Ian Miller - Partner

Originally hailing from Victoria where he practised as a solicitor, and as a barrister at the Melbourne Bar, Ian " Mitch" Miller relocated to Noosa in 1979, as legal adviser to a property development group. Realising the potential of the area, he decided this was the place to be and joined the firm in 1987 to establish Sykes Pearson and Miller with Rod Sykes and Drew Pearson.

With a strong belief in balancing work and home life, Mitch is a fitness addict and is often spotted running with his dog anywhere from Noosa Sound to Main Beach, and through the Noosa National park (without dog!). A noted perfectionist, Mitch has established a strong and loyal client base and has been personally involved in a number of successful developments along the river at Gympie Terrace.

A lover of the finer things in life, most notably travel, wine, cars, rock music and the Essendon Football Club, Mitch resides with his wife Olivier on the water on Noosa Sound.

Mitch specialises in strata developments, body corporate, management rights, subdivisions, commercial joint ventures and partnership, commercial and residential property sales, and wills and estates.

Michael Sobey - Partner

Born and bred on the Sunshine Coast, Michael and his young family (wife and 3 kids between 3 and 12) returned to Noosa in 1997. Michael became a partner of the firm 2001. More likely to be spotted having a beer at the Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club than having a run through the national park, he has been lured by the local attractions taking up surfing approximately 5 years ago.

Michael has degrees in both Law and Arts (Modern Asian Studies). Partway through his degrees he travelled overseas and lived in Japan to develop his cultural and language skills. All that remains is a love of sashimi, Asahi beer and an ability to count to 10 in Japanese.

Michael also heavily involves himself in the local community being involved with the Tewantin-Noosa Cricket Club, the St Thomas More school board and is a director of the Sunshine Coast Housing Company, a not-for-profit public Company dedicated to obtaining affordable housing solutions on the Sunshine Coast.

Michael specialises in retail and commercial leasing, management rights, body corporate, commercial property, business sales, and business structuring.

Julian McNamara- Associate

Julian (or Jed as he is more commonly known) has been admitted as a solicitor since 1993. Prior to joining Sykes Pearson Miller, Julian spent the majority of his professional working life on the Sunshine Coast, the last 9 years in Noosa running his own law firm. A “sea change” of sorts saw Julian jump at the opportunity to head up the litigation division of Sykes Pearson Miller to further enhance the firm’s reputation as being Noosa’s law firm “of choice.” 

Julian’s chosen area of specialty is litigation. He is regarded as one of the more experienced litigation lawyers in the Noosa area. Julian’s philosophy is to deliver outstanding client service, providing practical, real world solutions for his clients. There are also times when you have to stand shoulder to shoulder with your client and ‘fight the good fight’ to get the desired outcome. 

Julian prides himself on giving straight advice in language you can understand. Whether it is a dispute that needs sorting out (contract, business or domestic), chasing someone for money owed, an insurance claim needing to be made, an employment related matter, or anything else, Julian will be able to help you.

Julian is also assisting the partners establish an insolvency and bankruptcy practice. 

When not at work, Julian enjoys spending time with his wife and young family enjoying all the wonderful things Noosa has to offer, and playing the occasional game of golf. You wouldn’t know at by looking at him, but ‘Jed’ fancies himself as a master chef, and regularly spends time of a weekend creating culinary masterpieces (with the occasional glass of wine along the way), much to the “delight” of his family!

Fiona Allen- Associate

Fiona Allen works in the Commercial Property section.

Fiona has experience in Management Rights, Commercial and Residential Property, Business and Commercial Law, Banking and Employment. She has worked for National Firms in Brisbane before a 'sea-change' brought her to Noosa. Fiona predominately acts for small to medium sized businesses and business people.

Fiona is admitted as a solicitor in Queensland as well as in New Zealand. She has degrees in both Law and Commerce and can speak both New Zealand and Australian English. She is starting to develop an identity crisis during each year’s Bledisloe Cup mainly due to the consistently poor performance of her native country during the World Cup.

Fiona is a former representative Basketball player and a current referee. When not playing or reffing, Fiona can be found fishing at a secret location at North Reef.

Samantha Sheppard

Samantha qualified as a commercial property solicitor in England in 1999 and worked in large commercial law firms in London for 7 years before she moved to Australia.  She was readmitted as a solicitor in Australia in 2005. 
 
She now works as a commercial solicitor and has experience in small business sales and purchases, commercial leasing, commercial and residential sales/purchases, wills and estate administration, trusts and company re-structuring.
 
When not being berated for her 'pommie' accent, Samantha keeps active running around after her two young sons, involves herself in a variety of sporting and other activities on offer in Noosa and partakes in the odd glass of red wine.

Allison Callaghan

Allison joined the firm in June 2007 and specialises in Family Law, including De Facto issues, as well as Litigation.

After travelling extensively and living in the UK, Allison and her family returned to Australia and have been settled in Noosa since 1994. Married with teenage sons, she is aware of the issues confronting couples and families today and thrives on achieving practical, workable solutions to her client’s situations.

Allison is well known in the area through her involvement in sporting and community groups and is always looking for new and interesting projects that present a challenge. She is currently on the Executive of the Sunshine Coast Law Association and is a regular volunteer solicitor for the Noosa Branch of the Sunshine Coast Community Legal Service.

When time permits she is likely to be found walking her two spaniels on the beach (in the designated areas of course), renovating her home or making travel plans.

Megan Lewis

Megan was admitted to practise as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2006 and works with Julian McNamara in the litigation section of Sykes Pearson Miller, where she assists clients with contract disputes, debt recovery and general litigation.

Prior to joining the firm, Megan dabbled in journalism, recruitment and English teaching in Taiwan. On completing her Law degree, she worked for a mid-sized Brisbane firm undertaking her Articles of Clerkship and then moved to a National firm where she practised in litigation, with an emphasis in construction.

In 2008, Megan convinced her husband (it didn’t take much) to make the move to the Sunshine Coast so that she could take maternity leave near the beach.

Now, with two young children, Megan and her husband are enjoying the coast lifestyle and can be found at the beach most weekends taking it in turns to improve their surfing skills. Megan also fancies herself as a geriatric pop star and participates in karaoke whenever she gets an opportunity.