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Galilee Solicitors names group CEO, CSO
National law firm Galilee Solicitors has unveiled a newly bolstered executive leadership team, naming its inaugural group chief executive officer as well as its first chief sales officer.
Jerome Doraisamy
Lara Paholski, who currently serves as chief executive of innovative legal solutions company thelawstore.com.au, is set to expand her role to become the group chief executive of Galilee Solicitors (which owns thelawstore).
Ms Paholski, the national firm detailed in a statement, “has already cemented her proven track record as a highly respected leader across the industry” during her time with Galilee’s companies, including leading the development and go-to-market strategy for biometric signing solution Livesign, plus her decade of experience in digital identity.
She said: “To have the opportunity to lead the Galilee Group is incredibly exciting, and I’m looking forward to leading the passionate and dedicated team and building on the strong foundations already paved by the directors and leadership teams.”
“We’ve got over 100 hardworking individuals across the country, delivering superior solutions and customer service to some of Australia’s leading businesses, and I look forward to working with each of them to maintain and grow the high standards they set for the industry.”
Further, Galilee has appointed Blake Albones as its chief sales officer.
He will bring, the firm noted, “a wealth of industry experience”, including more than two decades of experience in financial services, most recently as the head of lending distribution at MyState Bank.
Mr Albones outlined that he plans to use his “considerable” financial services expertise to ensure that Galilee can provide innovative, market-leading solutions to the Australian property and finance industry.
“It’s no secret that we’re in challenging times in the financial industry, a sentiment that echoes across the other industries we service — legal, conveyancing and real estate,” he mused.
“So, I’ll be working hard to get to the bottom of what each sector needs to remain competitive and how Galilee can support them to get there.”
Simon Duke, the firm’s outgoing managing partner, is set to move into the role of executive director.
Speaking about the firm’s new chapter of investment and growth, he said: “This new structure reflects the group’s decision to unify Galilee’s companies under one umbrella to deliver greater efficiencies and a dynamic, centralised leadership team.”
“As group chief executive, Lara will be responsible for driving growth, leveraging the synergies that come from the group’s complementary offerings in mortgage fulfilment, digital mortgage software, and biometric signing,” Mr Duke said.
“The investments we’ve made in building proprietary technology solutions to help our clients stay ahead are absolutely the right investments. But while the technology continues to accelerate and with it the expectations of customers, the critical success factor is unchanged: building deep client trust and alignment.”
“Lara and Blake have an unparalleled ability to build and strengthen relationships. That ability is key to helping our clients to fully harness the potential of our offering, in order to differentiate and better serve their own customers,” he concluded.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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