Meet Our Lawyers
Peter Vogel
Contract & IP Law Specialist
University of Sydney DipLaw
Peter became a lawyer late in life - after 10 years in Court fighting for his tech inventions and 40 years' experience in tech ventures generating groundbreaking inventions. He developed the world’s first commercial sound-sampling synthesiser, the Fairlight CMI, and the VitalCall personal medical alarm.
His invention which removed commercials from TV recordings brought him into a copyright dispute with Nine Network in 2006. This later became a landmark case in Australian copyright law, and went all the way to the High Court of Australia in 2009 - the High Court eventually ruling in favour of Peter's company IceTV.
Since joining The People's Solicitors Peter has assisted a diverse range of clients seeking social justice, including retirees threatened with loss of their homes, a journalist whose free speech was threatened, and a victim of discrimination due to a disability.
Outside of legal practice, Peter is still developing new technologies to make independent living safer and better for the elderly, as the co-owner of Vitalcare Pty Ltd.
Peter also has been active in social and environmental causes since the eighties. He helped the Wayside Chapel's Rev. Ted Noffs establish "Life Education", which is now Australia's largest independent health and drug education provider for school children, took part in the landmark Franklin River blockade, and was instrumental in the campaign for banning cigarette advertisement in Australia.
Lewis Marks
Corporate & Business Law Specialist
State University of New York JD
Georgetown University BSc
A registered New York lawyer, Lewis has lived and worked in Asia for 37 years. He lived in Beijing and Mongolia for most of the last 17 years. Lewis is proficient in Chinese, Japanese, Mongolian, and German. He advises and partakes on mining developement and investments in and out of Australia.
Lewis has served as member of the board of directors of the LIM Japan Fund since 2002, and has been a managing member at MIC Global Partners LLC. He now serves as a director of Tsast Impex LLC.
Lewis was with Marc Rich & Co and then Glencore from 1980 to 2001. He ran Glencore's operations in China and was previously a director of CBH Resources Limited - an ASX listed mining company.
Dr Merrilyn Mansfield
Credit & Debt Specialist
Legal Profession Admission Board DipLaw
University of Sydney PhD
Macquarie University BA (Hon)
Merrilyn has 11 years' experience using credit reporting laws and privacy laws to remove incorrect default, judgment, enquiry, and repayment history listings off credit reports. If you have a poor credit score or are deep in debt, Merrilyn is your lawyer.
Being a passionate advocate for those experiencing overwhelming debt and credit file issues, Merrilyn founded Princeville Credit Advocates and Solve My Debt Now - providing a holistic alternative to going bankrupt or entering a Part 9 Debt Agreement.
Merrilyn has successfully removed over 8,000 negative listings from credit files, and has performed over 5,000 debt negotiations (inc. part and full waivers).
Merrilyn now coordinates our litigation against credit agencies and finance companies.
Outside of work, Merrilyn is a yogi, local market attendee, and a surrogate family member to a family with 3 young kids.
Michelle Rice
Legal Medicine Specialist
Western Sydney University LLB (Hons) GDipLaw (Health)
College of Law Sydney GDLP
University of Sydney GradDipClinDent (Oral Implants)
University of Dublin (TCD) BDentSc, BA
Michelle is a dual-qualified lawyer, a dental surgeon, and a registered Expert Witness regularly called upon to provide expert opinion on dental matters both in NSW and interstate. She has been involved in a range of medico-legal matters including medical negligence, misdiagnosis, and professional misconduct matters.
Michelle advises on a long-term case involving catastrophioc damage from a young man suffering from 7 years non-diagnosis on Wilson's disease.
Michelle runs her own private dental practice having a combined experience of over 30 years in both private practice and in the public hospital setting.
She is also a/an:
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Fellow of the Australasian College of Legal Medicine (ACLM)
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Independent Medical Examiner (IME)
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SIRA Authorised Health Practitioner
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Medico-legal Evidence Provider for CTP and motor accident injury matters
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Permanent Impairment Assessor for Comcare,
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trained and certified practitioner in the use of AMA4.
Outside of work, Michelle likes to do renovation work with her husband and spend time together with their five children.
Kathlin Armstrong
Specialist in Criminal Law, Family Law & Commercial Law
Southern Cross University LLB
Kathlin has been a mentor and role-model for over 20 years to many disadvantaged women. She is a co-founder and driving force in the setup and ongoing operations of the Women in Prison Advocacy Network (WIPAN) from 2007 to 2017. She aims to advocate, develop, and implement a platform for the empowerment, education, and life-changing solutions for women impacted by the criminal justice system.
Kathlin is also a committed advocate and mentor for disadvantaged persons affected by Domestic Family Violence and Child Restoration matters. In addition, She is also supporting Aboriginal women and children through her dedication as the Board Secretary of a unique service - Nelly's Healing Centre.
Outside of work, Kathlin enjoys reading, bush-walking, and watching tennis.
Justin Cross
Litigation Specialist
Justin is an experienced litigator operating from Dubbo and Western Sydney areas. His expertise ranges from Criminal Law, Commercial Law, Employment Law, to will and estate.
Francis Chi-Wah Lau
Migration Law Specialist
University of London LLB
In 1996, Francis migrated to Australia and has been involved in church ministries since then. In 2008, Francis started studying Australian Laws and Regulations, and has been admitted as a solicitor since 2010. Francis is now a Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1069556) and a Justice of Peace of NSW.
Gordon Elliot
Litigation Specialist
Gordon has 30 years of experience in the criminal justice system.
He specialises in matters involving:
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Professional development
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Legislative interpretation
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Liaison with government authorities at local, state and federal levels
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Contracts
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Tenders
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Legal matters – Criminal
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Legal matters – Civil.
Ernest Ma
馬健昌
Medical Law Specialist
Macquarie University LLB
University of Bristol LLM Med Law
Ernest is a registered pharmacist and our to-go lawyer for legal disputes related to big pharmaceuticals.
He has a Bachelor of Pharmacy (USyd), a Postgraduate Diploma in Food and Drug Analysis (UNSW), and a Practice Certificate in Medicine Use Review at Masters Level (UGreenwich & UKent). Outside of work, Ernest is a Chinese martial arts master, and the current Chief Instructor of Pak Hok Pai (白鶴派) in Australia.
Tony Lim
Contract & Corporate Law Specialist
Australian National University LLM
University of Southern Queensland MBA
University of Wolverhampton LLB
Tony is an experienced contract specialist based in Singapore. He is experienced in corporate compliance matters and has previously led key functional area of procurement and contract activities for MOH Holdings Pte Ltd (Singapore) in construction/development, IT, and finance.
Prior to that, Tony was extensively involved in construction and engineering work in a broad spectrum of private and public sector clients operating in the construction and engineering industries including legal and regulatory policies and functions relating to the construction industry.
Arty Kim
Family Law Specialist
University of New England LLB
College of Law GDLP
Arty is a passionate family lawyer. His main practices are including parenting plan, property settlement and probate. He is also looking after various family matters from the Legal Aid.
Prior to his legal profession, Arty used to work in IT departments of Citibank, UBS and other global tech companies, such as Samsung and Apple.