Women at Work: Debra Parker
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From being one of the first lawyers to advise women from Beryl Women’s Refuge to becoming a Registrar of the Family Court, Debra Parker knows a thing or two about family law.
Debra Parker is no ordinary lawyer. She’s the only practicing lawyer in the capital who is an Accredited Specialist in both Family Law and Dispute Resolution, making her unique.
‘Double Accredited Specialist’ is just one of several credentials Debra has to her name, but it’s one she’s especially proud of. Debra earned the status from the Law Society of New South Wales, after putting herself through a gruelling accreditation process.
“The process involved being rigorously assessed by my peers,” says Debra, a Partner at Watts McCray Lawyers here in Canberra. “I also had to pass a full program assessing both my legal knowledge and its application in practice. It was a grind, but my motivation was strong, especially for my clients.”
The Specialist Accreditation status is held by less than six per cent of the legal profession in NSW (the ACT doesn’t run an accreditation program). To be accredited, candidates can’t fail any assessment.
However, it’s not earning titles that motivates Debra. It’s providing clients with a new way of practicing law which sees the lawyer as a consensus builder. For Debra, it helps that she’s also a highly experienced Mediator, a qualified Arbitrator in Family Law and trained to help people resolve their family law disputes in a collaborative way by settling as quickly and fairly as possible.
“As a lawyer I work hard to build consensus so clients can move on with their lives,” says Debra. “That’s the ultimate goal—to get them to agree on a fair outcome so they can focus on building a new future for themselves.”
Debra started practicing in law more than 30 years ago and has “seen many people go through relationship change.
“It’s taught me a lot about how unique we all are as humans and that there’s not just one way to resolve a problem,” she says. “A good mediator can work with different needs and interests and help people find ways to resolve their conflict.”
The Watts McCray team.
At Watts McCray, Debra is part of a dedicated and compassionate team of legal experts who understand how stressful legal issues can be, especially in family law where emotions can run high.
“We don’t only understand the ins and outs of family law and dispute resolution, we understand how Courts function, which helps us best represent our clients,” says Debra.
Debra was driven to become a family lawyer from an early age. Supporting clients is central, including women escaping from difficult relationships. Debra was one of the first lawyers in Canberra to reach out to advise women from the Beryl Women’s Refuge in the 1990s. Debra also has a keen interest in surrogacy and IVF cases and acts for biological parents and intended parents.
Throughout her career, Debra has been a trailblazer for women. She became the first female partner in a large Canberra legal firm, building her professional reputation quickly. She has mentored many law students and young lawyers and is passionate about seeing them develop and grow. This month she presented on mediation to young lawyers at the Law Society, giving tips on how to best avoid common traps during the process and next month she is presenting on domestic surrogacy laws in Australia. Debra also offers Menslink participants advice, if and when required, and supports their events too.
Debra worked in private practice of law for more than 15 years before venturing to France with her family, where they lived for more than five years, experiencing life in Europe to the fullest. After she returned, she worked in the Court system itself, learning in detail how it works from the “inside”.
“For a decade I was a Registrar of the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court in Canberra,” says Debra. “I saw thousands of people go through divorce and relationship breakdown and was required by the Court system to help them find their way through the maze. I mediated with them to try to help them find a solution other than proceeding to trial, which can cost a great deal, emotionally and financially.”
As a Registrar, Debra was known for her high success rate with mediation. She moved back into private practice at Watts McCray in 2015, wanting to work more directly with her own client base. Today, she uses the knowledge she built inside the Courts to add value to her clients.
Debra was also recently nominated as one of only six finalists in the Australasian Law Awards for Australasian Mediator of the Year, and for five years running has been recognised by the Doyle’s Guide as one of the ACT’s leading family lawyers. The Doyle’s Guide is a global publication that compiles and ranks expert lawyers based on independent research of client reviews, peer evaluations and industry body membership.
Find out more about Debra here.
While Watts McCray do have a commercial partnership with HerCanberra, this is not a sponsored editorial.
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