Mike Wells
Owner & Founder
I love working with people who are kind and caring, and who are prepared to take responsibility to make changes when something is not working.
I came to the law later in life and feel better able to empathise and understand the gravity of stressful situations and conflict, having had years of ‘real-life’ experience (i.e. took gap years after HSC, overseas travel, worked in a bank, managed a pizza shop, provided care to people with dual-disabilities, made some dumb decisions, lived from pay-to-pay, paid off a HECS debt, etc.).
I began working as a Lawyer in Geelong in 2001, and have since worked for large and small law firms in Melbourne and also in the Community Legal Sector (including as a Duty Lawyer at the Family Court of Australia, Dandenong Registry) and for the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA).
Sadly, I’ve seen people who have hurt, or been hurt by, members of their own family who failed to take responsibility for the impact of their words and conduct. I have also seen family law litigators and litigation fail time and time again to help families heal the wounds and damage caused by separation and divorce.
In 2008, I resolved to make a difference by putting words into action and became one of Australia’s first Family Lawyers to train as a Collaborative Divorce Lawyer. I also attained ‘Law Institute of Victoria’ accreditation as a Mediator and registered as a FDRP (Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner).
Thereafter, I completed specialised training in the areas of ‘Child-Inclusive Practice’ and ‘Restorative Justice’, and established my own law firm ‘Better Separations‘ and resolved to only work with lawyers, psychologists, child experts and financial advisors who were similarly committed to helping families navigate the stress of separation and divorce.
Since then, I’ve had the privilege of seeing and working with families who have finally began to heal and thrive again because are no longer stuck in cycles of constant conflict and turmoil.
I have a lifetime of experience to offer my clients. I have been divorced. I have children. But I don’t know everything. I don’t know what you’ve been through, or how things have been for you. But I promise to listen, to understand, and to care.
