About us
Catron Simmons Lawyers
A two principal firm in Bella Vista. Both of us have spent our careers in the criminal justice system, one of us on the prosecution side for eight years, and between us we cover criminal, traffic, family, conveyancing and estates. You deal with a principal, not a file number, and you have our mobile numbers.
Suite 3.13, 33 Lexington Drive, Bella Vista NSW 2153. Open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, contactable outside those hours when a matter needs it.
Why a boutique firm
Most people who call us are dealing with something that has never happened to them before. A charge, a separation, a death in the family, a contract they do not understand. What they need is to speak to the person who will actually do the work, and to be told plainly what is likely to happen.
That is difficult to get from a large firm and it is the reason we set this one up. There are two principals and every matter is run by one of them. You will not be handed to a junior, you will not repeat your story to three people, and when you call you will speak to someone who already knows the file.
We are in Bella Vista and most of our work is in the Hills, Hornsby, Blacktown, Parramatta, Penrith and the Hawkesbury, though we appear across New South Wales and take matters from anywhere in Sydney. Courts we appear in.
Our team
Principal and Solicitor
Alicia Catron
Alicia has worked in the criminal justice system for over 18 years, including more than eight as a police prosecutor, running criminal, traffic and civil matters and apprehended violence order applications in Local Courts across the state.
That background is the reason clients come to her. She has run the other side of these matters in volume, which means she knows how a brief is assembled, where the weaknesses in one usually sit, what a prosecutor will and will not agree to, and which arguments are worth putting to them before a hearing date is ever set.
Alicia was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2015. She is a current marker for the Charles Sturt University policing programs. She attends police stations and gives advice by phone where a matter cannot wait.
Principal and Solicitor
Michelle Simmons
Michelle has worked across the justice system for over 29 years and holds a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice. She was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2012.
Michelle practises in criminal law alongside wills, estate planning and conveyancing, which is an unusual combination and a useful one. A criminal charge frequently arrives in the middle of a separation, a probate dispute or a property settlement, and having those handled in the same office rather than referred out is often the difference between a coordinated response and three sets of advice that contradict each other.
She has practised in the Hills district since 2017 and has been a principal of this firm since [year].
Both principals are members of the Law Society of New South Wales and hold current practising certificates.
What we do
Criminal law
Assault, drug offences, stealing and fraud, sexual offences, weapons, break and enter, and summary matters. We act from the investigation stage through to hearing and sentence, and we can attend a police station.
Traffic law
Drink driving, drug driving, dangerous and negligent driving, licence appeals, suspensions, disqualification removals and infringement notices.
Apprehended violence orders
Applying for an order, defending one, and varying or revoking an existing order. We act for people seeking protection and for people responding, though not both sides of the same matter.
Family law
Parenting arrangements, property and financial settlements, divorce, and matters involving family violence. Frequently running alongside a criminal or AVO matter, which is where having both in one office matters most.
Conveyancing
Buying, selling and transferring property, including transfers between family members and following a separation or a death.
Wills and estates
Wills, powers of attorney, enduring guardianship, probate, letters of administration and contested estates.
How we work
- You get a principal. Every matter is run by Alicia or Michelle. There is no file being passed down to someone you have not met
- You get told what is likely to happen. Including when the answer is not what you were hoping for. A lawyer who tells you only good news is not useful to you at the point where a decision has to be made
- You get our mobile numbers. We are open Monday to Friday, and contactable outside those hours when something cannot wait until Monday. Criminal matters do not confine themselves to business hours
- We attend police stations. Advice before an interview is worth more than advice after one, and in most matters it is the single most useful thing we do
- Fees are discussed upfront. You will have a costs agreement setting out what the work will cost before it starts, and we will tell you if a matter is not worth what it would cost to run
- We handle the whole problem. A charge that brings an AVO, a parenting dispute and a property settlement with it is four problems in three jurisdictions. We deal with all of it rather than referring the parts out
Your first appointment
Bring whatever you have. A court attendance notice, a fact sheet, a penalty notice, any bail conditions, an AVO, a letter from the other side, a contract. If you have none of it, come anyway, because a first conference is about working out what you are actually facing and what the options are.
We will tell you what the likely outcomes are, what each would involve, and what it would cost. If the sensible answer is that you do not need a lawyer, we will tell you that too.
Speak to a principal today
Alicia Catron 0407 171 626 or Michelle Simmons 0407 534 594. Email info@catronsimmons.com.au.
Suite 3.13, 33 Lexington Drive, Bella Vista NSW 2153. PO Box 7834, Norwest NSW 2153. ABN 49 876 570 646. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.