At FLPA’s New Year party that is becoming an institution on the social calendar, 260 members packed the Emporium’s rooftop bar on 6 February to watch leading Brisbane barrister Tom Kirk KC received The Honourable Travis Lindenmayer Award for 2024.

The Honourable Travis Lindenmayer Award is presented to a long-time family law practitioner who embodies ‘integrity, intellect and industry’.

In a warm and inspiring evening, FLPA President Shannon Daykin introduced the presenters of the Award, the Honourable Justice Catherine Carew and Judge Leanne Spelleken, both of whom spoke admirably about Tom’s long and distinguished career.
Video tributes from colleagues Paul Doolan (Sydney lawyer) and Grahame Richardson SC (Sydney barrister) were also played.

In Paul Doolan’s tribute, he said Tom “always commanded the deepest of respect”.
“I recall as a Legal Associate in the 1990s asking the Judges in the Brisbane Registry, if you were in trouble, if your brother, your sister, your mother was in trouble in a family law sense, who would you want standing up on their hind legs in Court for you? And all of them unfailingly said Tom Kirk.”

Grahame Richardson SC said in his tribute that Tom “demonstrated the most consistent pattern of immaculate preparation, great legal skill and bucket loads of dogged determination”.

Recognising the recipient’s outstanding contribution to the family law profession, the Award recipient is decided by the FLPA Board in consultation with the Courts.
Previous recipients include Margaret Cassidy, psychologist Peter Jordan, the Honourable Brian Jordan, the Honourable Justice Graham Bell, Judicial Registrar Dianne Smith, mediator Rob Grant and family lawyer Vicki Jackson.
Congratulations Tom from your FLPA friends and colleagues.