Murray Bruce

Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) (Honours)
• Solicitor (Queensland)
• Solicitor (New South Wales)
• Barrister & Solicitor (Victoria)
• Barrister & Solicitor (Federal & High Courts of Australia)
• Mediator

Background

Murray joined ABKJ Lawyers as a Partner in July 2009 after conducting a successful legal practice as a sole practitioner at Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast known as Bruce Legal. The two firms of ABKJ and Bruce Legal merged on 1 July 2009.

After graduating with Honours from Bond University over fourteen years ago, Murray has worked as a Solicitor (advisor and advocate), as a Barrister, as Corporate Counsel and as an Accredited Mediator.  Murray has practiced across a wide range of legal areas in most Australian jurisdictions and now at ABKJ he mainly practices in the areas of Family Law, Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Commercial Law.

Complementary to his wealth of legal experience, Murray has the advantage of many years of experience “outside the law” in small and medium business and in service to the community. Prior to working as a lawyer, Murray managed, owned and worked in a number of successful businesses particularly in the hospitality & retail industries, served with the New South Wales Police Service (General Duties and Police Rescue) and as a tour manager for Contiki (Europe). He has served on company boards as a Director (Legal Counsel) and as Company Secretary mainly responsible for compliance and corporate governance matters. By reason of the combination of legal experience, life skills and business experience, Murray is someone who not only knows the law, but also understands from personal experience the challenges of working and living in the real world.

Murray has earned a reputation as a highly skilled advisor and advocate, with a single-minded dedication to his clients and a pragmatic, no-fuss approach to meeting their needs. As a Barrister, Murray acted as Crown Prosecutor, conducted civil and commercial trials for high profile corporations and individuals, acted as Junior Counsel to Queens Counsel & Senior Counsel, and provided advice and opinions on a wide range of commercial, civil and criminal matters. Murray's experience in dispute management means he can give practical and strategic advice to his clients to help them minimise the risk of having a dispute in the first place or resolving a dispute as early as possible. His attitude to disputes is that a negotiated outcome is always better than the alternative and he will always look to reach winning compromises where possible. However, his years of experience as a barrister and solicitor mean that if the going gets tough, you're in the hands of a highly skilled advocate who will argue your case without a backward step. He provides robust and practical advice and assistance with personal and friendly attention.

Murray ensures that his clients get more than just a lawyer. He offers his life-skills and business experience, as well as his legal acumen, to provide his clients with the best chance of the best result, whatever their situation.