Meet our Solicitors & Legal Professionals servicing Toowoomba, Charleville, Emerald, Cunnamulla & Quilpie, and all places in between

Shane Charles

Managing Partner | Solicitor

Qualifications
Bachelor of Laws (LLB),
Queensland University of Technology

Shane has spent his entire professional career working towards growing the success of regional Queensland.

His passion for helping regional communities grow and for providing excellent legal representation has seen Shane spend his professional legal career striving to help his clients achieve the best possible outcomes for any given situation.

As Managing Partner of Charles Legal Group, Shane focuses on commercial law, acting as general counsel for businesses and farms, touching on all aspects of rural law. For Shane, ensuring rural Queenslanders receive the best commercial advice, which may not necessarily be legal advice, is the most important part of his role. After all - we want the best outcome, not just the best legal outcome.

Shane is also part of many advocacy groups helping regional Queensland prosper. An active member of the Darling Downs community, he undertakes a wide range of senior roles, high-profile executive positions and non-executive director roles, including President of the Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland and CEO of Upscale Carbon.

Shane’s previous experience includes Chairman of Stanwell Corporation Limited, Deputy Chairman and Commissioner of the GasFields Commission of Queensland, CEO and Chairman of Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise Pty Ltd, Chairman of the Endeavour Foundation, and a Non-Executive Director of Energy Resources of Australia Limited, and many more.

Shane has a wide range of experience and connections across rural Queensland, allowing him to better understand your unique concerns and provide common-sense, practical solutions.

Melissa Hand JP

Conveyancer, Office Manager & Paralegal

Qualifications
Conveying, Wills & Estate, Legal Proceedings, Court Procedures.
Certificate III in Legal Studies,
Qualified Justice of the Peace

Born and raised on a grazing property between Charleville and Quilpie, Melissa has been working for the Charles Legal Group (formerly Frank & Jongkind Co) since 1997. 

With extensive experience in conveyancing, wills and estate and court procedures, Melissa assists clients with house and land contracts of sales, wills and the enduring power of attorney, and administering estates with compassion and care.

Knowing the region like the back of her hand, Melissa understands the rural environment and the needs of her clients. Her approachable attitude allows her to provide services that suit a variety of property and estate cases, removing hassles and stresses for you.

After working in the Charles Legal Group’s office in Charleville for 24 years, Melissa joined her family in Emerald expanding her conveyancing, wills and estate planning and administration capabilities to include the Central West region.

Shona Fitzgerald

Solicitor & Associate Partner

Qualifications
Bachelor of Laws & Bachelor of Justice (Policing) from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from Queensland University of Technology

After graduating from university, Shona first worked as a solicitor at a family law firm in Mackay. She later worked as a Legal Practitioner for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (ATSILS) in Mount Isa, the Gulf of Carpentaria and Charleville.

Shona joined the Charles Legal Group’s Charleville team in 2022, bringing with her extensive experience and connections across Queensland’s rural and remote communities. Spending her career working in regional legal services, Shona has been exposed to matters metropolitan firms may never have seen.

With a focus on Family and Criminal Law, Shona enjoys providing practical legal solutions to rural people that offer the best outcomes for any situation. Thriving in the complexity and variety of her work, Shona is passionate about finding the best outcomes for her clients and regional communities.

Kerry Sullivan

Office Manager

Kerry is a Charleville girl through and through - born and raised in the Capital of the South West. Kerry originally worked for the firm Frank Jongkind & Co. before Charles Legal Group acquired the firm. After trying a new employment avenue, she decided to return to the legal profession and is responsible for keeping operations in control, accounts, administration, and assisting clients wherever possible.
 
Kerry is passionate about Charleville and the South West.  Her various interactions with her community and is well-known for her compassion, hard work and dedication. Kerry is passionate about making sure her local community gets the help they need.

With every client bringing forward different matters and situations, she enjoys the variety of her work and the close-knit, family workplace environment Charles Legal Group offers.