Family Law Special Counsel Michael Twohill is retiring after almost 41 years practicing as a lawyer, having played a key role developing Attwood Marshall Lawyers Family Law Department over the past four and a half years.
Michael Twohill, a courtroom veteran who has built a solid reputation in the Northern Rivers, Gold Coast and Brisbane areas as a fierce family law solicitor, is set to retire from further legal practice as at 1 July 2024.
His vast experience in complex family law matters as well as his caring and personal approach to clients has been an asset to Attwood Marshall Lawyers. We are grateful to have been able to tap into Michael’s expertise over the past four and a half years, to develop and grow our family law team, mentor our up-and-coming junior lawyers, and establish the firm as a leading provider for family law services.
In addition to his legal work, Michael has played a key role in the media during his time at the firm, fighting for families who were impacted by cross-border restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and also fiercely advocating for change to tackle the domestic and family violence epidemic our country faces.
Last year, Michael and two other senior lawyers from Attwood Marshall Lawyers met with local MP Geoff Provest and the then NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman, making submissions for the establishment of a forum of stakeholders for Domestic and Family Violence prevention in the Tweed-Byron District. Domestic and Family violence prevention has been one of Michael’s passions throughout his career. Michael has appeared on local television and radio programs calling for a dedicated Domestic and Family Violence Police Station to be established in the Tweed-Byron area, similar to those being established by the Queensland Government. Michael took the opportunity to discuss this issue in detail with the Attorney General when meeting with him in 2023 and made it known that he intends to continue to pursue the government authorities for the establishment of such police stations in the district. Recent Domestic and Family violence related murders in the Northern Rivers region and the criticism of police response time to 000 calls for assistance for victims of Domestic and Family violence have once again highlighted the very issue Michael has advocated over the past four and a half years.
A bit about Michael
Michael was admitted as a solicitor in 1983 in Brisbane, after starting his legal career as an articled clerk at Hynes & Elliott’s Coolangatta office in 1972. After his admission, Michael moved to Kingaroy where he worked at J.A Carroll and Son for two years. He returned to the Gold Coast in 1985 where he joined Scanlon, O’Keefe and Mahoney, now OMB Solicitors, where he reached partner status in 1988. Michael started his own legal practice in 1991 and operated in Southport under the name Michael V Twohill and Associates and then from 1998 as Twohill Lawyers.
Before joining Attwood Marshall Lawyers in January 2020, Michael had run his law firm Twohill Lawyers in Southport between 1998 and 2018, where he had a general practice but over time developed a specialised Family Law practice. During that time Michael handled numerous complex Family Law matters, including property settlements, parenting matters and domestic and family violence protection orders.
Throughout his outstanding career, Michael frequently appeared in the Local, Magistrates, Federal Circuit Court and Family Court advocating for his clients. He has worked in every Family Court in Australia except in Western Australia, often doing his own advocacy work without need to appoint a Barrister. He also had a distinguished career in the Criminal jurisdiction appearing for clients in the Magistrates, District, Supreme and High Courts throughout Australia.
Before he closed his brief for the last time, Michael sat down to impart some key takeaways and words of advice from his four-decades-long career in the law:
Q&A with Michael Twohill
What has been one area of law that you have been drawn to again and again?
M: I’d like to be remembered as someone who always went in fully committed to my client and stood up for what I believe, and domestic and family violence has always been a pet hate of mine. We’ve had a lot of cases at Attwood Marshall Lawyers in recent years involving historic domestic and family violence and we have taken many tough and traumatic matters on for the aggrieved: the victims.
I had a client who had suffered significant coercive-control, psychological, sexual and financial abuse in her forty-three-year marriage. Although the journey was quite traumatic for her, we were able to assist her both legally and by pointing her in the right direction for counselling. When the matter was finalised, she was ecstatic that for first time ever she had freedom of mind and amongst other things, had her own bank account with money it.
The satisfying part for me was to see a client who suddenly had that freedom – something many of us take for granted. Right away I could see that there was a weight that had been lifted off her shoulders and it was quite humbling for me to feel the warmth of the hug and to hear the words “thank you Michael” the last time I met with her. These were the types of matters that I took pride in taking on during my career…. the intent to make their life a better one than it was before they came to see me.
Trust is so important between lawyer and client and when she said to me: “thank you for believing me.” I realised just how much of a difference it made to her that I believed her story of historic domestic violence. She told me that she didn’t think anyone would ever believe her.
How do you deal with highly emotional cases?
M: I’ve always had the attitude that many people don’t talk about the deepest, darkest aspects of their relationship because they’re ashamed of it, even when they shouldn’t be. As lawyers, we have to be very sensitive when sitting down with clients. You don’t want to add to their trauma. You have to empathise.
Our clients are going through very stressful periods of their lives, and yes, it’s emotional work.
The cases that involve abuse are really hard. Not everyone can take them on – inexperienced lawyers may often regurgitate their own experiences at the expense of the client. You have to maintain a steady hand. You cannot go over the threshold otherwise you’re doing your client a disservice.
What do you think of the family law system in Australia?
M: I’ve seen the Family Court system change numerous throughout my career.
When the Family Law Act was introduced by the Whitlam Labor government in 1975, there was no mediation, there was no arbitration. You just went to court, and that involved big fees. The court introduced the idea of an independent children’s lawyer. Terminology has changed over the years. Words like “custody”, “guardianship” and “access”, have been replaced by words such as “residency”, “parental responsibility” and “contact” and then “live with” and “spend time with”.
Notwithstanding the changes over the years, the family law “industry” still leaves a lot to be desired. I’m a strong advocate for a finding a different way of dealing with domestic and family violence matters. For example, I am of the view that the Family Court should have more powers to grant compensation for victims of domestic and family violence.
The reality is that it doesn’t matter which system you use, it won’t matter if two people can’t reach an agreement.
It gives me great satisfaction to get a result for a client without having to put them through a trial, where they could be put on the witness stand and forced to relive their past traumas under cross-examination.
Why did you join Attwood Marshall Lawyers?
M: A lot of family law firms put themselves and their budgets ahead of their clients and that’s how lawyers get a bad name as a profession.
The thing I like about Attwood Marshall Lawyers is its “culture” and its “intent”. Yes, we have to do our work, but it’s our “intent” that’s important. We’re all about helping people.
At this firm I was given the freedom to put into practice fully what our intent is.
We’ve built up a fantastic team of experienced lawyers not only in our Family Law Department but also generally throughout the firm. We also have some really good junior lawyers coming through the ranks.
Our Family Law team is a formidable combination that I would certainly back against any others in the Tweed, Gold Coast and Brisbane areas.
What will you miss?
M: I feel that I’ve done my bit. This is my 40th year as a lawyer. The turning point in my career came in April 2022 when I had open heart surgery. I had a quintuple coronary artery bypass surgery. Things were touch and go there for a while however with the love and care from my wife and some excellent care from my health professionals I did return to work in late June that same year. I stopped working full time in February 2023 as I found it difficult to give the 110 per cent I have always tried to give the firm and my clients.
Following this, I took a few months off to travel. I then returned to the firm in June 2023 as a consultant, working just one day a week, and have continued in that role until now.
Although I slowly recovered from my heart surgery, I have had some further health issues recently and so I decided to completely ‘hang up the boots’ as of 1 July 2024. I always intended to retire on my own terms and so I am doing that.
I will miss my colleagues and I will miss mixing with and against my peers. I will miss coming to work every day and saying “Hi” to all the staff at any of our four offices. I will miss the mentoring and the banter. Above all I will miss the client/lawyer relationships, the satisfaction of knowing that I have made a difference to their life, that I have given them the freedom to live their life free of domestic and family abuse.
I came to Attwood Marshall Lawyers with a purpose, and I feel that I have achieved what I set out to achieve….to help develop a solid team of Family Lawyers who the firm can feel proud to promote.
Bon Voyage Michael Twohill!
Attwood Marshall Lawyers Legal Practice Director Jeff Garrett has thanked Michael for his contribution to the firm and the mentoring and guidance provided to the family law team since he joined us in January 2020.
“Michael has been a great asset during his time here and enjoyed not having to run his own legal practice, as well as having the support of our team – this gave him more time to spend on looking after our clients and concentrating on his advocacy skills. He also imparted his considerable experience and knowledge to our lawyers and support staff and has always conducted himself in a compassionate manner. Michael is an old-fashioned gentleman and had a wonderful rapport with our clients, who often were going through the most stressful period in their lives. His understanding and empathy were his strong points in looking after our clients. He was also a fierce advocate for our clients and fought hard to get them the best result.”
“We all wish Michael well and will miss his generous spirit, wisdom, and sense of humour.”
