Mike Wells
Owner & Founder
People often ask me why I do this work. The reason is because I love working with people who are kind and caring, and who are prepared to take personal 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. I have traveled, worked in a bank, made pizzas, worked in the residential disability sector, made some dumb decisions, rented, lived from pay-to-pay, etc.).
I began working as a Lawyer in 2001, and have worked for large and small firms and in the Community Legal sector (including as a Duty Lawyer at the Family Court at Dandenong). I’ve seen people hurt others with their words and behaviour. I’ve seen families torn apart by family members who failed to take responsibility for the impact of their behaviour. I’ve also seen and heard Family Lawyers fail to discourage their clients from continuing the cycle of combat driven by perceived revenge and retribution. I have also seen the system of litigation fail to help families be able to heal the wounds and damage caused by separation and divorce.
In 2008, I resolved to put words into actions and walked away permanently from Family Court Litigation, and became one of Australia’s first Family Lawyers to train as a Collaborative Divorce Lawyer. I also became a Law Institute of Victoria accredited Mediator and registered FDRP (Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner). I established my own law firm ‘Better Separations’ and resolved to thereafter choose to only work alongside like-minded lawyers, psychologists, child experts and financial advisors who were also committed to helping families to navigate the stress of separation.
Since then, I have worked with literally hundreds of individuals and families and have never had the need nor desire to return to Family Court.
I have a lifetime of experience to offer my clients. I have been divorced. I have young kids. I live in the real world. I know what tough times are like. 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.