I’m Laura. I am originally from Argentina and have also lived in the United States and Spain before moving to Australia.

During my studies I developed an interest in family law and I completed my honours thesis on the effect of the 2012 family violence amendments to the Family Law Act. This helped me build a deep understanding of the intricacies of family breakdown and post-separation parenting.

I am experienced in all aspects of family law including:

• parenting matters;
• intervention orders;
• property settlements;
• spousal maintenance;
• financial agreements; and
• child support agreements.

I am particularly interested in international family law matters as I understand both their cultural and legal complexities.

In line with the ethos of Emera Smith, I am devoted to achieving tailored, cost-effective and timely results by empowering clients with full, frank and empathetic advice. I am also passionate about achieving the best possible outcomes using out of court settlement approaches.

Where court becomes necessary, I advocate strongly on behalf of my clients in court and work hard to achieve great outcomes.

I am fluent in Spanish and in my spare time I enjoy playing the guitar and attempting to develop a green thumb.

Memberships

• Chair of the Victorian Family Law Pathways Network Steering Committee
• Member of the LIV Children and Youth Issues Sub-Committee
• Member of the Victorian Women Lawyers Outreach Committee
• Member of the Law Institute of Victoria
• Member of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia
• Volunteer of Big Brothers, Big Sisters program