Emmanuel Apokis,
Managing Partner

Having worked in the fields of Family and Criminal Law his entire career, Emmanuel has been able to draw on knowledge and skills set that places him at an advantage over other lawyers who practise in only one of the areas of law.

As a result, Emmanuel has also been able to grow and manage both our Family Law and Criminal Law departments.

As a Manager, Emmanuel’s motto is “We don’t run matters, we represent clients”, and this is enshrined in the very ethos of Prime, where our approach to our work is to always work in the best interests of our clients and service them to the best of our ability. Our clients come to us in a time of need and often, distress, and we need to be forever mindful of that fact when guiding them through a complex and stressful legal process.

Emmanuel is best known for his analytical approach to everything he does; never taking anything for granted and being prepared for every possible outcome. This is what he brings to matters that he conducts or, as a manager, oversees, whether in the family law or criminal law jurisdiction.

Despite being a seasoned Court advocate, having conducted many, multi-day hearings (and succeeded) it is Emmanuel’s ability to reduce conflict in matters and instead, implement careful (and sometimes creative) strategies to try and reach a desired goal, that has seen him achieve great outcomes for clients, time and time again.  And as many of Emmanuel’s former and present clients would attest to, all this is done whilst constantly keeping clients engaged in the process and well-informed of strategies, risks and potential outcomes. Emmanuel’s clients are often reminded, “You are part of my legal team”. 

The Law Society of New South Wales defines an Accredited Specialist as a practising solicitor who has demonstrated specialised competence in a particular area of law and has been conferred Specialist Accreditation by the Law Society under its Specialist Accreditation Scheme. Emmanuel has achieved this accreditation by passing the Law Society’s rigorous assessments and in competition with other applicants meaning that he is recognised as possessing specialised expertise in criminal and traffic law.

It is in this role that Emmanuel has gained a reputation for delivering results in serious and complex defended criminal and traffic law matters. Emmanuel is frequently instructed to defend clients for very serious traffic and criminal charges in the Local, District and Supreme Court of New South of Wales.

The skills Emmanuel has demonstrated by becoming an accredited specialist have also provided him with many advantages when conducting or overseeing family law matters. For example, in addition to his ability to carefully strategise towards desired outcomes, whether in negotiations or in contested court matters, Emmanuel’s experience in the criminal law jurisdiction and his exceptional knowledge of the law means that, unlike most family lawyers, he can navigate through the interplay between AVOs and parenting matters, to the advantage of our clients.

This ensures that our family lawyers can rely on Emmanuel’s expertise in the criminal law jurisdiction when it comes to strategising and providing clients with accurate advice regarding AVOs. Too often, we see family lawyers from other firms get it wrong, which has led to clients getting arrested and charged for breaching an AVO, based solely on the advice they received from their family lawyer.

This will not happen at Prime Lawyers, due to the two areas of law being overseen by someone with years of experience in both jurisdictions.

As head of both divisions, Emmanuel enjoys leading two teams of experienced lawyers and working together with them to achieve outcomes for our clients.