Parke Lawyers
Parke Lawyers is an established Victorian law firm with offices in the Melbourne CBD, at Level 1, 480 Collins Street, and in Ringwood, at 281 Maroondah Highway. The firm advises individuals, families, executors and trustees, business owners, employers and property owners, and its professional lineage reaches back to a Melbourne practice founded by Richard Henry Rodda in 1893.
Through growth, succession and a series of mergers, Parke Lawyers has brought together the experience and client relationships of several respected practices. These include Holt & Macdonald, which served Melbourne’s eastern suburbs from Ringwood for more than fifty years and joined the firm in 2012; Blakie + Britt, established in 1941; Armstrong Lawyers; and Hanlons Barristers & Solicitors, which joined in 2017 and added depth to the firm’s commercial, property and private client work in the CBD.
Estates and succession are central to the practice. The firm prepares wills, testamentary trusts, powers of attorney and advance care directives, including for blended families and business owners, and advises on trusts, asset protection, business succession and superannuation and SMSF succession. It acts for executors and administrators seeking probate or letters of administration in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Parke Lawyers also has a substantial estate litigation practice. The team brings and defends family provision (TFM) claims and will challenges, and acts in disputes between beneficiaries, executors and trustees. Managing Director Jim Parke has acted in litigation concerning a multibillion-dollar estate and other major contested estate matters.
In commercial law, the firm advises on business structures, buying and selling businesses, shareholder agreements and commercial contracts. Its litigation and dispute resolution practice covers commercial litigation, shareholder and director disputes, debt recovery, creditor insolvency and enforcement, contractual disputes and urgent injunctions in the Magistrates’, County and Supreme Courts.
The firm’s employment practice acts for employers. It advises businesses, boards and senior management on employment contracts, performance management, workplace investigations, terminations, unfair dismissal and Fair Work compliance.
The firm is led by Managing Director Jim Parke, a lawyer, Chartered Accountant and Law Institute of Victoria Accredited Specialist in Commercial Law. Having legal, accounting and governance capability within the firm means structural and tax questions are considered alongside the legal advice.
Doyle’s Guide has recognised Parke Lawyers as a Leading Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Law Firm in Victoria in 2017, 2021 and 2023, and as a Leading Wills & Estates Litigation Law Firm in 2017. The firm was a finalist for Law Firm of the Year (Fewer than 50 Partners) at the 2015 Law Institute of Victoria awards. It is a signatory to the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target.