Filthy rich. Never not wearing an eye-wateringly expensive suit or sky-high stilettos. Men. Has a bar in their office and are regularly seen quaffing Macallan Scotch Whisky at 11am (actually, all day). Only in it for the money. Ambulance chasers, regularly seen in the emergency department at a hospital near you.
These are just some of the preconceived notions around lawyers, especially those who represent personal injury claimants. But we’d like to clear up some of the misconceptions. While we can’t speak for the profession as a whole (there are plenty of lawyers who don’t really care about their clients, and may engage in some pretty unethical practices), the team at Gouldson Legal are a pretty down-to-earth bunch.
Here’s how there’s more to us that you might think.
1. WE’RE DEFINITELY NOT FILTHY RICH
The average salary for a lawyer in Queensland is between $65K and $100K pa. We can afford to live comfortably, but we’re certainly not kicking back in riverfront mansions and speeding around Brisbane in our Maseratis.
2. SUITS AND STILETTOS? RARELY
While we scrub up pretty well if we’ve got a court date, we prefer to keep things casual here at Gouldson. In fact, you’ll usually find our director Faran walking around the office in shorts and bare feet after he’s come in from his pre-work surf.
3. WE’RE ALL MEN
A boys club? Not at Gouldson. Our team is made up of men and women, and they’re all exceptional at what they do. Our staff are some of the best in the business, and are here to provide you with the representation, support and advice you need.
4. LAWYERS ARE ALWAYS KNOCKING BACK EXPENSIVE SCOTCH
A minibar in the office? You’re more likely to find us eating cake for a staff member’s birthday in the kitchen, or rolling around on the floor with one of our (many) office dogs. Besides, drinking on the job isn’t cool.
5. WE’VE GOT $ IN OUR EYES
Money is an important aspect in most lines of work. But for us, it’s securing appropriate compensation for you, and ensuring you get back on your feet – and back to work – as quickly and safely as you can. We believe everyone is entitled to fair legal representation, regardless of their financial situation, which is why we have a no win/no fee policy. If your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t be charged a fee from us.
6. REGULARS IN THE ER WAITING ROOM
This is probably the biggest one we hear and it couldn’t be further from the truth (hanging around in hospitals is completely unethical too!). Most of our clients come to us through recommendations, because we’re good at what we do.
Forget what you’ve seen on shows like Suits and The Good Wife. At Gouldson Legal, there’s no backstabbing and gossip; we’re too busy working to get caught up in drama. We respect our staff, celebrate the wins, and support each other during tough times. We do the same for our clients. We don’t represent cases, we represent people.