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At first glance, this could be any studio ahead of a major hairdryers competes with the banter of stylists, models, photographers and make-up artists. Music echoes through Sydney’s Baker Street Studios, giving the session an insistent but unintrusive energy. However, this fashion shoot is different.
This time, women who have put their businesses and customers above all else are in the spotlight.
Australian Conveyancer has gathered them to be honoured in a special tribute to mark International Women’s Day.
Bonding, lasting, meaningful conversations bloom under a cloud of nervous energy.
Suddenly, everything stops. Grace Munro enters the building on a motorised chair, her right leg immobilised.
She has made the trip to Sydney from Ballarat 24 hours after major surgery to repair a badly broken leg, incurred while tending horses on the family property.
What is she doing here? “I wouldn’t miss this event for the world,” Munro exclaimed.
It’s a moment that encapsulates the inner strength of the nine amazing women who AC is honouring for their work and leadership in the conveyancing industry. And the camaraderie that exists. “There is competition amongst us, naturally, but we’re also here to support each other and to learn from each other, too,” said Kiani Mills from Impériale Conveyancing.
In late 2025, AC asked practitioners to nominate peers who they believed embodied the virtues of International Women’s Day: Generous in spirit; sharing knowledge; mentoring and training others; advocating for gender equality; and amplifying the voice of women in the workplace.
From 150 nominations, 30 were shortlisted before the final nine honourees were named. From across the country, they personify the values of International Women’s Day and those of a professional sector largely powered by women.
“I can’t believe this,” said Judy Bliss from Bliss Conveyancing.
“You get invited to lots of events, but you often say no because you’re so busy. But I am so glad I made the time to be part of this wonderful initiative. To be here with the other girls is truly inspiring.”
This March edition of Australian Conveyancer not only shares what the nine honourees experienced on this special day in early March, it also highlights their own remarkable stories.
Nine incredible women. Nine extraordinary journeys. Nine lives.
§ JUDY BLISS
In the early days of her career in the NSW court system, Judy Bliss learnt a valuable lesson about teamwork. “You can’t do everything yourself,” she said. “Unless you have the right team all working in the same direction, nothing ever gets done”
Judy Bliss began her career in 1984, including serving as personal assistant to the Chief Magistrate of NSW and in senior court roles. She also worked as a coroner’s registrar and marriage celebrant.
Starting out, Judy describes a “sink or swim” environment.
“There wasn’t a lot of women about when I started in the court system,” she said. “It was all up to yourself to make it work.”
Judy’s early working life gave her a keen self reliance and firm grounding in understanding how the law affects real people.
When she pivoted to conveyancing, her courtroom experience helped shape the culture and leadership style she brings to her practice Bliss Conveyancing, which marks 20 years next year.
Integrity, she said, is among the most important values she carried over from that time, along with precision, attention to detail and accountability.
“You’ve got to be honest and open with clients, telling them exactly what the situation is and not sugarcoating it,” she said.
“So long as you’re calling out everything your client needs to know to make informed decisions, you’ve done your job.”
Judy is equally committed to developing her team and encouraging ongoing training, believing investing in their growth ultimately benefits clients.
“If you don’t keep your clients happy and satisfied with your services, you don’t have a business,” she added.
Beyond her firm, Judy advocates for the industry through her roles on the board of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers NSW Division and NSW representative on the PEXA Advisory Council.
“I’m there to give the average conveyancer at the coalface the voice to be heard,” she said.
Judy is especially focused on ensuring proper training as compliance obligations increase.
“We weren’t given the right training to begin with over the years from the departments who were handing off their work to us. That’s slowly changing, because we’re being the voice, saying, ‘Hang on a minute, you want us to do this? You have to actually give us the appropriate training’.”
With experience spanning the paper-based era to today’s electronic systems, Judy is passionate about preserving industry knowledge for future practitioners.
“We need to capture as much of that experience as we can now and get it down on paper so it’s never lost,” she said.
§ ADELE BRINCAT
More than 30 years on, Adele Brincat still carries the voices of her first mentors in her head. That early guidance shaped not only her career, but her sense of responsibility to the profession
Over the years, I’ve been really blessed to have some great mentors with good standing in the conveyancing community and decades of experience,” said Adele Brincat.
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“That’s what inspired me to want to be that person for the next generation of conveyancers.”
Today, as head of compliance and practice excellence at NSW firm Dott & Crossitt – a company she has been with for more than six years – Adele plays a key role mentoring the large team.
“Probably the part of my job I’m most passionate about is passing that information on,” she said.
“I can only hope I’m as good a mentor to our amazing team as so many have been to me.”
While her focus is in NSW, Adele is building a team to offer the same support to the firm’s 52 conveyancers and conveyancing paralegals nationwide.
One motto from her early mentors continues to resonate: ‘You don’t know what you don’t know’.
“Until you’re in a situation where you realise there’s something you don’t quite know, you don’t know who to go to for support,” she said.
“Having someone you can ask any question without judgment helps fill those knowledge gaps.”
Adele’s early mentors built their networks from the ground up, and she has benefited from that experience and those connections in her current role.
Now with hundreds of years’ of combined experience across the firm – spanning rural and city offices – staff can tap into a broad support network capable of answering almost any question.
“Conveyancing is a high-pressure environment and we’re constantly dealing with deadlines every day,” she said.
“Feeling supported and to have people you can go to with any of the trickier questions just helps with team culture and also the outcomes we’re going to get for our clients.
“It’s also important to share all of the wins as well to help build our teams.”
For Adele, mentoring isn’t merely optional, but an obligation for conveyancers to skill up the next generation.
“Some of the trickier transactions you’re lucky to experience only once or twice in your whole career,” she said.
“To be able to pass on the knowledge you’ve acquired from those more technical transactions is something we should all aspire to do.”
§ TANIA GOOLEY
In the high-pressure, complex world of conveyancing, Tania Gooley is known as a calm presence in the storm. Amid tight deadlines, intricate transactions and sensitive clients, the experienced practitioner often tells her team members and clients: “Don’t panic until I panic”
Tania Gooley said maintaining a sense of calm helps create confidence that everything will be OK and results in better outcomes for everyone.
A conveyancer for more than 35 years, Tania began her career as a junior law clerk at a suburban law firm. She counts herself fortunate to have had a knowledgeable mentor early on who taught her not only the technical skills of conveyancing, but also the importance of communication, professionalism and people skills.
“That guidance continues to influence how I support others in the profession today,” Tania said.
“I try to create an environment where people feel supported, respected and genuinely heard.
“I’m always open to listening to others’ ideas, whether it’s about a matter we’re working on or ways we can improve our processes – because we don’t know what we don’t know.
“Some of the best improvements and ideas come from simply being open to different perspectives.”
As well as running her own firm since 2007, Tania has been committed to giving back to the profession. She has served as a volunteer committee member of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (Vic) for the past five years, including as secretary, and has also held the role of national Victorian representative for four years.
As part of her leadership work, she has chaired industry events, presented the two-day Basics Conveyancing Course for new practitioners and participated in the PEXA Member Advisory Council. She also represented the industry last year at a Senate inquiry into micro-competition opportunities in the e-conveyancing sector.
Over the past three years, Tania has worked as chair and co-author of the Basics Conveyancing Course Handbook to support the next generation of conveyancers.
“I’m passionate about supporting them by sharing practical knowledge, guidance and real-world experience to help them succeed,” she said.
She has also facilitated meetings that bring conveyancers together across metropolitan areas to connect, share experiences and support one another.
“These experiences have reinforced my belief in the power of teamwork, the importance of community and the value of supporting the continued growth of our industry,” she said.
“Bringing practitioners together to discuss challenges, share insights and learn from each other not only strengthens individuals, but also strengthens the profession as a whole.”
§ MARLISE KERSNOVSKE
Being approachable, supportive and willing to truly listen is what builds strong, lasting relationships
Marlise Kersnovske has worked in conveyancing for more than 20 years, including the past decade with ByTheRules, where she began as a conveyancing paralegal and progressed to head of operations, compliance and franchisee support.
Her focus has been on continually refining workflows and procedures so staff are supported by the most effective systems and processes possible.
“The key to my role is to ensure I can support our staff in the day-to-day running of conveyancing matters and growth in their own careers,” she said.
“It’s really important to me that our operations remain efficient and compliant.
“Conveyancing has become such a demanding job. You’re dealing with clients in high-pressure situations.
“With continual additions to the conveyancing process and the pressure created by recent and upcoming changes within the Queensland industry, the workload placed on conveyancers has increased significantly.”
ByTheRules is an established conveyancing law firm with more than 25 years’ experience and over 60,000 settled property transactions. It operates as a multi-state franchise network. Marlise ensures the network’s 150-plus staff members are given the training and support they need to respond to regulatory changes.
“We try to make our systems available and very user friendly for the clients. That starts at the client onboarding process, with quoting right through to settlement day,” she said.
“Communication is the absolute key with our clients, real estate agents, brokers and other firms that we deal with day-to-day.
“The easier we make communication available to our clients and industry colleagues, the better the overall experience for everyone.”
Marlise said she has been fortunate to be supported by mentors who were approachable and ready to listen - a trait she has carried into her own leadership style.
“There is no such thing as a silly question,” she said.
“Sometimes my staff just need somebody to listen to.
“I myself have grown so much since I first started as a conveyancer due to the support from my colleagues.”
Marlise credits part of her career success to the generosity of those she has worked alongside.
Early on, she learnt that clear communication and being ready to listen matter most.
“It’s about providing clear communication to everybody, and acknowledging them – giving everybody the time of day when they approach you,” she said. “If you do that, you remain approachable to them and very supportive.”
§ MARIA KONTORIGAS
When Maria Kontorigas began in property law, support was scarce. “I just had to do it by myself,” she said. “The partner of the firm would say, ‘Draft a lease’, but there was no guidance or software that could help me”
Having navigated early professional challenges on her own, Maria Kontorigas is now passionate about helping others in her field. With more than a decade of experience in property law, she knows how much guidance can make a difference.
“It’s in my nature to assist, and this is why I love conveyancing so much,” she said.
In her role as senior national major account manager at triSearch, Maria keeps an open door for her team.
“If I’m hearing someone struggle, I always go above and beyond to assist them, because I never had that,” she said.
“With the open-door policy, I want everyone to feel comfortable to have that communication and not feel like no one is supporting them. I believe that’s how they will grow, by having that support.
“I would rather them come up and go, ‘Hey, Maria, can you help me with this’ or take me five minutes to explain, rather than them struggling to try to find the answer.”
In her role, Maria helps firms run their practice more efficiently, freeing up conveyancers to spend more time on clients rather than admin.
“I’m giving them time to build relationships, to network, rather than spend five hours doing admin tasks,” she said.
Maria is especially passionate about helping conveyancers realise their worth.
“There is a lot of competition in the conveyancing industry, because there’s so many women doing it, which offers an amazing work-life balance,” she said.
“The problem is they don’t charge enough. Agents will get $50,000 on commission for selling a property, but when it comes to the conveyancing work and legal transactions – because there are so many conveyancers in the industry – they automatically undercut each other just to win the business.”
Maria suggests conveyancers should charge like a law firm to reflect the work involved in sealing deals.
By showing firms how to use the right tools and organise their workflows so they’re not constantly working late, Maria said they can focus on what really counts. “They can do what they need to do in eight hours and make money doing it. Time equals money at the end of the day.”
§ KIANI MILLS
Kiani Mills left school and went straight into working in law firms at 18, discovering property law almost by accident in 2006. She became a conveyancer and started her own thriving business
Kiani Mills learnt a lot when she worked in big-city law firms. “Stepping into the conveyancing space almost felt like a simplification of everything I’d learnt,” she said. “I got to really simplify and hone in on my specialty and my craft.”
For the first couple of years, Kiani admits she “flew blind”. The single mum-of-two was living life in panic mode and realised that she was good at conveyancing, but not at running a business. “I wouldn’t go to sleep until 2am doing emails and I’d wake up at 6am with a full list of things to do. That was the only way I could get everything done and be a good mum,” she said.
With the help of business mentors, she experienced a “sliding doors moment” and realised she could run a successful firm without sacrificing her wellbeing. The changes were “astronomical”.
“That took me from being a slave to my business to actually falling in love with it – having a profitable business and being proud of it,” she said.
Today, alongside directing her conveyancing firm, Kiani coaches others, particularly women in business, on navigating life and their careers without suffering burnout.
“I see how much business owners struggle. We were taught how to be good conveyancers, we weren’t taught how to run a business.”
Impériale operates with a lean team of two, supported by outsourced administration. Despite its size, the firm handles a higher capacity of work than when Kiani managed nine staff.
“We run a very lean team, but we’re a very profitable and systemised business,” she said.
“That just shows if you put the right processes in place and hire the right people, it’s possible to do it without burning out.”
Also a motivational speaker, podcaster and published author, Kiani said mentoring others is her way to give back to the industry that shaped her.
“Part of my purpose on this earth is to share and educate, and not from a place of thinking I know better.
“I’ve made all the mistakes already, and don’t want others to go through it the way I did – it was hard and painful, and my kids and business suffered, I physically suffered.”
§ GRACE MUNRO
Grace Munro admits she doesn’t do anything by halves. At just 22, she’s arguably one of the industry’s youngest conveyancers to launch their own practice
Grace Munro started in the industry with no experience, but quickly built up her skills. Now in its third year, her practice Munro & Associates Conveyancing has grown to eight staff across two regional Victorian offices.
Grace began in conveyancing at 18 as an assistant to property law specialist Jamie McCallum, who she counts among her early mentors. By 21, she had risen to office manager at another firm.
Alongside her mentors, an early health battle instilled in her a strong sense of drive and purpose.
“I was nine when I had a heart attack. I was so young, but it really helped me for my career,” she said. “It was a turning point, that balance between life and death. It’s something that’s always really stuck with me and at the back of my mind. You’ve just got to keep going, striving. I just don’t do anything by halves. If it doesn’t work, I’m sure there’s another way.”
While Grace has long been back to full health, her love for conveyancing lies in helping others achieve their goals.
She is committed to developing her staff from the ground up. One team member began as an assistant with no conveyancing experience and now “pretty much runs the show” alongside her.
“We take the approach that you don’t necessarily need experience in conveyancing, as long as you’ve got the drive and characteristics I believe you need to be successful,” Grace said.
“Certainly, we can teach the rest. It’s really an area that you can grow in.”
Relationship building has also been central to her success. Early on, she recognised the value of mentors, supportive colleagues and professional friendships.
“I don’t really look at anyone else as a competitor,” she said.
“Some of my competitors in Ballarat are actually friends. Having relationships and looking at everyone with the idea that there’s plenty to go around has put me in a really good position to have that network and people that can support me.”
Sponsoring initiatives in the Ballarat and Shepparton communities she serves is a way Grace can give back.
“I love giving back to the community,” she said. “There’s been so many people that have assisted me in my career. Giving back is really important to me.”
§ SASHA OBEID
Building an inclusive team culture that blends professionalism with a sense of fun is essential to success
Each month, Sasha Obeid’s fresh-faced team of five ventures outside of the office for a bonding activity to refresh their mindset and reconnect.
“It’s just to build that rapport,” Sasha said. “Work is work, but also I like it to be a fun environment. I like them to want to come to work, and we’re all friends. That adds value.”
Sasha moves away from the “typical office environment” and hires staff who fit the firm’s culture.
“A lot of people think conveyancing can be quite boring and mundane,” she said. “For us, it’s just making sure we’re delivering a really good experience for our clients.”
Most of the firm’s work comes from word-of-mouth referrals and repeat clients – something Sasha is proud of.
“The girls in my team share the same values,” she said. “It’s important to me that they’re really approachable and easy to talk to.”
Sasha began as a law clerk before launching her own conveyancing business as a mother-of-two.
With little guidance early on apart from a local conveyancer she could call on for questions, she’s now committed to mentoring and preparing her staff for senior roles.
“I’m here to train the girls how I’ve been trained and keep them there long term,” she said. “I want the staff I hire to be in the business for a very long time and run other offices for me.”
Collaboration, communication and ongoing training are central to the firm’s success. “We mentor each other,” she said. “We’ve brought on a couple of younger girls and my conveyancers in their mid-to-late 20s are training them now.”
The firm also builds its profile through social media.
“We want our clients to know who we are, our journeys and more about us personally,” Sasha said. “It’s quite rewarding to share that with our clients and build that community.”
The strong online presence has helped attract new talent, with applicants drawn to the firm’s visible culture and office vibe.
Approachability is key to the business model, supported by the shopping centre location of the firm’s main office and walk-in shopfront.
“We’re heavily involved in the community,” she said. “It was important to me to have an environment where clients can just pop in and say hello. Everyone knows who we are.”
Long-term clients still drop by without appointments – a sign the welcoming approach is working.
“That is the value we’ve contributed to our community.”
§ JENNIE TONNER
A wealth of experience is leading to an opportunity to share knowledge based on the fact “I feel like I’ve done it all”
Jennie Tonner started as the office “gopher” at a conveyancing firm at 18. When the sole practitioner fell ill, she was thrown in to fill the gap. “I was working seven days a week for 12 months, but settling probably 100 settlements a month. It gave me great grounding and skill,” she said.
She moved to other firms, undertaking national conveyancing – a rare skill then – before being poached by Mallesons Stephen Jaques, where she spent a decade overseeing major transactions, including the city’s tallest building Centrepoint (now Sydney Tower).
“Centrepoint wasn’t just the tower – it was thousands of shops, tunnels leased to Sydney City Council, air bridges, Olympic statues on the top, signage, and the Taxation Office,” she said. “I learnt so much.”
Tonner’s largest deal exceeded $4.5 billion, covering shopping centres, commercial buildings and a golf course.
“I got the best experience and mentorship,” she said. “I wasn’t limited because I didn’t have a full law degree. If I could do the work, I did. It gave me confidence to keep going higher.”
Jennie now directs her own firm, Cremorne Conveyancing, serves as president of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers NSW Division, and sits on the Real Estate Institute of NSW board.
“I feel confident giving advice because I feel like I’ve done it all,” she said.
“I’ve got a very whole level of experience and knowledge to give people. I want to be able to leave and say I did everything I could for my industry.”
She emphasises backing peers and elevating the profession.
“Our industry is pretty beaten down by other industries, particularly the Law Society,” she said.
“We’ve never said we’re the same, because we’re not – we don’t have a law degree. But when it comes to conveyancing, we do the same work. I want to try and collaborate more, but that’s a tough beast.”
Higher workloads from the state government without extra training or support, plus new anti-money laundering and counter terrorism laws, make advocacy essential.
“My goal is to educate the public about what we do, why it’s important and why we need to charge our fees at a good price – to make people realise we are specialists in this field and understand the risk involved in a conveyance,” she said.
Twenty years ago, no one entered a contract without speaking to their solicitor or conveyancer. Now it’s a “box to tick”, frustrating clients when conveyancers take time to do the work properly: “Agents have such a stranglehold on property sales now.”