin Atlantic and Tesco.

After his experiences in the practice of international law, glamorous though it sounds, Rowan is looking forward to a more personal interaction with his clients. The opportunity to work closely with his clients and look after their interests, rather than the impersonal and commercial interests of a conglomerate of huge corporate entities, is something that Rowan values highly. With litigation matters in Australia, particularly in regional practice, the one on one contact with the client is something that Rowan values.

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JENEVE FRIZZO - B.A. (Hons), L.L.B. (Hons)
Practicing in Estate Planning & Succession Law

Jeneve completed her Bachelor of Laws (Honours) at the Cairns campus of James Cook University in 2002, previously having been to the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) majoring in English Literature in 1998.

Jeneve served as Associate to Her Honour Judge Sarah Bradley of the District Court in Cairns in 2003 and was admitted as a solicitor in January 2005 after being articled to Suzanne Hadley at Farrellys in 2004.

Jeneve practices in a range of areas of law but primarily in succession law which includes estate planning, drafting wills, estate administration and litigation. She also practices in criminal law, traffic law, domestic violence, child protection, and criminal injury compensation. She has acted as Duty Lawyer in the Cairns and Cooktown Magistrates Courts.

In September 2007 Jeneve spoke at the Commonwealth Bank Financial Planning On-Going Services Seminar on estate planning to CBA financial planning clients. In April 2007 she presented a paper on the topic of Family Provision Applications and general estate litigation at a Farrellys Breakfast seminar to accountants and financial planners. She was invited to present an esteemed panel of succession law speakers at the Far North Queensland Law Association conference held in June at Cairns

Prior to commencing legal studies later in life Jeneve gained experience in both the public and private sectors primarily in Cairns and Northern Australia.

Jeneve has an extensive history of public service having served in a range of voluntary committee positions including Gordonvale State School P & C Association, Gordonvale Community Kindergarten Management Committee, the Little Mulgrave Rural Fire Brigade, and the JCU Law Students Association in 2002.

Jeneve currently sits on the board of KickArts - Cairns leading contemporary art organisation and is a committee member of the Far North Queensland Law Association. She is also a member of the North Queensland Law Association, the Women's Legal Service, the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland, and Amnesty International.

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PAUL FROST
Practicing in Taxation and Litigation Law

Paul is a senior lawyer with close to a quarter of a century of experience practicing in commercial litigation, insolvency, taxation and administrative law matters.

Paul began his career as an Associate to a Justice of the Federal/ACT Supreme Courts. Paul then joined the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) Department in Brisbane before career acceleration took him to Canberra and Melbourne. Paul then spent many years with the AGS in Melbourne prior to taking up a position as litigator with the Australian Taxation Office in 2005. During early 2007, Paul moved into the private practice arena and has now been enticed to Cairns by the appeal of a professional life with Farrellys in tropical north Queensland.

Paul has an extensive background in commercial litigation and insolvency matters and conducted (and later managed) the Australian Taxation Office's and Customs' windup, debt recovery and bankruptcy practices in Victoria as well as the Commonwealth Bank's Victorian bankruptcy practice. He conducted litigation on behalf of the Child Support Agency, Insolvency Trustee Service Australia, and a host of private liquidators and trustees as well as accumulating wide ranging experience in Federal administrative law matters, particularly migration, Centrelink litigation, Commonwealth workers compensation matters and Federal constitutional matters.

In taxation matters, Paul specialised in the pursuit of high profile taxpayers and convicted criminals whilst often working closely with Director of Public Prosecutions teams.

After the fast paced world of bankrupting drug traffickers and high flying entrepreneurs in Melbourne, Paul is looking forward to the interesting and different lifestyle in Cairns while still pursuing a career as a litigation lawyer.

The skills set Paul brings to Farrellys complements the other areas of the firm's practice and broadens the ability of the firm to offer his specialist expertise to a wider range of clients than had been possible previously.

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STEPHEN ROBERTS
Practicing Family Law

Stephen brings with him a wealth of experience, having qualified both in Queensland and the UK.

Stephen started his career with a busy central London Law firm Kingsford Stacey and regularly appeared in the Royal Court of Justice. It was here that he developed a taste for the Litigation side of law and has subsequently practiced in the areas of Family Law, Personal Injury and Commercial Litigation.

Following six months of travel around Australia and South East Asia in 1996 Stephen was seduced by the lure of the tropics and immigrated to Australia in 1998. Since then he has called Cairns his home for the past ten years and wouldn't swap the lifestyle on offer here for anywhere else!

Having worked exclusively in the area of Family Law for several years with two other local firms in Cairns Stephen was delighted when the opportunity arose to join Farrellys.

Stephen appreciates that clients who encounter family disputes are dealing with an extremely stressful situation. He offers an understanding approach and a real commitment to achieving optimal results for clients.

Aside from working in law Stephen enjoys playing both piano and guitar. He also loves soccer and follows, albeit from long distance, his favourite team Manchester United.

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MEGAN SWEETLOVE
Practicing Family Law

Megan holds degrees in both Law and Psychology with a minor focus on Criminal Justice. She was admitted to practice in South Australia in December 2007 and is qualified to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor in South Australia and as a Solicitor in Queensland.

Megan previously worked as a Law Clerk in the government litigation practice of a large national firm, focussing on Immigration Law. However, it is in Family Law that her interests lie, particularly in regard to issues relating to the protection and welfare of children. Megan sees her role as providing a compassionate, balanced and professional voice in what can be an emotionally distressing time in a person's life. Megan's studies in Law and Psychology have provided her with the knowledge and experience necessary for such a sensitive yet demanding practice area.

Megan's interests outside of work include training for triathlon and she plans one day to compete in an Ironman triathlon.

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TONY SMITH
Practicing in Commercial Law

Tony was born in Ingham and aside from brief stints in Canberra and Sydney all his working life has been in North Queensland.

His CV includes time spent driving trucks and aircraft for a living, a relatively long time as a public servant and running his own office support consultancy whilst studying at university.

Tony came to University study as a mature age student. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in and a Graduate Degree in Law, both gained at James Cook University in Cairns. He followed this up by completing a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice at the Australian National University, resulting in his admission as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the ACT. His introduction to professional practice was at the Sunshine Coast, possibly the only area in Queensland with a greater pace of development than Cairns, where he worked in a small three person practice.

Returning to Cairns to join Farrellys Lawyers, Tony brings with him his life experience combined with a down-to-earth practical approach and recognition of the need to build long term relationships with his commercial clients.

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NICHOLAS TAFT

Nick was born and raised in Cairns. After completing high school he studied at the University of Queensland from 2001 to mid-2007, where he obtained degrees in both Law and Arts with a double major in Media Studies. In 2004 he took a break from study and lived and worked in Japan. Nick joined the firm as a Trainee Solicitor in July 2007. He is currently gaining exposure to a variety of areas, including Commercial, Civil Litigation, Property, Family and Estates and was admitted to practice on 15th August 2008. In his free time, Nick annoys the other residents of his apartment building by playing the saxophone (badly).

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PETER PHILLIPS
Conveyancing Manager

Peter initially worked for the Public Trust Office obtaining experience in Conveyancing and Estate work. Since leaving the Public Trust Office in October 1988, Peter has worked with a number of local Law Firms specialising mainly in Conveyancing whilst also handling Business Contracts and Leasing. Peter commenced employment with Farrellys as the Conveyancing Manager in October 1998.

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