Written by Julia Werren
I have very fond memories of Chelsea as a young, bubbly and friendly undergraduate student. I first met Chelsea when I was a Non-Resident Fellow at Drummond and Smith College. This position allowed me to attend dinners and other social and academic events at the college. I never really found my feet at the college until Chelsea and her mates, (Tim and Dan Hill, Jacqui Cope-Williams and Peta Evans) started including me in their college activities. It is fair to say that meeting and hanging out with those students was one of the highlights of my professional life so far!
Sadly Tim died of cancer several years ago, but all the other members of the aforementioned group have gone on to live successful and productive lives.
Chelsea, who was brought up in Wagga, always wanted to be a lawyer. She was accepted into the School of Law as part of UNE’s Early Entry scheme and she hasn’t looked back. She never intended to stay in Armidale after she finished her degree, but love got in the way. She met and fell in love with Armidale local, Matt Schaefer. They eventually decided to settle in Armidale, get married and have a child- Vivienne. Matt works as an accountant at Forsyths.
Chelsea at her graduation with her UNE mates
Since Chelsea started studying she has always worked in law firms and gained experienced in a number of firms in Armidale. Now she is a co-owner of her own law firm Moin Morris Schaefer.
Chelsea primarily practises in Family Law and Crime. The aspect she likes most about her job is the ability to meet and help a wide range of people in the community. As you can imagine, Family Law and Crime are both very emotionally charged areas of law. Thus, it is imperative that people working in these areas are empathetic and personable. Luckily Chelsea has both these characteristics!
Many Armidale people will remember Roger Munday. He was both an alumnus of the UNE School of Law and a very successful Family Law solicitor in Armidale. Before Roger’s untimely death in 2016, he mentored Chelsea and taught her everything he knew about Family Law. Roger taught Chelsea how to separate emotion from the legal problem at hand. He reminded her that people seek a solicitor during family breakdown in order to gain objective legal advice. This mentoring she received early in her career, has allowed Chelsea to effectively guide her clients through the roller coaster of emotions that accompany a Family Law action.
Chelsea and Matt on their wedding day
It is fair to say that Chelsea has found it more difficult to separate her emotions from legal practice since she became a mum herself. This is especially the case when there are children involved. Luckily Chelsea has very supportive colleagues and in particular fellow owner of Moin Morris Schaefer, Greg Moin, who she can de-brief with if she is struggling.
Chelsea is passionate about defending juvenile offenders. When she first started undertaking this work, she got involved with local success story- Backtrack. Backtrack was founded by a group of volunteers who help mentor and care for teens who need a safe and friendly place to hang out.
As you can imagine, working with young offenders is not always easy. Chelsea has been called every name under the sun whilst dealing with kids who are completely disengaged with the community. Chelsea soon realised that often the kids who are the most openly disrespectful, are the ones who need help the most.
Chelsea notes that one of the most heartbreaking things she has to experience is when kids are taken into custody. ‘Luckily this only happens rarely. I have personally witnessed the changes that can take place when children and young people are taken into custody. Even stepping into a jail (as I do as part of my work) is difficult enough.’
Chelsea loved her experience at UNE. She felt like she was treated as a person and not a number. She found her learning style to be conducive to the small class sizes and the lecturers to be accessible and friendly. She liked the fact she could knock on a lecturer’s door and get help straight away.
Her favourite subjects at the UNE School of Law were those with a more practical bent such as Advanced Research, Writing and Advocacy and Professional Conduct. She also enjoyed Medico-Legal Issues as she was fascinated by how people’s lives could be impacted by the intersection between the legal and medical system.
Congratulations Chelsea, and thank you for sharing your story with us!
