My ‘Why?'

“I have always been driven to uncover truth, and to achieve justice through peace…”
 
From a very young age I have been drawn towards representative capacities, such as Classroom Representative in school, and voted Course Representative at University (1993-1996). 

Our ‘why’ we choose to work in a certain field (consciously or unconsciously) I believe may be rooted somewhere in our early life experiences.  
 
I was 12 years old when I accidentally stumbled across a file of papers that belonged to my parents’ separation and divorce, with documents relating to child contact and multiple maintenance applications. My curiosity got the better of me and I started to read through the Solicitors’ correspondence. Something shifted in me as a deep sense of injustice took root in my heart and mind. 
 
Rather than supporting the restoration of relationships, and finding early solutions in the family’s best interests with child focus, the advice by both ‘sides’ resulted in years of litigation, orchestrating courtroom drama on every issue affecting our lives. What was already a painful, heart-breaking experience was inflamed by manipulation and threats leading to adversarial court hearings. It was simply unfair, plain wrong and cruel.
 
Representing families traversing separation and divorce in a different, more compassionate, healing and humane way became my mission. I decided to become a Family and Children Lawyer so that I could offer families and children a safer and more therapeutic outcome for all. What I later coined as a ‘Holistic’ approach to law practice. This was challenging though within what exists as an adversarial, separatist system of justice. More about how to overcome these challenges to create your own non-adversarial culture, is taught in my Academy.

At age 14 I took my school’s organised work experience training week at a local law firm where I later underwent further years of school holiday work experience. I qualified as a Barrister and Acting Solicitor of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in London, England in 1998 and I was called to the Gibraltar Bar, where I started my career in 1999, and remain today.