Raffaella is an Associate Lawyer at Hope Earle working predominantly within the Family Law team. She has assisted in a diverse range of parenting matters including urgent recovery orders, schooling disputes and care arrangements. Her experience extends to familial property matters involving property settlements with significant inheritances, intermingling of familial funds and Binding Financial or Child Support Agreements. Given Intervention Orders commonly go hand in hand with family law disputes, Raffaella has been able to assist in several Intervention Order matters specifically addressing family law violence concerns.

Raffaella also has a keen interest in areas of child protection and conducts several matters in the Children’s Court. This involves working with families to reunite or maintain a relationship with their children who have been removed by the Department of Families Fairness and Housing as a result of protective concerns be it drug and alcohol use, safety, non-accidental injury. In 2022, Raffaella participated in one of Hope Earle’s longest trials to date in the Children’s Court extending a period of 10 days.

Alongside her contributions to the Family Law Team, Raffaella readily assists several other areas of the firm, particularly Employment Law and also generally with Commercial Law. Raffaella has provided advice on employment matters concerning proper remuneration of employees, termination practices and occupational health and safety obligations. She has also assisted in a range of commercial matters including drafting website terms and policies, trademark applications and transfers, reviewing consumer contracts with company guidelines and has advised on legal compliance requirements for the Financial Advice sector.

Raffaella’s academic accolades comprise of a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Criminology and Law and Justice in Society from the University of Melbourne where she also completed her Juris Doctor. She also has a Diploma of Legal Practice from the Leo Cussen Institute of Law. She also demonstrates an active interest in developing innovative solutions to legal barriers through the use of technology and developed an App to assist victims of economic abuse to safely regain financial independence.

Raffaella joined Hope Earle in 2018 during her final year as a law student. Since joining the firm, she has progressed from her role as Notary Paralegal and Legal Intern to the firm’s first Law Graduate. She was admitted to the Victorian Legal Practice in late 2020. As a seasoned member of the team, Raffaella is enthusiastic in maintaining long-term client relationships and assisting junior staff in progressing their careers within the firm.

Raffaella is a member of Victoria’ Women’s Legal and has ambitions of becoming one of Hope Earle’s first female partners. (Principal’s note: we are keenly looking forward to this!)