ORLENA MOLONEY
Director
Legal Qualifications
- Solicitor, Supreme Court of Queensland
- Solicitor, High Court of Australia
- Solicitor, Supreme Court of New South Wales
- Collaborative Law Training
Education
- Bachelor of Communications (Public Relations), Western Sydney University
- Bachelor of Laws, Western Sydney University
- Graduate Diploma Legal Practice, College of Law
Professional Organisations
- Member, Queensland Law Society
- Member, Family Law Practitioners Association of Queensland
- Member, Law Council of Australia – Family Law Section
- Member, Gold Coast District Law Association
- Member, Queensland Collaborative Law
- Member, Gold Coast Collaborative Law Group
Director, Collaboratively Trained Lawyer
Growing up, I was always going to be a teacher. The ability to help a child develop and grow really appealed to me. When it came time to completing my university application, I included law, just because. I was accepted into the Bachelor of Law at Western Sydney University commencing in 1999. In 2001, I commenced what was initially a summer clerkship with the Attorney General’s department and their telephone advice service known as “LawAccess”. As part of that program, I provided information and advice, primarily on Family Law related matters, to people in rural and remote parts of New South Wales. I obtained a full time position from that clerkship and remained with LawAccess for three years. So began my love for family law.
I have worked on the Gold Coast as a family lawyer since being admitted to practice in 2004. Whilst I enjoy all facets of Family Law, I am particularly interested in parenting and child related matters. In some respects, I liken my role to something similar to having been a teacher. Helping parents navigate through a process that can be stressful and all consuming, and to give them the information that will, hopefully, help them to make informed, practical and child-focused decisions. Having two children has also helped me in the way that I practise. Since becoming a parent myself, I have a better appreciation of the needs of children, the need to consider their routine and age appropriate arrangements.
I have been able to gain extensive experience in all aspects of parenting proceedings, ranging from the parents who need help documenting their agreements, to the cases involving serious domestic violence and sexual, drug and alcohol abuse, to the recovery and location of children (including overseas location). All parenting matters need to be approached in a way which is tailored to the circumstances of that family. My goal is ensuring that, at all times, the approach remains child-focused and practical.
While complex parenting matters are a particular focus for me, I also thoroughly enjoy helping parties resolve their property and financial matters, whatever the asset pool might be comprised of: from a house and superannuation to complex corporate and trust structures. The ideal situation is for all matters arising from the breakdown of a relationship or marriage to be dealt with in unison. I would like to think that I have helped many of my clients achieve this and that I will continue to do so.
In 2016, I was thrilled to be voted by the Doyle’s Guide as a ‘rising star’ in the Queensland family law profession, receiving a ‘recommended’ listing in the 2017 Gold Coast Family Law List. Since 2018 I have been recognised in the Doyle’s Guide as a ‘leading’ Gold Coast family and divorce lawyer, and a ‘leading’ and ‘pre-eminent’ lawyer in parenting disputes for regional Queensland.
Video Transcript
I’m Orlena Moloney, and I’m a director with BGM Family Lawyers. I have been a family lawyer now for 15 years.
Family law is a bit different to other areas of law in terms of, I think, you need to have a fair bit of common sense. I do a lot of parenting work, so you’re talking about arrangements for kids and what works for them. So I think I have a good reputation of giving clients pretty robust advice.
There’s lots of highs and a fair few lows, depending, you know, you’re dealing with people’s emotions and their lives and their children. But certainly, the highs outweigh the lows. For me, the most satisfying parts that have probably then made me stick with it have been matters involving young children. That’s probably the types of matters that have given me the greatest satisfaction, where there’s a parent who’s not seeing a child, there’s a child at risk, there’s a child missing, and knowing that when they come to me, no matter how panicked they are, I can give them a plan of how we can make sure this child is safe. It’s those types of matters that have always given me the warm and fuzzy, to make me want to go back.
