Our People
Ilya Furman
Ilya is probably the first person to franchise a law firm in Australia. He loves entrepreneurial clients and revels in the challenges faced by businesses on a daily basis, whether with suppliers, competitors, landlords or staff. Ilya’s passion is solving the unsolvable and seeing his clients grow. His hobbies include property development, empire building and art house cinema.
Matthew Shaw
Mathew has been a lifetime Bayside resident previously having run his own practice in the area for over 30 years. Matthew has extensive experience in property law, retail and commercial leasing, property development and joint ventures, owners corporation law, building and construction disputes, general commercial law relating to the establishment, operation and sale and purchase of businesses together with wills and estate administration, traffic and general litigation. Matthew’s other great passion outside legal practice is cycling.
Sophie Furman
Sophie is recognised in the firm as the first law student in history who drafted a Supreme Court application and supporting affidavit which was accepted by a subject matter expert barrister verbatim ac literatim. When not practising law, Sophie likes to contemplate her future legal empire while walking her dog Winston, himself named in honour of a fellow empire leader.
Valerie Borovik
Valerie is an exceptionally skilled family lawyer. Her dedication to her work is matched only by her commitment to her clients, ensuring that their needs are met with compassion and expertise. Fluent in two languages, Valerie brings two decades of invaluable experience to our team. With a knack for navigating even the most challenging cases and clients, Valerie is adept at finding effective solutions in the complex landscape of family law.
When she's not advocating for families, Valerie enjoys exploring the Bayside coffee scene and Spanish movies.
Kim Capuano
Kim has been Matthew’s EA since 2004 and also assists in the conduct of Probate and Estate Administration files and in the preparation of Wills and Powers of Attorney. During this she has established a wealth of knowledge, understanding the many complexities of these areas of law. On the weekend she enjoys spending time in her garden.
Felicity Angel
Felicity is the firm’s Office Manager and Accounts Executive. She has worked in a variety of roles within the legal profession for over 25 years. In 2017 she took a break from the legal profession taking up a position as Office Manager with a medium density Property Developer and returned to the legal profession in 2020. She looks after the day-to-day management of the office together with our trust account and general account bookkeeping and provides support to all the team. Felicity enjoys spending her spare time with family and friends.