Disrupting Tradition Innovative Strategies in Family & Estate Law
Joe Buckley
Speaker – Kindness in Law
Principal Lawyer & Mediator at Vista Mediation | Director at The Kind Lawyers | President at AACP
With over 20 years of experience in the law, Joe is a well-respected Collaborative family lawyer, accredited mediator and public speaker who specialises in human-centred dispute resolution. Joe founded Vista Mediation in 2023 to help families better manage conflict and achieve tailored legal solutions.
Joe’s legal and mediation practice involves a strong emphasis on a multi-disciplinary approach to conflict management and dispute resolution. He is the current President of the Australian Association of Collaborative Professionals (AACP) and the former Vice-President of the Victorian Association of Collaborative Professionals (VACP).
Joe is dedicated to making legal processes more accessible to clients and supportive for professionals working in family law. In 2024, Joe co-founded the Family Law Association Victoria (FLAV) to help support the professional development of family law professionals and build a more collaborative legal community in Victoria.
Joe is also a director and former advisory board member at The Kind Lawyers, a not-for-profit organisation and movement that is committed to re-shaping how the law is practiced and understood in Australia and overseas.
Joe’s genuine commitment to helping all members of the community achieve better legal and social outcomes is demonstrated by his extensive volunteering work with various community legal services in Victoria and the Northern Territory.
Rethinking Strength
Discover why kindness is not weakness in law, but a powerful driver of resolution, trust, and credibility.
Beyond AI Disruption
Understand why the biggest challenge to traditional legal practice isn’t technology, but a cultural shift towards empathy and collaboration.
Winning Without Fighting
Learn practical ways to embed kindness into practice — creating sustainable results for clients, lawyers, and firms.
Quantum Kindness: Turning Theory into Practice
When intelligence becomes artificial, humanity must become more intentional.
In this session, Perpetua (Pepe) Kish, Joe Buckley, Gloria Hawke and Lara Wentworth bring science down to earth and into the practice of law. Far from theory, Quantum Kindness explores how lawyers can notice energy in their work: where it flows, where it becomes blocked, and how it can be redirected with clarity and intention. It offers a grounded, practical framework for practising law in a way that is deliberate, sustainable and entirely human.
Think of it as an operating system upgrade for lawyers who want to work smarter and kinder in the age of AI.
Drawing on diverse professional experience across family law and practice leadership, the panel will share practical tools, real-world insights and techniques that can be immediately applied. This session promises to challenge assumptions, encourage reflection and leave you with tangible strategies to build a more intentional and resilient practice.
You will walk away thinking differently about how you work and how you lead.