News
Welcome Ashlee Brew!
The team at RK Law are pleased to introduce our newest lawyer, Ashlee Brew. Ashlee will be working in our Criminal Defence team alongside Lachlan Robertson.
Ashlee has been recruited from a Sydney based Law 9000 Certified Firm, in Parramatta, NSW.
Ashlee joined our team in Rockhampton on 15 June 2020 (despite some minor issues with Corona Virus directions and border crossing rules).
We have been extremely busy since the Courts re-opened, and we had not had an opportunity to put something up to celebrate Ashlee’s arrival at RK Law.
Whilst Ashlee has spent the last two weeks helping out with things around the office and learning how we work here at RK Law, on Wednesday, 1 July 2020 she was able to appear on 3 Criminal Law matters in Rockhampton Magistrates Court (specifically matters involving evasion of police, serious assaults, and drug offences).
We thought it was a good opportunity to get a photo of her after her first appearance as a lawyer in Central Queensland (for the archives, social media, and the website).
Welcome to the RK Law team Ashlee! We hope you love working here as much as we all do!
Rowan King – Principal Lawyer – 01/07/2020
AHPRA Charges Dropped
Last week RK Law was extremely proud to defend a claim by AHPRA against an experienced Nurse to revoke their nursing registration. We received a great outcome for a client who was wrongfully accused of misconduct as a Nurse in a facility.
When the complaint was received, the outlook appeared grim for the Nurse. There were several Stat. Decs. from key management staff in the organisation supporting the allegations. A number of times the Nurse asked whether it was worth pursuing, and even recently if it was worth re-applying for Registration for the 2020/21 registration year.
After leaving the facility, the Nurse was re-employed in a very high paying job in another location. The complaint to the Regulation Agency was used against the Nurse to terminate subsequent high paying job. It was also a further barrier to obtaining other employment in the industry as the Nurse had to declare the pending case to prospective employers.
This meant the Nurse had to live and work in another State from the Nurse’s partner, as it was impossible to obtain work locally due to the stigma of “stealing medication from a dead patient”. At or about the same time, the Nurse’s partner had a deterioration in their health, causing them to retire from work – affecting cash-flow and the ability to pay for legal services.
It was clear when taking instructions that the Nurse had no idea about the allegations. We organised the Nurse to provide independent records such as telephone records and bank transactions. From this, we were able to defend the Nurse in the lengthy proceedings.
It was also a case where we felt so passionate about the injustice, that Principal Lawyer, Rowan King took the case on Pro Bono putting in most of the man-hours outside of core work hours – due to the poor financial position of the Nurse – and the inability to fund the matter with the declining health of the Nurse’s partner.
The Nurse retained RK Law, who successfully defended the allegations and received not only a dismissal of the allegations but justice after a 2 year battle with a disgruntled former employer. The Nursing industry is better having this practitioner (with over 35 years experience) back in the field.
Below is a summary of the matter:
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If you have received a complaint from a regulation authority, you must contact RK Law immediately!
Betty Murison – 2 years at RK Law
Today we are thankful for the hard work and dedication of our super-star Paralegal and my P.A. – Betty Murison.
9.06.2020 – Message from Rowan King – Principal Lawyer of RK Law:
In my experience in the workforce, it is rare to come across a truly indispensable member of staff. Just over 2 years ago, I was fortunate enough to cross paths with Betty. At the time, she was working for one of our competitors. I naturally assumed she was 100 years old, because her name was “Betty”. She had expressed an interest to join our team, and we were unfortunately not in a position to get her on at that time. But one day in May/June 2018, the stars aligned, and we were able to offer Betty a job with our firm.
The recruitment of Betty to RK Law, in my view, will be something we look back on in years to come as a pivotal moment in the life of our business. Betty displays an unmatched passion for excellence in all aspects of her job.
Betty has the perfect combination of:
- Professionalism;
- Kindness;
- Work Ethic; and
- Loyalty.
Betty also has the ability to put the fear of God into anyone who snitches on her, forgets to lodge a Legal Aid claim or fails to correctly name a document in our database.
Around 6 months into her employment, Betty spoke to me, and it was clear she was upset. She said her husband had been transferred with work, and she was leaving Rockhampton.
Due to her commitment to the firm, her solid work ethic, and her “Donna” skills (watch Suits if you don’t get it), Beverly and I kept her on working remotely.
Betty does her job to such a high standard that most clients do not realise she is 1064km away.
We fly Betty down to our East Street Office, and Beverly, Lachlan, Maggie and I have the pleasure of spending 1 week with her each month (subject to Corona Virus).
It is important to honour when honour is due.
I know that I am a better lawyer thanks to Betty’s support and assistance over the last 2 years. I know RK Law is also a better place thanks to her input into our business.
Thank you Betty for your hard work and commitment to RK Law over this last 2 years.
I look forward to many more years working with you!
Rowan King
@rklawqld
Morning Bulletin Article – 23.05.2020 – RKLAWQLD
An RK Law case in the news:
“Defence lawyer Rowan King said his client served five years of the prison term after being found guilty by a jury.
He said Donoghue had been in a relationship with the victim of this latest incident, but it had since ended. Mr King said Donoghue was the sole carer of his two children and lived outside of Rockhampton.”
Read the full story here!
https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/man-threatens-to-kill-hits-victim-with-chair/4021114/
COVID19 Coffee
RK Law is not just about fighting in the Court Room and getting results for our clients. We are here in Central Queensland and always looking for ways to make a difference in our community.
It is 11:00pm and after a long day in the office, Rockhampton Defence Lawyer Rowan King is volunteering at Rocky Hospital with the Calvary Team making Café quality coffees for our front line staff on the late shift.
This is an initiative during the current COVID period to keep the caffeine flowing into our Hospital Staff.
Reflections from Rowan:
We are so lucky to have such amazing front line staff in Central Queensland. I have been able to connect with the wonderful hospital staff. You can take for granted the significance of the stress our nurses and doctors deal with day-to-day on a shift, external of COVID-19.
For example, I spoke to one medical staff member on one of the nights who looked exhausted. They told me that during the shift the night before they had attempted to resuscitate a person. They tried for a number of hours but could not save the patient. That happened right at the end of the shift. The medical staff member got home and due to the adrenaline, they could not sleep. They eventually got a few hours before getting the scrubs back on and getting onto the next patient. They had shared thoughts such as “could I have done something better to save the patient?”. A double shot was in order. It was clear that burden that staff member was carrying was huge!
If a lawyer makes a mistake, and the magistrate makes a bad call due to the lawyer’s error, it will go on appeal and get fixed. There may be some inconvenience, but at the end of the day – no one died!
This volunteering has reminded me to be thankful for our front line medical staff (including the cleaners, wardies, and security) not just during COVID, but at all times. It has also reminded me not to sook when I have a bad day at work!
Also a special thanks to Calvary Rockhampton who organise the coffee cart and provide the coffees.
@RKLAWQLD
Lachlan Robertson
Today we celebrate Lachlan Robertson (Lawyer) who has been with our firm for 1 year.
Lachlan has worked extremely hard to make himself an indispensable defence lawyer in our Rockhampton team.
He has appeared on a number of Trials and Sentences in the Magistrates, District and Supreme Courts obtaining some fantastic outcomes for his clients.
On behalf of the Firm, we thank Lachlan for his hard work and dedication to RK Law, and we look forward to many more years with him on our team!
From Rowan, Beverly and Betty (your RK Law family).
@RKLAWQLD
We Need a Lawyer!
- Appearing in FCC, Magistrates, District and Supreme Courts on a daily basis for mentions, sentences, contested applications and hearings;
- Drafting Affidavits, Applications, and other court documents in Criminal and Family Law matters;
- Autonomous conduct of criminal family and DV files in both summary and committal streams;
- Liaising with clients, court staff, prosecution agencies and external stakeholders; and
- Instructing and working closely with Counsel.
- Preferable minimum of 6 months PAE (We would prefer someone who is Duty Lawyer Accredited or keen to become a Duty Lawyer);
- Outstanding written and verbal advocacy skills;
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills;
- Proven experience in criminal and family law;
- Knowledge of Legal Aid Queensland guidelines and processes.
- Competitive Salary + Super available to the right candidate.
- CPD Conferences.
- Immediate start available.
RK Law celebrates International Womens Day
Today we acknowledge and celebrate International Womens Day. We are incredibly grateful for the amazing women who work at RK Law. We are blessed with the best!
To all the women in our local community and beyond, we celebrate you today and all the unique and wonderful qualities you bring to the world around you.
A red-letter day for RK Law
We love our team at RK Law and today we all had smiles on our faces as our graduate lawyer, Lachlan Robertson, was officially admitted to the legal profession.
Lachlan was sworn in as a lawyer today in the Rockhampton Supreme court, and we’re proud to say the whole RK Law team was there to cheer him on.
Well done Lachlan – we know you’ve got great things ahead of you.
