Nicholes Family Lawyers is totally and passionately committed to undertaking pro-bono works for non-profit organizations, as well as donating services for special interest cases based on merit and financial test.

This is no mere lip service; NFL’s business plan sees 20% of our turnover committed to projects that support the rights of children. Our exposure to the plight of children in family law disputes inspired our Mission Statement, which in turn ensures that a significant amount of our time and resources are directed to projects that promote the welfare of children. These projects tackle problems on an international scale: international child abduction, inter-country adoption, child sex tourism, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC).

Within a month of opening our doors, NFL formed a partnership with the Oaktree Foundation and submitted a project that supports young people in AIDS-stricken Kwa Zulu (Natal). (www.theoaktree.org)

Sally Nicholes herself is a board member of the Lasallian Foundation (www.lasallianfoundation.org) which targets and raises money for children in the most impoverished situations. These children lack the most basic amenities, without access to an education, and often without parents. Many of them are affected by AIDS. The Lasallian Foundation operates in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea, building schools and tackling AIDS — particularly in Papua New Guinea where it is out of control — and most recently in Vietnam, where a village now has wells, sunk with the assistance of the Lasallian Foundation.

The World Congress on Family Law & Children's Rights ( www.lawrights.asn.au) and Children's Rights International (www.childjustice.org) are also organisations that benefit from the presence of Sally Nicholes on their boards. Both organisations have their genesis in family law on an international scale.

Sally is also an active member of the Victorian Law Institute’s Children and Youth Issues Committee.

Clearly, NFL is fully committed to these all causes. The partnership holds regular forums to address best practices for legal issues concerning children in family law, and actively lobbies corporations for their support. The firm’s Queen Street premises and intellectual capital are harnessed and applied, to promote its causes.

As Sally Nicholes puts it, “It’s time to give back — and it’s that aspect of our practice that gives us such great energy”.