At Martin Bullock Lawyers we have long thought about our values, and we try to practice them both in our professional lives and in our personal lives.
The values that we espouse and try to live by are diversity, tolerance, professionalism, justice, compassion.
We see diversity as accepting a range of different things. We act for diverse people. We solve diverse problems. We practice in diverse areas of law.
Tolerance is the willingness to accept the existence of a range of opinions, some of which you might disagree with. We do not agree with everything, and we do not expect everybody to agree with us. We endeavour to accept a mixture of views with an open mind.
The concepts of diversity and tolerance encompass acceptance and respect. They are about embracing new perspectives and challenging our own preconceived ideas. They involve understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing and accommodating our individual differences. These differences can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.
Professionalism means the competence and skill expected of a professional. You expect high standards of us, we expect high standards of ourselves.
Justice is the fair treatment of and behaviour towards others. It is about being fair, reasonable and equitable. It is also about the administration of the law in maintaining fairness, as well as being impartial.
Compassion is about showing sympathy and concern for the suffering and misfortune of others. It involves empathy and understanding, and it cannot be achieved without listening to others.
So, how do we practice these values in our business, our professional lives and our personal lives?
Firstly, we act for a wide range of people and we solve a wide range of problems. We practice in family law, wills and estates, litigation (going to court) and commercial law. We have experience in all of those areas, and we have access to experts in all of those areas.
Secondly, we stand up against prejudice in all its forms. We abhor sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia and xenophobia. We support refugees, asylum seekers and other people who ask for help. We support indigenous rights. We support members of all religions, faiths and beliefs. We support feminism and the advancement of women in all areas of our society.
We go in to bat for the underdog. We are not a firm that acts for insurance companies or banks or big businesses. We act for individuals, and we want to help individuals solve their problems and give them access to the best legal assistance that they can obtain.
We maintain high standards. We are not cheap, but we provide you with an excellent level of service and a high level of competency.
We believe in the rule of law. All human systems have failings. Our current legal system has vast failings – from the constitution to systemic discrimination to the separation of powers, right down to individual pieces of legislation and to individual court decisions. Nonetheless, it is still a system in which almost everybody has access to the rule of law and to justice.
That is who we strive to be as a law firm. Sometimes we fail, as everybody does on occasion. But we keep getting up every single day, and we keep trying to maintain these values.
If you would like to learn more about our values, or if you have a legal problem that needs solving, then contact Martin Bullock Lawyers on 02 9687 9322.