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 experienced in the assessment, management and research of cognitive dysfunction in adults. Zabina Naem is an Associate Lawyer at Autonomy First Lawyers and is experienced in Wills, Estate Planning, Estate Administration, Trust Law and Property 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
The assessment of testamentary capacity (STEP Worldwide Webinar June 2021)
Dr Jane Lonie of Autonomy First summarises the STEP Webinar of 30 June 2021, in which panelists reviewed the key issues when undertaking a capacity assessment and establishing the need for an online course in testamentary capacity assessment.
Does your client have the capacity to instruct?
It is a lawyer’s responsibility to take instructions only from those clients who have the capacity to instruct. But capacity is decision specific and can fluctuate over time. So how do you ensure that your client has the capacity to make the decisions you are asking them to? Zabina Naem has some tips…
Financial Decision Making Capacity – A Challenge for Advisors
Autonomy First is delighted to be partnering with Deakin University to support a new research project, Financial Decision-Making Capacity – A Challenge for Advisors. This project engages primarily with financial service professionals and the tools they use…
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
14
October
Starting the future planning process with the person you care for
This is an online event during National Carers Week 10 October 2021 until 16 October 2021. This hour-long information session for family and friend carers will provide practical tips for starting the future planning process with a person living with a cognitive impairment. It also aims to help professionals and service providers engaged in helping these clients.
27
October
Keeping Connected: Social Health and Ageing
Autonomy First will be in attendance at the social health and ageing forum presented by the Older Persons Mental Health Service in collaboration with the Eastern Suburbs Mental Health Service.
27-29
March
Step Australia Conference 2022
This STEP Conference, bringing together leading minds in trusts and estates from across STEP Australia and beyond, is not to be missed. The programme is designed to enable practitioners to update their knowledge of recent developments, and to hear about cutting edge industry trends. Autonomy First Lawyers are delighted to be Silver Sponsors of this prestigious event.
“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.”