THE LOCAL FILES : JONATHAN MCCARTHY - JMC LAWYERS

Jonathan McCarthy established JMC Lawyers with a key goal in mind.
"I love the Mornington Peninsula. So after years of doing the hard yards in the city I decided to come home and to set up a practice that will give back to the local community and will deliver high end legal services with a more personalised approach.”

After school Jonathan decided to study Criminology – doing an Arts degree at Melbourne Uni whilst he decided what he really wanted to specialise in. He developed a passion for law which he completed at Monash University before establishing himself in the city, in Collins Street. It’s here that he completed his Articles in 2007. “I effectively lived at the Rialto,” says Jonathan, “doing high end commercial and business transactions. I was trained at a really high level and programmed to perform.”

“I am also a passionate advocate for people’s rights. I devoted a lot of time to supporting and doing pro bono work with the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service in Alice Springs. I was based there for a number of years as a senior civil lawyer and acting Principal Legal Officer. I also worked on the Royal Commission as the instructing solicitor for children in detention centres, managing the court hearings. It’s something that I was also really committed to,” says Jonathan.

A general commercial and business lawyer, Jonathan also focuses on Wills and estate planning. “Many people have a variety of aspects to their financial world – they may have a company, have shareholders within that company, have a family trust and have a self-managed superfund. A standard Will doesn’t cover all these elements. You can’t simply get a document from the post office and expect each of the aspects to be covered effectively. A more complicated document is required that features a list of instructions that relate to your circumstances. What I do is go into the detail of taking care of every element so that you can feel safe and secure in the knowledge that nothing has been neglected.”

“Often one of the key triggers for looking at your circumstances and how your estate planning is going or what your Wills look like, is when you are buying or selling property. It will be one of your biggest investments, it’s important how that property ownership will be managed. Will it be in the name of a corporate trustee, or your name or your partner’s name, or will you be sharing ownership as joint tenants or tenants in common? When you are about to embark on a property transaction, it is the perfect time to sit down together and discuss how best to manage your financial story.”

Jonathan is delighted to welcome Kim Hensle to the team at JMC Lawyers as Senior Law Clerk. "Kim brings with her over 25 years local experience in property law to cater for our client’s more advanced property transfer and conveyancing needs, including changes in manner of holding for assert protection and estate planning purposes."

JMC Lawyers look forward to welcoming you at their new home:The Advice Hub: 38/33 Milgate Drive, Mornington
You can contact him via email: jonathan@jmclawyers.com.au