About MAX LEGAL
MAX LEGAL staff are carefully trained, and you will find them to be discrete and sensitive in dealing with your confidential employment matter.
We maintain appropriate professional memberships (e.g. with the Law Institute of Victoria) and, as you would expect, our staff keep up to date with continuing professional development.
OUR PEOPLE
Terry (TJ) McHugh, LL. B (Melb), Grad Cert. (Mgmt), Barrister & Solicitor
The principal and founder of MAX LEGAL, Terry McHugh, is an experienced manager and lawyer who has worked with high profile Melbourne firms. He has also worked in legal and people-management positions in the private sector and with State and Commonwealth Governments.
As a “late starter” in his law studies, Terry became a prize-winning student at the University of Melbourne, graduating with honours in nine subjects. He won the Jessie Leggatt Scholarship in Advanced Contract Law, and was awarded First Class Honours in Discrimination Law.
Terry also has post-graduate management qualifications, achieving honours grading for all subjects. He has studied organisational behaviour, psychology and politics. Terry’s diverse professional interests and qualifications extend to writing and copywriting. He has recently written a self-help book entitled How To Beat Your Boss: The Workplace Survival Guide, available for purchase online at beatyourboss.net.au
With his unique blend of skills, experience and natural counselling skills, Terry is an extremely valuable resource for anyone with a serious workplace problem. He can provide solutions that are creative, practical and of course legally sound.
Kathy Kilkenny, BA, Grad Cert (Industrial & Employee Relations)
Kathy is Terry's business partner. Her employment background includes many years as an administrator in the tertiary education sector. She has also had extensive experience in the private sector together with municipal, state and federal government employment.
Kathy was also a mature-age student—and knows all about balancing work/family/study responsibilities. She achieved high academic results in her University studies, which included Economics, Communication, and Human Behaviour in Organisations, with majors in Australia-Asia Studies, and Policy Studies. Kathy was admitted to the prestigious Golden Key Society.
Kathy was also awarded distinctions for all subjects in her postgraduate studies, including Industrial Relations, HR Management Law, and Employment Law. Kathy's communication skills and natural empathy with clients have resulted in numerous complimentary letters and other positive feedback to the practice.
Kathy has been with MAX LEGAL for about eight years.
MAX LEGAL - History
Through several far-reaching changes to the industrial relations landscape, MAX LEGAL has always found the best way to help workers in trouble.
MAX LEGAL initially traded under the quirky "McLAWYERS" banner, achieving justice for our clients over several years, often through the "unfair dismissal" system in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC).
Whilst that system had some flaws, and compensation payouts were generally low, it at least gave working people a way to make their feelings known after being harshly treated by second-rate employers.
MAX LEGAL was our response to the Howard Government's appalling WorkChoices laws, which stripped away most unfair dismissal rights. We decided a name change was in order to reflect the need for a more legalistic way of dealing with workplace conflicts, and so MAX LEGAL was born.
The introduction of the government's Fair Work legislation is far more balanced and fairer for employers and employees alike and offers parties a range of opportunities to resolve their issues. Let MAX LEGAL show you how.
