Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers is a specialist family law firm conveniently located in Sydney, Crows Nest, Parramatta and Surry Hills. At Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers you will get the skill and expertise available at some of the larger city firms but what you will not get are the inflated fees charged to cover the high city costs. We are a specialist boutique firm, and so you can be confident we know you as a person not a number. Our team consists of Australian Family Lawyers who are Accredited Family Law Specalists.
Our promise to you as a client is to:
- Treat you with respect and as an individual: we will always recognise your very individual needs and concerns.
- Tell you the truth: we will never say something simply because we suspect that is what you want to hear. If we need to give you news that you will consider bad, we will do so with tact and empathy. It is unfortunately a feature of some lawyers that they will tell their clients what they want to hear. We pride ourselves on being straightforward and upfront in all aspects of our work.
- Keep you informed every step of your case: we know there is nothing worse than being kept in the dark.
- Be upfront with costs. At the very start of your case we will tell you how we will charge, usually that is based on hourly charges, but sometimes we charge a fixed fee. Where we charge an hourly rate we will give you an estimate of your overall costs.
- Give you choices: we do not just assume that everyone wants the same service from us. Right from the very start of your case with Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers, you get a say in the service that you want from us.
- Guide you towards and encourage you to as quick a resolution of your case as possible. We know that the process is not easy, and is sometimes painful. We always focus on helping you move forward as quickly as you can.
- Take a holistic approach: we know that the issues you may be facing are not likely to be solely legal issues. Whenever it is appropriate, we will always refer you to another professional such as a mediator, financial planner, accountant or counsellor.
So what makes us different? We know, and our clients know, there are many answers to that question:
Our knowledge and experience
At Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers we only practise in family law, and we are extremely familiar with all relevant law and procedure. Our skill and experience means that we are able to handle your case efficiently and cost-effectively.
We have recently been at the forefront of the changed Surrogacy Laws in NSW, after having obtained the first orders in the state, allowing a same-sex couple to be the named parents on the birth certificate of a child who was born as a result of a surrogacy agreement. We are prepared to tackle all matters that affect your family, whether they involve established principles or where we must pave the way for other like matters.
We also invest heavily in ongoing staff training, not only for our lawyers but also for our support staff. So you can be confident we are always up to date with the ever-changing family law.
We listen and care
We know that if you are seeing us you are probably experiencing one of the worst periods of your life. We aim to lessen your distress by listening carefully, advising you properly and providing you with assistance where we can. We know that a large part of family law involves non-legal issues and we have a wide network of professionals who we can refer you to.
Our clients often tell us that we help them feel empowered and that because of the advice and support we provide they knew they could rely on us. We all find great satisfaction in that feeling, and it is a large part of why we practise in family law. We aim to give that feeling to all our clients.
Our approach
At Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers we work with you in an attempt to help you achieve your goals. Most people prefer to avoid the stress and expense of court proceedings, and we place particular emphasis on helping you try to resolve your case with the minimum of acrimony. Most of our clients are able to reach agreements with our assistance through negotiation, mediation and other dispute resolution methods.
If you need to be in court, you can be assured that our in depth knowledge of all court procedures and our strong advocacy will place you in the best possible position. Many other firms may feel overwhelmed by the court process and will often suggest involving barristers earlier than is necessary, which means your costs will be inflated. However, all our lawyers place strong emphasis on their advocacy skills and will only suggest you go to the additional expense of a barrister when it really is appropriate.
We know that you need to be and feel in control of your case, and that a large part of a successful outcome is that you are able to move on with your life with your dignity intact. Our aim is to help you get through the difficult time in your life as smoothly as possible without adding to the pain. We feel great pride when we see our clients emerging from the process much happier and more at ease than when they started the process, often with a much more productive relationship with their former partner.
Our technology and innovation
At Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers we don’t just do things just because that’s the way others do, or because it’s the usual or traditional way. We actually think about why we are doing something and how we can do it better. We bring that to our practise of family law and also the way we operate our firm. We use cutting-edge and innovative technology so that we can free our family law staff to do what they do best, which is to help and advise our clients, rather than spending their time doing unnecessary administrative work.
We are environmentally conscious, and are as paper-less as possible.
You will see how we have used innovative design and technology right from the moment you first step into our offices.
Our work environment
At Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers we believe that to be able to keep our clients happy we too must be happy. We have fun together and are a close-knit team who genuinely enjoy working with each other. We know our staff have a life outside of work and we actively support and encourage that, including providing our staff with flexible work arrangements.
Our staff have diverse legal and non-legal experience, and have very diverse backgrounds.