03 5968 3666
Led by partners Joseph Falcone, Marcus Adams and Nadia Falcone our legal team are experienced and passionate about working in their chosen area of law
Partner & Founder
Joseph Falcone started his legal career undertaking his articles of clerkship at a small law firm with offices located in Carnegie and Frankston.
After his admission into legal practice Joseph Falcone became the founding partner of the law firm, then known as Joseph S. Falcone in Emerald, Victoria in 1977 working for many years as a sole practitioner.
Joseph leads our Conveyancing, Property Law & Town Planning team and our Corporate, Commercial & Business Law team however, he also has sound legal knowledge and experience in Wills, Estate Planning & Deceased Estates.
Joseph’s clients include individuals, directors and stakeholders, property developers, investors, landlords and tenants among others.
Joe is fluent in Italian.
Joseph has been a stalwart in the local community and over the years has been involved in a variety of community groups including being a founding member of the Emerald and District Rotary Club, Emerald Football Club (including three terms on the Board), Emerald Cricket Club, acted as Chairman of the local Junior Football League Tribunal, acted as Chairman of Emerald Towards 2000 and acted as Chairman of the Dr Murphy Memorial Trust Fund.
Partner
Marcus Adams joined Joseph Falcone’s legal practice in Emerald in 1994 whilst undertaking his university studies and upon his admission into legal practice in 1996, commenced his career with the firm as a legal practitioner.
In 1999, Marcus Adams and Joseph Falcone entered into partnership establishing the firm now known as Falcone & Adams Lawyers.
Marcus leads our Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Building & Construction Law, Criminal Law & Intervention Orders and Employment Law teams, and he has broad experience in all relevant Australian jurisdictions.
His clients include individuals, volume/boutique builders, property developers, project managers, independent contractors and sub-contractors, building owners, property consultants, surveyors, architects and engineers among others.
Marcus has been an active member of the local community since moving to the area in 1982, and has participated in the following local community and business networking groups:
Partner
Nadia Falcone spent many years working alongside her father at Falcone & Adams Lawyers during her university studies and upon her admission into legal practice in 2008, commenced her career with the firm as a legal practitioner. In 2013, Nadia joined the Falcone & Adams Lawyers partnership together with Joseph Falcone and Marcus Adams.
Nadia has taken leadership of our firm’s Practice Management team, and together with Joseph and Marcus she provides mentoring, motivation and support to a team of dedicated legal professionals and support staff.
Nadia also leads our Wills, Estate Planning & Deceased Estate team and is passionate about working with clients who are often experiencing a difficult and emotionally challenging time.
Nadia’s practice includes drafting Wills, Testamentary Trusts and Powers of Attorney’s, Elder Law (including Retirement Village and Aged Care Facility advice), Estate Planning and Structuring, Superannuation death benefits, Administration of Deceased Estates, Part IV claims, challenges to Wills, Estate Litigation and Superannuation Complaints Tribunal.
Nadia is an active member of the Law Institute of Victoria and regularly attends the Eastern Suburbs Law Association’s legal updates and networking events.
Lawyer
Catherine was admitted to practice in South Australia in 1986. She has practiced in South Australia, the Northern Territory and Victoria.
Although Catherine initially practiced in Criminal Law, Civil Litigation and Family Law, she has practiced exclusively in Family Law since 1994.
Between 2000 and 2005, Catherine was a member of the Independent Bar in Adelaide and a member of the Bar Association of South Australia.
Upon moving to Victoria in 2008, Catherine undertook the role of Family Law Coordinator with the Eastern Community Legal Centre working principally out of their Box Hill office and at outreach locations in Melbourne’s East.
Catherine re-joined the private profession in 2011, with her appointment as an Associate Lawyer at an exclusively Family Law practice, based in Dandenong.
In March 2019, she joined Falcone & Adams Lawyers Family Law team, working from our Emerald and Belgrave offices.
Catherine practices in all areas of Family Law including property and children’s matters and divorce.
She is regularly appointed by the Court to act as litigation guardian in a number of Family Law property matters for persons under a disability.
Catherine has a particular interest in children’s matters. In 2014, she was appointed to Victoria Legal Aid’s Independent Children’s Lawyer Panel. She regularly appears in Family Dispute Resolution Conferences and in Court, representing the interests of children in Family Law proceedings.
In 2022, Catherine was granted accreditation as a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner by the Attorney-General’s Department and also accreditation as a Mediator by the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators, which demonstrates her ongoing commitment to assisting families resolve Family Law matters in a professional and timely manner.
Lawyer
Maria commenced working as a legal practitioner upon her admission into legal practice in November 2001.
At such time, Maria joined Armstrong Ross Lawyers (now Falcone & Adams Lawyers) and began practising in various areas of law including Wills & Estates, Immigration Law Litigation, Mortgage Recovery Proceedings (including acting on behalf of La Trobe Capital and Mortgage Corporation Limited), Debt Recovery (including acting on behalf of Service Finance Corporation Limited) and Dispute Resolution and Litigation.
After returning from maternity leave, Maria worked at a sister practice in Balwyn before resuming work at Belgrave in March 2018.
Maria has practiced exclusively in Dispute Resolution & Litigation including Commercial Litigation, Contract Disputes and Estate Litigation (Part IV claims) since 2011. She has a broad experience in all relevant Victorian and Australian jurisdictions and regularly prepares matters for trial on behalf of her clients.
Maria also actively attends legal seminars and conferences to keep up to date with Court judgments, decisions, orders and changes in the law.
Angela joined Armstrong Ross Lawyers (now Falcone & Adams Lawyers) in Belgrave in 2007 to undertake her Articles and was admitted into legal practice in 2008. During this time she gained experience practising across various areas of law including Corporate & Commercial, Criminal, Debt Collection and Wills & Estates.
During the early years of her legal career, Angela learned that she was passionate about helping others and decided to practice exclusively in the area of Wills, Estate Planning and Deceased Estates.
This area of law provides Angela with the opportunity to build close business relationships with clients, beneficiaries and executors and also other businesses including accountants, financial advisers etc.
Angela’s practice includes drafting Wills, Testamentary Trusts and Powers of Attorney’s, Estate Planning and Structuring, Superannuation death benefits, Administration of Deceased Estates, Estate Litigation and Court / Tribunal appearances.
Angela provides her clients with exceptional client services, taking the time to understand their current position, advising them on their best legal position and working with them to achieve the desired result.
Regularly attending seminars and training events, Angela provides caring, professional and up to date legal advice to her clients.
Lawyer
Daniel was admitted into legal practice by the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2009.
Since his admission, Daniel has worked for a number of regional law firms and in 2011 established, owned and operated his own regional law firm predominately practising in Family Law, Corporate, Commercial and Property Law.
Daniel joined Falcone & Adams Lawyers in April 2023 and continues to focus his practice on Family Law (Children’s & Property Matters), Property Law, Corporate, Commercial and Business Law.
In 2020, Daniel was granted accreditation by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department as a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner and by the Law Institute of Victoria as an Accredited Mediator under the National Mediation Accreditation Standards.
Lawyer
Nessa was admitted into legal practice in February 2006 and joined Falcone & Adams Lawyers Corporate, Commercial and Property Law team in November 2023.
Nessa’s has worked for a number of professional law firms during her career predominately practising in Corporate, Commercial and Property Law. Nessa also had the opportunity to set up and operate her own family business and actively participates in various local community groups.
Nessa is also a past Secretary of the Eastern Solicitors Law Association which allowed her to develop great networks within the legal community.
Tegan joined Falcone & Adams Lawyers in June 2020 and works predominately in our Wills, Estates Planning and Deceased Estates team. Tegan also has experience in Estate Litigation and assists our clients with estate disputes including family provision claims, construction and rectification of wills, applications to remove an Executor and challenges to wills involving caveats, claims of duress and undue influence.
Prior and during her university and graduate studies, Tegan worked for a sole practitioner in the Casey / Cardinia area for 8½ years, initially as the junior office assistant and thereafter as a Probate Clerk, Executive Assistant, Paralegal and Lawyer.
Upon graduating from University with a Bachelor of Laws and completing a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice with the College of Law, Tegan was admitted into legal practice by the Supreme Court of Victoria in February 2020. Tegan also entered in the Register of Practitioners of the High Court of Australia in February 2020 and is entitled to practise as a Lawyer in any Federal Court.
Tegan intends to become a proficient Lawyer in Wills, Estates Planning and Deceased Estates and her prior practical experience in this area, her willingness to undertake further studies and also her experience across other practice areas including Commercial Law, Litigation, Property, Conveyancing and Family Law will no doubt see her achieve such goal.
Contemplating what may happen if you lost capacity to make decisions or what may happen to your estate when you pass, can be a difficult topic to think about and consider. Tegan looks forward to assisting Falcone & Adams clients in considering their individual circumstances and to ensure their Will and other estate planning documents accurately reflect their wishes.
Similarly, dealing with the loss of a loved one is an emotionally difficult time and Tegan hopes to take some of the burden away from her clients by assisting them in dealing with the legalities of a deceased estate.
Lawyer
Sandy was admitted into legal practice in October 2021 and joined Falcone & Adams Lawyers in March 2023.
Prior to joining our firm, Sandy worked predominately as a Criminal Lawyer / Advocate representing clients in both the Magistrates’ Court and County Courts of Victoria.
Sandy continues to practice within our Criminal Law team as well as our Litigation and Dispute Resolution team and regularly attends Court representing our clients.
Lawyer
Ela was admitted into legal practice in February 2023 and joined Falcone & Adams Lawyers in April 2023.
Ela’s has a wealth of workplace experience prior to her admission, having been employed within the legal and community sectors since approximately 2007 in research, policy development, communication and engagement. In 2022, Ela was employed as a Manager at a Multicultural Community Centre Against Family Violence, working closely with their legal team.
Since joining Falcone & Adams Lawyers, Ela has been working as a generalist Lawyer across various practice areas including Wills, Estate Planning and Deceased Estates and Corporate, Commercial and Property Law.
Jean McLennan joined Armstrong Ross in 1995 and continues in her role as the Practice Manager with Falcone & Adams Lawyers at our Belgrave office. In 2001 Jean gained her accreditation as an Authorised Representative with ASIC and now oversees the mortgage investment practice managed by La Trobe Financial providing an alternative investment option for many of our clients.
Jean has been an active member of the community including serving as a Director with Dandenong Ranges Finance group which owns and operates the Upwey, Belgrave, Cockatoo, Emerald and Marysville branches of the Bendigo Bank. She served on the Board for over 10 years as the Deputy Chairperson, Chairperson of the Audit Committee, Chairperson of the HR Committee and a member of the Marketing Committee. She was also involved in the Knox Junior Basketball Association acting as Secretary for over 10 years.
Jean is a member of the Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA).
(03) 5968 3666
jfalcone@falconeadams.com.au