Why a Rural Family Lawyer?
I was born in Griffith in South-West New South Wales. I grew up in Northern New South Wales, not far from the Queensland border.
My wife, also a lawyer, grew up in the Central Burnett area of Queensland.
My grandfather, James Victor McCormack was a farmer and graizer in the Old Junee region of South-West New South Wales.
A little further north (or north west) each year
Living in the border regions, I spent a lot of time on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane. Being from Griffith, there were many long car trips through New South Wales to see my Sicilian grandparents back in Griffith.
The draw of the big city with all its bright, shiny, and new things was always destined to get my attention. However, I was extremely lucky to have been raised in a rural setting with cattle and cane and small town culture.
I started life in the law early – at around age 5. I can remember sitting in the corner of my Dad’s office on Saturday mornings and during school holidays, listening to him dictate onto cassette tapes with his Lanier Dictaphone or speaking to clients on the phone.
When it came time to start my university education, Brisbane seemed an obvious choice. It was close enough to home that I could visit regularly but far enough away to allow me to become my own person.
I had made a number of friends in Brisbane from participating in various camps and summer schools. I went from being a student at some of these events to later running them as part of my time with The Young Scientists of Australia Brisbane Chapter Inc.
The genetic defect
I was fairly sure by around Year 6 in primary school that I would end up studying law.
We joke in our family that my generation has a genetic defect. My Dad’s a solicitor, I’m a solicitor, my sister also became a solicitor, and I married a solicitor. My chosen family are all in some way involved in the legal profession as solicitors, barristers, or academics (who have previously practised law and seen the light.
I was lucky to obtain a place at Emmanuel College within the University of Queensland, a residential college with links to both the Presbyterian and Uniting Churches in Queensland. This helped with the not knowing anyone and adjusting to a university campus that alone had a population three times the size of my home town.
I had spent a long time being known as Peter’s son. It wasn’t long until that was reversed and people made reference to Andrew’s Dad.
I spent around 14 years in Brisbane either studying or working for firms ranging from small/boutique firms to a top tier full service firm with one of the largest family law practices on the eastern seaboard.
Bright lights, big city to a hay bale change
Just before my second daughter was born, we decided that it was time to get out of the city for a more family friendly lifestyle.
I was lucky enough to find a position with a firm in Toowoomba that was rapidly expanding. This allowed me to continue my practice of acting in matters with a rural component.
In 2014, The Rural Family Lawyer brand was born.
Over the years, I have acted for a broad cross-section of people from rural areas, all across Australia.
My practice and roles
I have practised exclusively in family law since 2005.
Prior to that time, I had experience in general practice and probate and estate administration.
I like to call myself a lapsed probate lawyer as I know just enough to be dangerous. I have always had an interest in the intersection between family law and succession law.
In 2013, I became an Accredited Specialist in Family Law.
At the beginning of 2020, I decided that it was time for a change and I left practice in Toowoomba. I had decided that my next step would be to join the private bar, practising as a Barrister-at-Law.
I didn’t quite get there. A pesky little bug called COVID19 appeared and put a spanner in the works. As a result, I could not sit the Bar Practice Course entry exams or complete the Bar Practice Course.
I started practising as a Locum Tenens. My second locum job started out as being a 3-week stint, that turned into a 3-month stint, that ended approximately 5 years and 2 months later.
A bit more detail
From June 2020 until November 2025, I was Special Counsel – Family Law in the Private Clients Group at Thynne + Macartney Lawyers in Brisbane.
Prior to this I worked in Brisbane with the firm HopgoodGanim Lawyers as an Associate in their Family Law Practice. I was previously a Senior Associate with the firm Best Wilson Buckley Family Law in Toowoomba.
From 5 January 2026, I will commence my role as Special Counsel with KLM Solicitors practising in both Brisbane and Toowoomba.
I am an AMDRAS Accredited Mediator and a Member of the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediations known as AIFLAM.
I undertook my mediation training through the Bond University Dispute Resolution Centre.
I mediate in all areas of law.
I divide my time between Toowoomba and Brisbane.
I have a growing client base in the Border areas including Northern New South Wales and South-West Queensland.
That is me to the left in a remarkable tidy office!I’m also one of those confetti lawyers.
What I do
My current practice areas and experience include disputes relating to:
- rural family law and third party/inter-generational interests;
- parenting issues including child protection matters;
- matrimonial and de facto property settlements;
- domestic and family violence matters;
- third party intervention in matrimonial and de facto property settlements; and
- child support matters.
I also have an interest in the intersection of estate and succession planning and family law both generally and in inter-generational rural families.
I have a broad range of experience across these areas. I am admitted as a Legal Practitioner in Queensland and New South Wales and the High Court of Australia.
To contact me:
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