How we can help you
Autonomy First Lawyers is a multidisciplinary law practice bringing together a unique team of experienced trusts and estates law, business law and clinical neuropsychology experts. We help legal, medical, financial and other professionals reduce risk to themselves and to vulnerable clients when decision making ability is in doubt. We provide the legal and clinical advice that helps individuals and families make important financial, legal, health and welfare decisions.
Our services
Bringing together a unique team of highly experienced legal and clinical experts, we provide a safe, constructive and conflict free environment where we help plan family futures.
We can help you with Wills, Estate Planning, Lifetime representation documents, Conflict Management, Succession Planning and more. Read more about our Estate Planning and Administration services.
Meet the team
Michael Perkins is a leading trusts, estates and private client practice lawyer, author and educator. Dr Jane Lonie is a consultant clinical neuropsychologist, expert witness, author and educator. Zabina Naem is an Associate Lawyer, experienced in Trusts, Estates and Property Law.
Clarence Leung is a senior lawyer experienced in trusts, commercial law, property law, litigation and migration law.
Expert articles and resources
Our team are all highly experienced in their fields and publish widely. In our Blog, you can find case studies, opinion pieces and other articles around the theme we are all so passionate about. We work closely with like-minded organisations in our Community of Practice and welcome guest bloggers to submit their articles here. You can also receive our content by following our social media channels or subscribing to our newsletter.
Events
The Autonomy First team are active members of our professional community and are often asked to present at various events. You can see the calendar of forthcoming conferences and seminars summarised at the bottom of this page and read full details on our Events page.
Subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn for the latest news about upcoming events.
We advise individuals, families, organisations, entrepreneurs, start-ups and established businesses in many industries and sectors.
Autonomy First Pty Ltd, our law firm’s parent company, is an employer Partner of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners). STEP has over 100 branches worldwide. STEP’s primary focus is on professional development and standards for practitioners advising on care and support for vulnerable clients, family businesses, family offices, wills, estates, wealth administration and conservation and succession planning. We work closely with STEP’s Employer Partner members who are part of the Autonomy First multidisciplinary Community of Practice.
Thought Leadership
Working Collaboratively: Findings from the Collaborate and Grow 2022 survey
Earlier this year we were proud to sponsor an event entitled ‘Collaborate and Grow 2022’. Before the event, a full house of attendees was invited to complete a survey about collaboration, the current status in their organisation and looking ahead to the future.
Here’s what we learned.
How useful are trusts for wealth conservation?
A trust is simply a rule book for the management of property by one person (the trustee) on behalf of another.
But how useful are trusts for wealth conservation or asset protection?
This largely depends not only on the terms of the trust (the rule book) but also on how it is operated.
Michael Perkins explains…
Director ID: Estate Governance and Succession is getting very personal
We are one step closer to a National ID system with the introduction of a national identifier for company directors. A person’s portfolio of digital assets now includes not only accounts and access control details, digital files and records BUT also the electronic identifiers through which a person transacts business in the economy…
Empowering vulnerable decision makers | Helping safeguard your will and preferences
Who we work with
Professionalism and differentiation – 7 reasons
Our assurance to you is to provide services which are tailored, innovative, strategic and practical. We’ll support you with excellence, entrepreneurship and integrity. You’ll lead in your document design, plain language communication and technology utilisation.
1. ADVICE, TRAINING AND TOOLS
We’ll understand your personal needs and business before we treat it in legal terms. In addition to advice and drafting documents, we provide training and support for your entrepreneurship, and extensive business decision support tools – checklists, guides, questionnaires, spreadsheets, slide decks and visualisations.
2. Private Client Services
Wealth Conservation, Administration and Succession. All Australians have the right to make decisions and be involved in the management of their affairs to the greatest extent possible having regard to their actual abilities.
We are here to help Australians age well. Ageing is the constant in our lives that inevitably brings change.
3. INNOVATION LEADERS
Your results will benefit from our market-leading expertise in integrating law with know-how from IT, human resources management, marketing, publishing and management consultancy. Ongoing and substantial investment in research keeps our advice, methodologies and documents up-to-date in form, content and methods for delivery.
4. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
To serve clients our team applies over 70 years experience in business law and strategic thinking for technology, business modelling, intellectual property and commercialisation. Our team have successfully completed thousands of transactions and reviewed, prepared or advised on no less than 5,000 contracts for organisations of all sizes.
5. STRATEGIC THINKING
Integrating your legal, business and innovation strategy is our forte. We’ll provide guidance to make your offerings and intellectual assets distinctive, novel or original. These are pre-requisites for you to successfully contract, manage and commercialise your intellectual property, technology and knowledge assets.
6. MARKET KNOWLEDGE
What market are you in, and what is its price structure, business models, technologies, risks, trends and customer expectations? What can be learned from competitors? We’ll share our market knowledge to answer these types of questions, to advise you and determine the format, layout, terms and conditions to achieve targeted outcomes.
7. LEGALTECH PIONEERS
Our people are pioneers in Australia in using information technology to reduce legal costs and turnaround time and in online legal publishing. This has guided many clients to apply cloud computing, ecommerce and online workflows into their businesses.
Upcoming Events
23-24
June
National Dementia Conference 2022
The 13th Annual National Dementia Conference will bring together a host of leading experts to discuss best-practice strategies and initiatives for improving quality person-centred care. Speakers will include Autonomy First’s Michael Perkins and Dr Jane Lonie,
16-22
October
National Carers Week 16-22 October 2022
National Carers Week is a time to recognise and celebrate the 2.65 million Australians who provide care and support to a family member or friend.
“Michael Perkins is a very effective trusts and estates practitioner with a wealth of expertise in estate planning. A very personable individual, he has an uncanny ability to add client value to any given situation.”
“Michael Perkins is a very effective trusts and estates practitioner with a wealth of expertise in estate planning. A very personable individual, he has an uncanny ability to add client value to any given situation.”