Our Story

Originally founded by Alfie O'Connor in the interwar years when Thornbury was a new suburb. Norman Phillips took over the firm in 1946 shortly after completing military service. He then served as principal of the firm for over forty years assisting large Italian and Greek communities when they moved into the area in the 1950s and 1960s.

Mr Frank O'Connor joined the practice for around ten years before opening his own practice in Northcote. Barry Wilkins joined the firm in 1966 and soon entered into a partnership with Norman. The firm then took the name Phillips & Wilkins and has remained with that name ever since. Barry provided advice in both our Thornbury and then Templestowe offices until his retirement in 2003.

In 1991 both Grant Mackenzie and Mark Silman became partners in the firm after working as employees for several years. Sadly Mark died in 1996. John Macmillan then joined the firm until his retirement in July 2018.

Will Elder joined the firm in 2013 as an employee and became a partner with Grant Mackenzie in 2019.

Our Values

We have assisted generations of clients since
being founded in Thornbury in 1932. It is
these long term relationships based on trust
and high quality service that
underpin our practice today.

The Team

team-member

Grant Mackenzie

CEO

Grant advises clients on deceased estates and estate planning, this includes the preparation of wills, powers of attorney and also applications to Victorian Civil and…

View Profile
team-member

Will Elder

Partner

Will has been a partner at Phillips & Wilkins since 2019. He has developed a broad commercial practice in which he advises clients on business…

View Profile
team-member

Chris Henderson

Partner

At Phillips & Wilkins, Chris practices in the areas of Family Law, Conveyancing and Property Law. Chris always listens carefully to his clients and has…

View Profile
team-member

Julie Huynh

Julie Huynh graduated from Victoria University and entered the legal profession in May 2022. Specialising in Conveyancing, Property Law, and Family Law, Julie finds joy…

View Profile
team-member

Xenia Albanis

Xenia Albanis, a La Trobe University alumna admitted in April 2023, specialises in Probate and deceased estates. As a dedicated solicitor, she thrives on providing…

View Profile
team-member

Nathan Di Vito

Nathan graduated from the Australian Catholic University (ACU) in 2018 and now works as a crucial part of the team. Nathan is interested in commercial…

View Profile

Contact

Leave your name and email and our
staff will follow up your enquiry.
Absolutely no obligation.