A conversation with …

Michele Falconieri, 31, is married with a 12-month-old son and lives in North Gregory, west of Airlie Beach.

He has been a solicitor for seven years and with the firm for nine years, having started in Macrossan & Amiet’s Mackay office as an articled clerk while still at university.

He now works in the Whitsunday office and specialises in commercial property and also practises family law, criminal law and civil litigation.

Q. What made you want to become a solicitor?

A. I originally come from a farming background. My father and his father were both farmers and worked hard to ensure I would have a good education. It was my father that initially encouraged me to pursue a career in law. While I was at high school a legal studies subject was introduced as an elective. Much to
the disappointment of my teachers at the time, I swapped from physics to legal studies and have never looked back.

Q. What is the best thing about being a solicitor?

A. Being a solicitor is very interesting work. There are many careers that might become routine or mundane after a period of time but the challenges that arise from the different types of work that I do, and the diversity of clients and their particular needs, means that there is always something new and exciting to work on. Just when you think you are very familiar with a certain piece of legislation, a High Court case will be determined or a new piece of legislation will be enacted that will change the previous position completely. You have to always be on your toes as a solicitor and be ready to adapt and change your way of thinking to keep up-to-date.

Q. What would you say your particular strengths are?

A. Clients come to a solicitor for advice on their particular circumstances and needs. Sometimes the advice they receive is not always what they want to hear. I believe one of my strengths as a solicitor is that I am able to think outside of the box for my clients and while the answer to their particular questions may not be the answers they were originally looking for, often it is possible to achieve a satisfactory practical result in a way that they may not have even considered.

Being familiar with commercial law and also the court process enables me to give practical advice to clients that often leads to economical solutions. I am also able to competently argue my clients’ cases before the court and have longstanding professional relationships with a number of barristers.

Q. What are the top three things you are most proud of so far in your professional career?

A. After working as an Articled Clerk for two years while completing my university degree part-time, in February 2001 I was admitted as a solicitor in the Queensland Supreme Court of Townsville. My admission was moved by Senior Counsel John Baulch. To me that was the real start of my legal career.

In April 2003, I was appointed as a Senior Associate of Macrossan & Amiet and manager of the Cannonvale Office. The office initially consisted of myself and one support person. After 12 months the firm incorporated with another legal practice in the Whitsundays, Telford Lawyers and Andrew Telford became a resident partner of the Whitsunday office.

In January 2007 the Whitsunday office and its staff had outgrown our premises in Airlie Beach and the firm relocated to its current office in the Whitsunday Business Centre. The firm is now the largest legal office in the Whitsundays. I am very proud to be a senior employee of the firm and to have been a part of such a significant growth.

Q. What do you think you would be doing if you hadn’t become a solicitor?

A. I cannot imagine not being a solicitor. My father once suggested a career in medicine but I am not overtly fond of the sight of blood so have never seriously considered that type of work.

Q. When you are not at work, what can you be found doing?

A. When I am not at work I like to spend time with my family. My son is growing up fast and I try not to miss too much of it. We live on five acres so on weekends I can usually be found outside tending to the property. Although it is usually hard work, I find it therapeutic after being in the office all week.

Q. How did you end up in Airlie Beach or are you a local?

A. I was originally born and bred in Ingham, just north of Townsville. While completing my university degree at James Cook, I undertook some work experience with Macrossan & Amiet in Mackay. I have always been a firm believer in the practical application of theoretical studies and when I discovered it was possible to work full time with the firm while completing my studies part-time I accepted without hesitation and relocated to Mackay. In 2003 the firm offered me the opportunity to relocate to the Whitsundays and manage the Cannonvale office.

While I do not have any real ties to Mackay other than Macrossan & Amiet, I do have some family in Proserpine and saw the chance to move as a means to further my career while being a great place to start my own family.