Join Our Team!
“A team is not a group of people that work together. A team is a group of people that trust each other.”
About BFL
Barton Family Lawyers is a fast growing Family Law Firm with offices on Brisbane’s north side at Chermside and Petrie.
We specialise in supporting victims of narcissistic abuse and coercive control to take their power back.
We offer fixed fees for all services giving our client’s transparency and control over their costs.
Our Story
In March 2018, Courtney Barton set out to create a practice to deliver more value to her clients through passion, innovation and thought leadership. Courtney recognised that the key to providing more value and to building an unstoppable team was to build her people. Courtney knows what it feels like to work in a firm where you are not valued, where the culture is toxic, where there is no feedback or opportunities to grow and where effective leadership is lacking.
Courtney was passionate about creating a team environment where each person is valued equally, where the culture is happy and healthy, where feedback goes both ways and where learning and growth of her people is paramount. A place where people respect, trust and care for each other. A place where people feel safe and can be themselves. A place where people feel comfortable putting up their hand if they make a mistake. A place where people feel supported and empowered to put their best work into the hands of people who are in need of help.
Courtney’s ultimate aim – to build a trusting team where our people provide a superior quality of service to clients and support them through every step of their separation journey.
And so, BFL was born.
A snapshot of what it is like to work at BFL
- We are a supportive team that work together to empower each others strengths. We don’t compete with each other. We collaborate.
- We offer a 9.5 day fortnight.
- We pride ourselves in our professional development budget offering.
- We enjoy catching up regularly for team building events such as rock climbing, escape rooms, Melbourne Cup, and our EOFY and Christmas parties.
We currently have two exciting opportunities available to join our strong, kind, positive and growth driven team:
2. Law Graduate / Paralegal – Petrie
Click on the above links in order to apply for one of these roles or read on below.
Opportunity:
About the role
Barton Family Lawyers is looking for two kind, positive and growth driven team members to join our fast paced, fun and fabulous Team, at our Chermside office and our Petrie office.
These positions are full time.
Role 1 – Your mission is to support our Senior Associate and Team Leader with the day to day management of her files. This is a fast paced role and so some experience in family law is a must. Volunteer work at a legal centre is highly regarded. This role is best suited to someone in years 2, 3, 4 or 5 of their degree.
Role 2 – Your mission is to support one of our Accredited Specialists who has recently commenced with the BFL Team, as she builds her file load and takes over the files of another team member shortly commencing maternity leave. This unique opportunity to be mentored by an Accredited Specialist is for someone who is at the top of their game, who is wanting to challenge themself and who has the experience to assist in preparing matters for trial. It is best suited to someone with over one year working in a family law firm and who is near the conclusion of their degree.
Primary Responsibilities
- Communicate with our clients in person, by email and over the phone.
- Prepare letters, consent orders, binding financial agreements, court documents, position statements and parenting plans.
- Reviewing, collating and analysing disclosure documents.
- Arranging and assisting with the process of valuations.
- Join meetings with the client and the lawyer you support (your mini team).
- Assist your team member to prepare for Court.
- Attend Court with your team member to assist with negotiations and client care.
- Support the team to achieve their work related goals.
What we offer
- Our team works a 9.5 day fortnight.
- We support our team to ensure they have what they need to reach their maximum potential.
- We have a happy and healthy work culture.
- We have professional development budgets and incentivised learning.
- We offer intensive mentoring and professional development training.
- We give you the opportunity to participate in video marketing to enhance your personal brand.
- We facilitate monthly lunchbox learning seminars for our team.
- We have casual Friday’s.
- We do regular team lunches and culture building events.
Requirements
- Experience in family law will be highly regarded.
- Belief and excitement in BFL’s mission.
- Empathetic, strong work ethic and a positive attitude.
- A quick learner.
- Good attention to detail.
- Organised and has good time management skills.
- Process driven.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Proactive.
- Enjoys a challenge and learning new and difficult things.
- A passion for helping people.
- Active team player, self-starter, and multitasker who can quickly adjust priorities.
- Creative problem solver.
What Great Looks Like
At 1 month:
- You will become a part of a mini team within the bigger BFL team,
- The focus of month 1 is learning. Learning about how we operate, our clients, their challenges, and how we solve them.
- You will understand the ins and outs of the team’s processes to drive efficiency from the bottom up.
- You will understand the ins and outs of the team’s processes to drive efficiency from the bottom up.
- You will understand our philosophy around supporting your team, the wider BFL team, and having each other’s backs.
- You will become familiar with our different fixed fee agreements and how to draft them to suit each individual matter and client.
- You will start helping out our clients and interacting with clients via phone and email.
- You are reviewing disclosure and collating index to disclosure documents.
- You are writing basic letters and court documents in relation to basic pa renting and property matters.
At 3 months:
- You are communicating with clients with empathy and confidence.
- You are proactively managing clients and matters with the support of your team.
- You are writing letters and drafting court documents with reasonable ease.
- You will identify opportunities for process optimization to increase efficiency within the team, in line with our fixed fee model.
At 6 months:
- You are solving problems proactively.
- You are handling a high volume of clients and managing matters from beginning to end with the support of your mini team.
- You are reviewing and critically analysing disclosure documents to identify deficiencies and missing information;
- You are preparing letters and court documents in relation to more complex parenting and property matters and are doing so with ease.
- You are meeting with clients to take instructions and you are confident doing so.
- You are looking for more ways to further streamline processes to increase efficiency.
- You are setting goals as to what you would like to achieve in the next 6 months.
Our Hiring Process
If you are kind, positive and growth driven and this opportunity to join our Dream Team resonates with you, then we would love to hear from you.
Applications close on 16 January 2025.
Apply:
- Please email your resume and cover letter to [email protected]
- We read every application and cover letter and make our best effort to reply to everyone.
- We will not read your application unless it includes a cover letter. Why? Because we want to know more about you than just your experience. We want to know who you are and why you want to work for us. We are focused on integrity and attitude more so than experience. We want to make sure you are the right fit for our team.
Interview:
- Goal: Understanding of your qualifications, experience and whether you will be a good fit for our team and vice versa.
- 30 – 60 minute interview with 1 to 2 members of the BFL team including our Practice Director.
- We want to know about your goals and plans for your future.
- We want to know about challenges you have experienced within previous work environments and how you have handled them.
- We will leave time for you to ask questions.
MISSION, VISION AND VALUES
OUR VISION
BFL’s External Vision: We are committed to continuing our mission while looking for opportunities to advance our team’s skills and specialist experience in family law in order to provide an ever increasing quality of service to our clients.
BFL’s Internal Vision: We are committed to maintaining a workplace which prioritises team satisfaction through clear communication, work life balance and flexibility, to enable both individual and team growth and improvement. We seek to support and empower each other to be lifters and leaders in our team, and to maintain a workplace where people feel safe and can be themselves.
OUR MISSION
We are committed to providing a superior quality, practical, strategic and solution focused service to our clients, to enable them to negotiate on a level playing field. We are dedicated to ensuring that our clients feel prioritised, supported, safe and heard. We empower our clients to make informed decisions, to give them power and control over their future. Our empathy drives us to go the extra mile to provide the highest level of service to our clients. We are committed to delivering the best practical outcome to our clients, quickly and cost effectively, that makes a positive difference to their lives.
OUR CORE VALUES
Barton Family Lawyers Core Practice Values provide a moral compass upon which all our decisions are to be made and which guide our behaviour towards our clients and one another, in order to achieve our Vision and our Mission.
In January of each year, the Barton Family Lawyers team comes together to review and revise our Core Values so each is of contemporary relevance to our team and we then hold each other accountable for those values.
Barton Family Lawyers External Core Practice Values, which shape how we practice law, are:
1. We promise the five C’s – Compassion, collaboration, clear communication, Certainty of our fees and Clarity of our advice;
2. We advocate for our clients in a way that makes them feel prioritised, supported, safe and heard;
3. We follow through on promises we make to our clients;
4. We give our clients practical, tailored advice and the pros and cons of each option to empower our clients to make informed decisions and to choose the best pathway for their future;
Barton Family Lawyers Internal Core Practice Values, which shape how we conduct ourselves personally and within our team, are:
1. We are always looking for opportunities to grow;
2. We provide a safe and welcoming environment where everyone can be themselves;
3. We work together to empower each other’s strengths;
4. We keep each other accountable;
5. We take initiative and look for opportunities to help one another.
