Our People - Belbridge Fleming Law

Rob is a director of Belbridge Fleming Law and has decades of experience in business law, wills and estates and succession planning. When asked about his experience and what drives him as a solicitor, Rob continues to come back to the same core values:

“I do my best work when I am helping clients to avoid or minimise the risk of claims against their assets in the future. It’s a bit like playing chess and thinking 5 moves ahead – you need to think “what if X occurs”. I get the most satisfaction when a client comes in saying “I’ve got a problem, X has just happened” and I am able to reply “Don’t worry, I covered that for you in the documents a few years ago”.

I help people who are buying or selling businesses, or who are entering into arrangements with other people in the course of their business. I prefer to work with clients who are building their wealth, being positive, creating things – not looking over their shoulder into the past and arguing over past issues.

I do a lot of work advising people about the creation and maintenance of their wealth, and ultimately how to protect passing that wealth on to the next generation. Many families are now faced with situations where the risk of a challenge against their Will (after their death) is a concern – I can help those clients to prepare for such risks arising and help them to structure the ownership of their assets to reduce or eliminate such risks. I can also help them to prepare Wills in situations where they have a child who is disabled, or to prepare Wills to protect their assets for “their own bloodline” if a child is bankrupt, or where a child is going through a family law property settlement. I see a lot of “blended families” where the partners have different children from different marriages – I can offer advice about alternative ways to structure things to deal with those issues.

I really enjoy being able to help families across the generations, knowing what to anticipate and having the background knowledge of their asset ownership structures to be able to give proactive advice to them.

Some years ago a retired ex-farmer who was living simply in a very small community nearby came in to see me and said “Rob, I’m your best client”.

I enquired of him “Jack, what makes you say that?”

He replied “My grandparents were clients of this firm, my parents were clients of this firm, I’m your client, I’ve made sure that my children are clients of yours and I’m going to make sure that my grandchildren become clients here too”.

I agreed – “Jack, you are my best client”.

When we are at home, my wife Margie and I enjoy spending time with Patsy the West Highland White Terrier.”

Chantelle Shaw

Senior Solicitor

Chantelle was born and bred in Wodonga, then spent some time in the “Sunshine State”, where she completed both her undergraduate degree and her post-graduate Diploma in Legal Practice. Having been admitted as a solicitor since 2011, Chantelle has recently become our first remotely-located solicitor, combining her strong and independent work ethic with her passion for travel.

Chantelle is an experienced senior solicitor with a wide range of exposure to all things commercial. She is passionate about client service and places great value on providing practical and commercially realistic advice to our clients. She understands that the law does not operate in a vacuum, and applies an analytical and grounded approach when providing advice.

Whether in-person at office social events or via online Zoom meetings from the other side of the world, Chantelle is always looking for opportunities to provide comedic relief to our staff. In a high pressure environment, she appreciates the value of a good belly-laugh and is always ready for a friendly chat or some light-hearted banter.

Chantelle is a nerd of the highest calibre; she loves all things Harry Potter and is the queen of the office jigsaw-puzzle table – just don’t mix the straight-edges with the middle pieces, and you’ll get along fine! When she is not flitting from country to country on wild adventures, you can usually find Chantelle upside down at the nearest aerial circus training facility, finding new and different ways to get bruises in unusual places!

Paul Muntz

Special Counsel

Paul was a director of Fleming Muntz Solicitors, prior to its merge with Belbridge Hague Law. He has practised in Albury for over 50 years and is a Law Society of New South Wales Accredited Specialist in Business Law.

Clients appreciate the depth of Paul’s experience when seeking creative or tax-effective solutions to estate planning and commercial issues – especially when complex or extensive assets are involved. Numerous rural families throughout regional Victoria and southern New South Wales have sought out Paul’s assistance negotiating estate plans fair to all family members, and to restructure their affairs to ensure smooth succession of on- and off-farm assets between generations.

In his practice, Paul has provided legal services to a number of Government and quasi-Government bodies as well as regional, national and international businesses and has particular experience in:

complex rural land transfers
estate and succession planning
succession planning for farming families
services to the medical profession

Paul is a past President of the Albury & District Law Society and is a past Chair of the Estate Planning section of Law Australasia. He has been a regular speaker on estate and succession planning for professional bodies and at public seminars.

Breanne Kovacs

Solicitor

Breanne has been with Belbridge Hague since finishing high school and has now been an admitted solicitor for several years. Breanne supervises our HELP Team (covering all areas of commercial law) and is passionate about solution-focused thinking. She has a soft spot for all things colour and creativity.

Breanne loves to think holistically about our clients’ needs to ensure that all bases are covered. She strives to build long-term relationships of trust and reliability with clients so that she can assist them with everything from conveyancing to succession planning.

Breanne does everything that she can to contribute to an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone in the firm. Breanne loves organising social staff events and bringing in games and activities for staff to enjoy while they’re taking a break from their screens. Breanne is a self-professed tech nerd and loves introducing new systems and procedures to make life easier for our staff and clients.

Breanne is terrible at all activities which require balance or coordination, including but not limited to ice skating, skateboarding, dancing, paddle boarding, skiing and standing on one leg for more than 3 seconds. Breanne has a notorious competitive streak which comes out when the team go ten pin bowling.

Miranda Finck

Legal Assistant

Miranda is always willing to provide an excellent level of service and thoroughly enjoys working with clients to provide assistance and solutions.

Outside of work Miranda enjoys nature walks, cooking, painting and exploring the beautiful towns our region has to offer.

Stephen Wood

Client Services Manager

As Client Services Manager, Stephen’s primary focus with the firm is client engagement and marketing. Stephen works closely with our directors Rob Meers and Kellyanne Allwood as part of the senior management Team, meeting once a week to ensure that things are running smoothly, and that the BF train is on the right track. Stephen’s overarching and globalised approach is central to his role in maintaining the overall welfare of the firm and its staff.

Stephen is heavily involved in the professional networking scene both inside the office and out. He is integral in developing strong business relationships with like-minded professionals in the Albury-Wodonga region, as well as being an active member of the Belbridge Fleming social club. Stephen throws himself whole-heartedly into this role and when he is not representing the firm at an external gala or conference, Stephen can usually be relied upon to be front and centre at BF social events, boosting morale whether in plain clothes or fancy dress!

Stephen’s time outside of work is primarily dedicated to community involvement. He is an active member of the Rotary Club of Albury West, and Stephen’s work in co-ordinating the Albury Nail Can Hill run has lead to him being appointed as president of the club for the 2022-2023 financial year. Stephen also enjoys volunteer work in the Albury-Wodonga region… although delivering Meals on Wheels is not quite so thrilling to him as tipping into a turn at 240km/hr in a Porsche at Sandown!

Corissa Kilday

Finance Officer

Corissa works as our Finance Officer, alongside our Practice Manager Kim. She joined the team in August of 2023.

Prior to joining us, she worked in Accounts Receivable and Payable roles for over 9 years. She enjoys the role of Finance Officer and the variety of knowledge it entails.

Corissa is in the office on a part time basis, allowing her to spend time with her young family while working in a role she is passionate about.

While not at work, Corissa can be found crafting, baking, playing DnD, and spending time with her family.

She is on the school council as well as the parent’s social group and tries to volunteer with the school as much as possible. She believes that volunteering is what helps the community grow and thrive.

Corissa doesn’t have much of a green thumb, but that works well with her love of succulents. She has a growing collection of these little beauties, her Pink Witch being the favourite.

Leonie Ryan

Paralegal

Leonie commenced her legal career over 40 years ago and has worked within the profession in Albury/Wodonga for most of that time.

She joined Fleming Muntz (one of the two firms that merged to create Belbridge Fleming) in early 2012 as part of our clerical team.

Leonie works specifically in the areas of Business and Estate planning providing paralegal support in these areas.

Jan Bennie

Administrative Assistant

Jan brings to Belbridge Fleming Law a career in law administration spanning over 30 years previously with Belbridge Hague since 1984. Jan has an exceptional wealth of knowledge regarding Belbridge Hague, including both its history and its people. As a stalwart Albury-Wodonga local, Jan is the go-to person for extensive information on everything local knowledge.

Jan works in an administrative role within the firm, as well as making herself available to assist our authors, paralegals and receptionist when required. She is dedicated to maintaining and updating our Deed Room, where she effectively manages important documents held on our clients’ behalf. Can’t find a Will or a Certificate of Title from 1963? Ask Jan.

Jan offers a great deal of knowledge to her colleagues in general administration and word processing, having used all kinds of file management systems over the years – yes, Jan was around when we were still using typewriters! In addition to maintaining the firm’s precedent and template systems.

When not buried in old parchments in the Deed Room, you can usually find Jan at home with her family, or out on the weir in a boat. Jan has an active lifestyle on the water and her passion for water-skiing and the great outdoors is matched only by her ability to say “yes” to anything her grandchildren ask of her … despite what their parents may say!

Jenni Coates

Probate and Deceased Estate Clerk

Jenni joined the team in 2017 and brings over 23 years of experience working in the legal profession to her role at Belbridge Fleming.

Throughout Jenni’s career, she has gained significant experience in both Victorian and New South Wales conveyancing (including electronic conveyancing transactions), and in estate planning and estate administration.

Jenni acts primarily as one of our probate and deceased estate clerks, however provides support and assistance to all of the Belbridge Fleming team.

Vicki Beames

Paralegal

In addition to her work in commercial and estate litigation, Vicki is a paralegal experienced in leasing, administrative tribunal work and general commercial matters. Vicki came to Belbridge Hague (one of the firms that became Belbridge Fleming Law in 2024) from the big smoke of Melbourne, and brings with her a working understanding of the Victorian court system, as well as a network of state-wide contacts in the litigation field. It is Vicki’s attention to detail however which sets her apart, and she is often called on to run “fresh eyes” over complex documents before they are finalised.

Vicki is the administrative expert when it comes to drafting, collating and registering lease documents, and has become incredibly adept at ensuring that they are in the correct format… even when the land registry itself gets it wrong! She is methodical and meticulous and ensures that nothing slips through the cracks on the client files which come across her desk.

Whilst Vicki provides exemplary service to our clients, it is through her work behind the scenes in supporting our solicitors that Vicki truly shines. Whether it is preparing technical court forms, collating briefs of thousands of pages, or formatting a particularly problematic document, our staff rely on Vicki to take care of the form, so that they may focus on the substance. Vicki is a quiet achiever in the office, but her work does not go unappreciated by her colleagues.

Vicki has chosen part-time employment so that she may dedicate her time and attention to her young son, who is the light of her life. Monday to Wednesday you will find her elbows-deep in paper at her desk, but outside of work Vicki is a loving and caring mother first and foremost. When she is not on the floor playing Thomas the Tank Engine with a 4 year old, Vicki also enjoys dragon boating, hiking and travelling… all of which are passions that Vicki will be looking to reignite as her son gets older.

Ruth Kamber

Administrative Assistant