Phillip Graham
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Phillip is the Managing Director of Graham Legal and was admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria on the 1st March, 1976.
He has considerable experience in many areas of the law.
However, throughout his period of practice, Phillip has always worked as a litigation lawyer and he has had personal responsibility for the care and attention to litigious matters from the Magistrates’ Court right through to the High Court.
In recent years, as Government legislated for the establishment of Tribunals as forums for dispute resolution, Phillip has regularly appeared before the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal (V.C.A.T.). |
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Building & Construction Law
Phillip enjoys a particular interest in building and construction law and is an active member of the Building Dispute Practitioners Society of Victoria.
Phillip subscribes to V.C.A.T.’s Domestic Building List case mail outs and receives copies of that List’s latest important decisions within moments of them being released.
Phillip acts for and receives referrals from a number of prominent Building Consultants, Architects, Builders and Developers in connection with building and construction law.
He is also listed with the Law Institute’s Legal Referral Service regularly giving advice to owners, builders and trade contractors.
Family Law
Throughout his career Phillip has also practiced extensively in family law and he is a member of the Family Law Sections of the Law Institute of Victoria and the Law Council of Australia.
Phillip manages a family law department dealing with
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Property Settlements (including De facto Property Settlements)
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Residence, Contact and Specific Issues Applications
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Spousal Maintenance Applications, Child Support and Child Maintenance Applications
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Relocation and Recovery Orders
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Paternity Cases
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Family Violence Applications, and
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Dissolution of Marriage.
Phillip is well known and respected by a number of Victoria’s Family Law Judges, Magistrates, Barristers and other legal firms having established a considerable reputation for his honest, thorough and competent client representation.
Phillip’s Approach
Phillip’s clients have written to us praising his compassionate but firm approach and his dedication to getting the job done to achieve the best possible client outcome.
For a high proportion of Phillip’s clients, this means less costly and less traumatic out-of-court settlements that are achieved through responsible and non-confrontational negotiation and representation.
Background
Before entering law school Phillip attended Strathmore Primary and Secondary schools.
He then completed the Articled Clerks' Course before qualifying for admission to practise on 1 March 1976. Phillip was admitted to partnership with Neil Telfer (recently deceased) on 1 April 1976 and worked extremely hard to develop a very successful litigation practice known as Telfer & Graham, Sunshine.
Telfer & Graham flourished from 1976 through to 1987 when Telfer retired. Phillip then maintained that practice until 1996 when it merged with Sievers & Sievers (Sunshine) and when Richard Lee accepted appointment as junior partner. The new entity was Graham Sievers & Lee and it also incorporated Phillip's Essendon practice that, until then, had been known as Phillip W. Graham & Associates.
Phillip's appointment as Managing Partner for Graham Sievers & Lee was a demanding one. Ultimately, the day to day responsibilities of his practice in Essendon forced his hand. From 1 December 2004 the Sunshine and Essendon practices have operated independantly and the identity Graham Legal was born.
Phillip is a passionate Bombers supporter with a past but nevertheless active sporting background. He played with the Essendon Cricket Club for many years (and remains the Club's Honorary Solicitor). He played football with Strathmore (not so skillfully) and very much enjoyed his time as an umpire with the Essendon & District Football League. Phillip was an ordinary tennis player who played a number of seasons with the Strathmore Tennis Club (to whom he remains Honorary Solicitor).
Phillip is married to Julie (also at Graham Legal) and they have two children, David (born 1982) and Lauren (born 1983). | 
Conveyancing
