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One of the things Anna Kleindienst is most passionate about, is automating processes and documents to enable family law professionals to have more time to advise their clients. As a family law solicitor with over 12 years experience in private practice, this month Anna joins the FamilyProperty Client Success team as our newest Client Success Manager.
We spoke with Anna about her experiences as a family lawyer, and what she loves most about FamilyProperty!
Tell us a little bit about your career in family law so far.
I have practiced exclusively in the area of family law since being admitted to the legal profession some twelve years ago. I am experienced in all types of family law matters including but not limited to property settlements; parenting matters; child support including child support agreements; spousal maintenance; domestic violence matters; dispute resolution; and litigation.
Why did you choose to become a family lawyer?
I have always wanted to practice family law. I enjoy working with clients and assisting them to finalise their property and parenting matters. Often this is one of the most stressful times in their lives and it is a privilege to work with them and to hopefully close that chapter not only for them, but for their family too.
What area of family law work do you enjoy the most?
I particularly enjoy property settlement matters and working with clients/negotiating with the other side to reach an amicable agreement outside of Court. I enjoy the drafting process and preparing minutes of consent or binding financial agreements to formalise property settlement agreements.
What do you find is the most rewarding and testing part of your job?
I find it rewarding to build relationships with clients and to assist them in moving on with their lives, severing financial ties once and for all and gaining clarity over their parenting arrangements. Litigating family law matters is incredibly expensive, time consuming and stressful so this would have to be a testing part of the job which is unfortunately, in some situations necessary.
What has been your most memorable family law matter to date?
My most memorable family law matter involved re-establishing a relationship between a father and his two young children after very serious allegations had been made. Those allegations were ultimately found by the Court to be false and Orders were made for his time with the children moving forward.
What do you think the most common challenge is for family law clients at the moment?
There are often not enough hours in the work day! A great deal of family law work involves duplication of data, manual calculations and time consuming processes, procedures and systems. This is costly for clients and takes precious time away from negotiating to resolve the matter.
What do you think everyone involved in family law matters can do better?
Focus on outcomes. Negotiate reasonably. Work together amicably and make reasonable concessions when required. Relationships are more important than “winning” at the end of the day.
What technology did you use in your practice? Think practice management software, apps etc.
The last firm I worked at utilised Leap as their practice management software and prior to that, it was ActionStep. I have also had exposure to some parenting apps such as Our Family Wizard and 2houses. Technology can be a very powerful tool for family law professionals and I encourage them to embrace it!
Since joining the FamilyProperty team, what do you like about FamilyProperty? What features of FamilyProperty do you think will bring the most value to family law professionals?
As a family law solicitor, I love the interactive balance sheet. No more time consuming excel spreadsheets, double checking manual calculations and percentage splits are required. The FamilyProperty balance sheet is revolutionary in this respect, making it quick, easy and efficient to automatically calculate proposals, draft heads of agreement and property settlement orders at the click of a few buttons!
How do you see FamilyProperty helping your clients as a Client Success Manager? For instance, how will it make the disclosure process better? How will it help them to save costs?
FamilyProperty is an innovative platform for busy family law professionals which aims to support them in their day to day practice to streamline and expedite time consuming administrative processes. As a Client Success Manager, I am committed to supporting clients through their use of FamilyProperty to effectively run family law files and mediations from start to finish. As FamilyProperty enables family law professionals to work more efficiently, this then results in a direct cost saving to clients so it’s a win-win all round!
What are you most looking forward to in the next six months? Professionally and personally?
FamilyProperty is receptive to feedback and is continually evolving as technology changes and the landscape of family law develops. It’s exciting to be a part of this!
Anna Kleindienst joins FamilyProperty as our Client Success Manager.
Curious about how FamilyProperty can help you and your firm? Book an obligation-free demo with our friendly team.