Sarah Colvin

Sarah Colvin is an experienced personal injury lawyer who also leads Paul Alvaro Lawyers Family Law and Wills and Estates practices.

Sarah started with Paul Alvaro Lawyers as a work experience student in 2010. For the next decade she has worked her way up the ranks achieving a promotion to Senior Associate in July 2019.

Since her admission as a solicitor Sarah has built up a varied personal injury, family law and wills & estates practice.

Areas of Expertise

Personal Injury

Sarah has been engaged by numerous people injured in motor vehicle accidents, public liability incidents and incidents at work. Her clients have ranged from those being catastrophically injured (such that they have been accepted as participants on to the Lifetime Support Scheme) to those with more minor yet permanent injuries for which fair compensation has been sought.

She has represented injured persons in both the Magistrates Court of South Australia and the District Court of South Australia up to and including the trial stage.

Sarah’s negotiation skills have prevented many of her compensation matters from going to trial in court, saving time and money for clients, as well as alleviating their stress.

Sarah knows that a personal injury claim can be incredibly stressful, confusing and confronting. She takes time to explain the entire process to her clients as she finds that when clients understand the process, they find it much less daunting.

Overall, Sarah’s focus in her Personal Injury work includes:

• Achieving the best possible outcome for her client’s in the most efficient way possible;
• Providing detailed and balanced legal advice in an understandable and empathetic manner;
• Maintaining high standards of professional conduct when dealing with both client’s, insurers and Respondents;
• Mentoring junior practitioners.

Family Law

The scale and breadth of Sarah’s Family Law work extends from straight forward divorces to divorces involving separation under the one roof; child support agreements; financial agreements and reaching agreements through negotiations, mediation, collaborative practice and through the Court process. She has experience in dealing with married relationships, de facto relationships and same-sex relationships.

Sarah is a leader of Paul Alvaro Lawyer’s Family Law practice and has experience in both property settlement matters (including obtaining Consent Orders and drafting Binding Financial Agreements) as well as in children’s matters (including negotiating care arrangements for children and participating in Court ordered mediation / negotiations).

Sarah was admitted to the High Court of Australia in November 2016 and has represented her family law clients in both the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

Wills & Estates

In addition to Family Law Sarah practises in areas of law which revolve around other matters of concern for families, namely, wills, powers of attorney, enduring guardians, estate planning, the administration of deceased estates and acting in disputed estates.

She has years of experience assisting clients to plan for their future and their family’s future.

Sarah finds it most rewarding to assist clients complete their Wills, Powers of Attorney and Advanced Care Directives as part of their overall Estate Planning.

Recognition

Sarah was awarded a Bachelor of Laws with Honours (LLB (Hons) from the University of Adelaide in 2010 and obtained her Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice in 2011. She was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor in the Supreme Court of South Australia in December 2011 and as a Practitioner of the High Court of Australia in 2016.

Sarah is a member of the Law Society of South Australia and the Australian Lawyers Alliance.