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Georgina O’Farrell

George works with fashion brands, brewing companies, technology companies, digital agencies, artists, writers, designers, architects and other creators to secure and commercialise their intellectual property.

Above all, George is a people person. She loves working with creative people and businesses and has a reputation for providing robust representation and sound strategic guidance and legal advice.

George has been practising as an IP lawyer since 2003 in Australia and the UK.  In addition to her experience in private practice, George has significant industry experience in entertainment and publishing, having worked as the Head of Legal for Madman Media Group (Aus) and Phaidon Press (UK).

George is listed as a leading lawyer in her field by legal directories, including World Trademark Review, Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers of Australia in The Australian Financial Review.

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Joel Masterson

The best thing about Joel is that people actually like reading his emails. He has a knack for explaining difficult concepts, getting to the point and using warmth and humour to keep it engaging. He’ll help you make a well-informed decision without feeling like you’re walking in a swamp of legal guff.

Joel works with retailers, restaurateurs, beauty businesses and a large network of international lawyers who refer their clients to him for help in Australia and New Zealand. His work involves securing and protecting brands, clearing a path for new products, signing good contracts and stopping infringements. But his favourite task is to firmly bat away unwarranted IP claims made against his clients.

Joel has been an IP lawyer for over 20 years. He works in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to joining By George, Joel was a Partner of a city firm where he headed up the IP Department for several years. Joel has worked in-house with a prestigious medical research institute, with the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission and with small, medium and large firms. Joel is a registered trademark attorney and holds a Masters of IP law. He is also our resident notary public.

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James Omond

James is happiest de-mystifying the law and making it relatable in a commercial context. He has significant experience across a range of industries, although he is best known as one of Australia’s leading lawyers in the alcoholic beverages industry. 

James has worked as a commercial lawyer since the late 80s which led to him developing an IP specialisation. Prior to joining By George, James ran his own practice for 20 years, following a decade working inhouse for two listed companies. James started his career working for Baker McKenzie. He is a registered trade marks attorney, holds a Master of Laws and Grad Dip in IP Law.

Unlike most of the legal profession, being an older male lawyer on the By George team is a bit like being a unicorn. James is very happy to share his vast commercial and IP experience with clients and the team.

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Tali Blecher

Natalia (Tali) is as passionate about brands as her clients are. She’s happiest when representing clients in brand-related opposition proceedings and negotiating pragmatic commercial resolutions where possible. For Tali, a brand is much more than the sum of name, logo and tagline. A brand is a story that a brand-owner creates but that lives in the mind of the consumer. Registrable IP assets are fundamental to any brand, and Tali will protect and defend them like they’re her own.

Tali works across many sectors but has a particular fondness for fashion and consumer technology. Her happy place is running trade mark protection programs and representing clients in disputes in Australia and New Zealand. Tali has a weird mix of ego and optimism that combine magically to make her a fierce but fair negotiator. Even her opponents say this, so it must be true.

Tali has been practising law since 2009. She worked in full-service commercial firms at the top end of town for the best part of a decade before seeing the light and joining By George Legal.

Tali graduated dux of Monash University Law School. She was awarded the Supreme Court Prize and University Medal for her academic efforts. She was also appointed an Associate to the Chief Judge of Common Law at the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Tali holds a Masters of IP and is a registered trademarks attorney.

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Jen Wrigley

Jen likes to keep things simple for her clients. She loves efficiency and prides herself on being easy to work with, responsive and concise. Jen’s approach allows her clients to stay focused on their core business knowing their IP is in good hands.

Jen works with brand owners across a diverse range of industries including retail, luxury goods, beauty, entertainment and media, food and beverage and technology. Jen’s work includes clearing new brands and products for use and registration and assisting clients to make or defend infringement claims.

Jen has been practising as an IP lawyer in Australia since 2006. Prior to joining By George, Jen worked in the IP team at a large commercial firm for over 17 years and represented some of the world’s most well-known brands. She has a background in IP litigation, with a focus on trade mark prosecution and opposition proceedings in more recent years. Jen holds a Master of IP Law.

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Lesley Naik

Lesley is a fan of success in all its forms. She enjoys bringing structure and clarity to legal issues to support clients to resolve their legal problems, develop their businesses and commercialise their valuable intellectual property rights.

She provides a broad range of legal services including document negotiation and drafting, corporate governance advice, enterprise structuring and contract dispute advice.

Lesley has been practising law since 2013 and worked exclusively at a city law firm until making the move to By George Legal in 2021. With a background in tax, corporate and commercial law, Lesley has the ability to take a wide lens approach to legal issues.

Lesley was the top-ranked student in her university year level and graduated with the Supreme Court Prize from La Trobe University in 2011.

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Ila Lohning

Ila is By George’s newest lawyer.

She has a passion for fashion, art, design, food and beverages, and a growing appreciation for a well-crafted contract. She’s also a lover of foreign languages being fluent in both German and Mandarin. Ila is interested in business/commercial strategy and how people and businesses can best leverage their IP.

Prior to starting at By George, Ila completed a Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne.

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Melissa Scott

Melissa is By George’s General Manager. Melissa previously worked in finance as a securities analyst and now enjoys applying her considerable finance skills and meticulous attention to detail to keeping By George’s office functions in ship shape. Melissa is highly valued for her excellent problem solving skills, leaving the rest of the team more time to solve yours.

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Kerryn Fletcher

Kerryn is a qualified lawyer who previously worked as an Associate with a boutique city firm and now enjoys working behind the scenes as an Office Administrator at By George Legal. Kerryn knows how law firms work and she applies her considerable legal experiences to our office systems to keep everything humming in a slick and efficient manner.

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Harry Crowe

Harry, our Law Graduate, earned his stripes as By George’s paralegal. 

After working on the administrative side of the business for 18 months, Harry now applies his expanding legal skillset to develop strategic and commercially intelligent solutions for our clients. 

Harry is passionate about IP protection, with a special interest in hospitality, retail and creative businesses. 

Outside of work, you are likely to find Harry at the beach or going for a run through the streets of Melbourne.

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What do we believe in?

  • Results
  • Team Work
  • Not too much ego

We crusade against gendered hierarchies, and hierarchies in general

Helping creative businesses reap the benefit of their creativity, efforts and energy

Our clients!  We love your brands and we believe in what you do.  We drink your beer, we wear your hoodies, we sit on your chairs, we drink your coffee and we cook with your olive oil.

George is amazing. She can translate the impenetrable legal jargon of a publishing contract with seamless clarity and has a vast knowledge of publishing. She has negotiated on my behalf, producing outstanding results leaving me with more time to get on with the creative stuff. Her personal encouragement and commitment to the arts is all part of ensuring the best outcome for the artist.
Sue deGennaro - Children’s book illustrator
George represented me in my copyright case against Target Australia. A genuine David versus Goliath moment. Mostly individual artists do not have the capital to run a case like this and it was George’s steady, calm and generous approach that steered me through. She is professional in her engagement but also down to earth, super organised and diligent in her research and attention to detail.
Jon Campbell – Artist
George has provided me with outstanding, practical and effective legal advice. George has written copyright and commission agreements, subcontractor agreements, engaged in contract negotiations and successfully negotiated a number of copyright infringement settlements within Australia and internationally. George’s advice, guidance and professionalism has been invaluable to my artistic practice and I look forward to working with her for many years to come.
Esther Stewart – Artist
The most important things for me with an external lawyer are trust, honesty and the courage to tell me what I need to hear even if it’s not what I want to hear. Joel ticks all of those boxes. He also has the ability to understand needs across a variety of different businesses and sectors, he’s responsive and last but not least, I enjoy working with Joel. I’d recommend him to anyone looking for an Australian IP lawyer.
Ron Fuchs, Managing Director, FH Distribution, Singapore
We like Joel because we were able to form a good relationship with him quickly in the early days – he is easy to work with and we get on well. He gives us good advice and always helps us find a solution to whatever we need. And he’s fast and responsive – that’s really important to us because we constantly come up with new ideas for restaurant names and want to protect them quickly.
David Loh and Louis Kuo, Melbourne restaurateurs
We engaged George to represent us in a trade mark dispute in the Federal Court after she was referred to us by a TM attorney. In all of our dealings, George was always trustworthy and professional. She provided clear legal advice and strategy that considered our values and desired outcomes. George was engaged and responsive in the process alongside us at all times in a highly organised and timely manner. We highly recommend her.
Eva Nikias – Owner, La Siréne Brewing Co.
Joel understands retail and how IP fits into our business. I would recommend him to any other retailer who is looking for common sense guidance when it comes to protecting their IP and defending themselves against outside threats. Joel has gone to a lot of trouble to understand our business and its priorities, risks and people. I know that I can count on him to deliver clear and concise advice, whether it’s to our senior management, buyers or back-end staff.
Leigh Gratzer, General Counsel, Spotlight Group
Joel is the sort of external lawyer every in-house lawyer wants. I trust him not only to get the answer right, but to explain it in a way that stakeholders will understand. I also know that when I contact Joel he will be responsive, fast and cost effective. And I like him personally too.
Jessica Ransley, Legal Counsel, Spotlight Group
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