Celebrating the region’s women

THE Law Collective, led by director Renee Debono, celebrated International Women’s Day with a get-together of some of the region’s female leaders.

Speakers at last Friday’s event included social media content creator Celia Gercovich, founder of NODE Mothers Melissa Decarli and owner of Lots Sarah Falkinder.

The inspiration for the event came from Ms Debono’s desire to celebrate other businesswomen in the region.

“In the first few months going off on my own and starting a business, I guess I felt really proud of what I was able to build,” she said.

“It made me reflect on other female businesses in Ballarat and women who worked in business and feeling really proud of them and the achievements they made.

“I thought it would be a great opportunity to bring the people together.”

While Ms Debono said it was wonderful to gather with amazing women, it was also important to recognise that the opportunity came from a place of privilege.

“I see it more as yes a celebration, but also an opportunity to reflect on the hardships of women,” she said. “We come from a really privileged position where we can sit around and have champagne and canapes, whereas on this very same day, another woman in our community is battling with domestic violence.”

Ms Debono founded the law firm last year with a desire to create a more people-focused service.

“The idea behind it is that it’s a little bit more people-focused,” she said.

“I really pride myself on giving really human-centric, holistic advice so where people may feel a bit nervous or anxious to speak to their solicitor, I try to structure the conversation in a really supportive, meaningful way.”