Lee Formica

With over 40 years of specialist experience, Lee is one of Melbourne's most respected family law practitioners. Lee's extensive experience has given her a strong understanding of, and ability to deal with, the myriad of issues pertaining to family law.

Lee is regarded by her clients and her extensive referrer network as a trusted and astute practitioner who advocates tirelessly for her clients. Recognising that each family's circumstances are different, Lee is empathetic and understanding of her clients' needs. She is flexible and lateral in her approach and frequently explores alternative options to reach outcomes that align with her clients' interests.

Lee has particular interest in complex financial trusts, and estate planning work, as-well-as in all types of parenting disputes. She frequently drafts prenuptial and post-nuptial financial agreements and is renowned for this area of her practice.

Lee was a member of the Family Law Advisory Committee as well as the Accreditation Board of the Law Institute of Victoria for Family Law for 13 years and Chair from 2019 to 2021.

Lee has consistently been recognised by the national peer reviewed publication, Doyle's Guide, as one of Australia's leading family lawyers. In the 2026 edition of Doyle's Guide, Lee was named a Leading Family and Divorce Lawyer (Australia and Melbourne), and a Leading Parenting and Children's matters practitioner (Victoria). Lee has also been named in Best Lawyers in Australia since 2022.

Experience

Lee's areas of expertise include:

• financial matters, including complex property settlements involving corporate entities, trust and partnerships
• parenting matters for the care of children, including those that involve interstate and international relocation
• international family law matters
• child support
• spousal maintenance
• divorce applications
• all forms of alternative dispute resolution services for both parenting and property matters
• drafting financial agreements.

Career highlights

• When acting for a client who had been subjected to serious family violence, Lee obtained a court order to protect the primary parent and the children, with the court determining that to facilitate time between the violent spouse and the children would impact the primary parent's capacity to care for the children.
• Lee represented a vulnerable client who had been presented with an unfavourable prenuptial agreement from her spouse. Lee negotiated on behalf of her client for a significantly fairer agreement, to the satisfaction of both parties.
• Lee successfully argued on behalf of a school that had been subpoenaed to produce its counsellor's notes in relation to one of it's students. The court agreed that releasing the records would be detrimental to the child.

Client feedback

"Thank you for your skill, patience, and dedication in resolving my matter. I really appreciate the wise counsel, and calm and confident manner you so expertly deployed in obtaining the outcome - for which I am grateful. Thank you for the team you pulled together to help. I am very indebted."

"I want to thank you for being my lawyer and to let you know how much your help in resolving the issue quickly has meant to me. I am so ever grateful to have you by my side in guiding, comforting ,caring for me through the legal process. Thank you for your hard work in making my case before judges very easy to get across successfully. I always felt very supported and confident by your presence, understanding and attention to my matter."

"Thank you for having a genuine interest in my case and helping me. You are the best lawyer, and I would not hesitate to recommend you to my friends and family."

“I cannot thank you and Kate enough—it’s truly a life-changing outcome for [my child]. Thank you so much for all the thought, work, and effort.”“I cannot thank you and Kate enough—it’s truly a life-changing outcome for [my child]. Thank you so much for all the thought, work, and effort.”

FAQs

Who will be on my legal team?

As the largest family law team in Australia, our resources mean that we can match each client with appropriately experienced lawyers based on the complexity of the matter, the financial position of the client, and the level of expertise your matter will require. Often, we arrange for a senior and junior lawyer, together with their legal assistants, to work with you. This provides you with multiple contact points at the firm and provides a cost effective offering, with the work divided between the lawyers appropriately.

What options are available to resolve my matter without going to Court?

Most of our clients will have their matters resolved outside of court. The most common way of reaching a negotiated outcome with your former partner is by way of mediation. There are a number of advantages of mediation, which avoids the costs and stress of court proceedings and allows the parties to have some control over the outcome. A third-party mediator facilitates discussions between the parties and their legal representatives over the course of the day and if an agreement is reached, it can be formalised by consent orders which becoming binding following approval from the court.