For Brisbane Principal Kay Feeney, there is no better way to mark 40 years of practice than by walking 40 kilometres for her beloved charity.
The long-term Women’s Legal Service Queensland (WLSQ) volunteer will pull on her hiking boots next month for the service’s Walk for Change fundraising trek through the stunning Bay of Fires on Tasmania’s north-east coast.
The director of Feeney Family Law said she had been keeping an eye out for a way to mark the milestone.
“When I saw the walk in the year of my 40 years of admission, I thought ‘this is something I can do’ and it would be a way of marking the anniversary in a way that had meaning for me,” she said.
Every step Kay takes over 20-23 October will raise money for the WLSQ to provide free legal and support services for women and children in need.
She said every family lawyer was aware of the important role of the charity.
“I know personally the women who were law students when I was, who went on to spend a significant part of their careers making WLSQ the organisation it is now,” she said.
“Family lawyers contribute by donations and time to WLSQ all the time.
“I have volunteered for years, but my personality has an enormous optimism bias and I find the work very confronting but meaningful.
“There are so many women who have no hope or belief their lives can be improved.”
Kay, who last year notched up 25 years as a QLS Accredited Specialist in Family Law, started walking adventures about 10 years ago, and is now a regular walker.
“In 2021, I got an active dog and hoped to train them well enough to bring to work as a well-behaved companion,” she said.
“Since then, I have wandered around my suburb or the UQ campus, if I want to cheat and avoid hills, once or twice a day.
“I did the Bridge to Brisbane last weekend and could dog-walk the next day.
“You have to train for day two, not day one!”
Kay said she was a solo entrant in Walk for Change but believed “WLSQ is a part of every family lawyer’s team”.
Registrations for the fundraising walk close at 5pm on Wednesday, 24 September.
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