Nightingale Law directors reveal story of Gympie firm, Brisbane expansion

Two former police prosecutors who first crossed paths dealing with bikie gangs and Middle-Eastern organised crime in Western Sydney are leading a new, rapidly expanding legal force on the other side of the table.

Former police prosecutors Laura Nightingale and Kim Turvey first met when their careers crossed paths at Western Sydney.

Now the duo have joined forces to continue their work on the other side of the legal aisle.

Ms Nightingale and Ms Turvey are co-directors of Gympie firm Nightingale Law, an almost entirely women-led team which has grown from small-scale hinterland roots to a main office at Gympie and a branch at Brisbane as well.

Their professional background in Sydney, a jurisdiction Ms Turvey said had “significant high crime, Middle—Eastern organised crime, bikie gangs”, left them with extensive experience in many legal corners.

“We’ve seen it all,” Ms Turvey said.

The firm started as Nightingale Johnston Lawyers at Cooroy, nestled between the Sunshine Coast and Gympie, by Ms Nightingale in 2020.

Former police prosecutors Laura Nightingale (right) and Kim Turvey first met when their careers crossed paths at Western Sydney. Now the duo have joined forces to continue their work on the other side of the legal aisle.

The New South Wales-born lawyer moved to the region with her children at the end of a 16-year police career which included work as a detective.

Having mostly lived and worked within a 16km radius, Ms Nightingale said the move “was more of a lifestyle change”.

The firm was rebranded as Nightingale Law in 2021.

“We started pretty humbly, just throwing in $5000 and basically working as a sole practitioner … at the time,” Ms Nightingale said.

Ms Turvey joined as a paralegal in 2022, and the firm extended its reach north when Ms Nightingale noticed “a gap in the Gympie market”.

“People (often) feel they have to go to the Sunshine Coast or Brisbane to get a good lawyer,” Ms Turvey said.

The move to Gympie brought Ms Turvey back to the region, having first moved to the city when she was eight and attending James Nash State High School.

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In contrast to their restriction to local courts in New South Wales, Laura Nightingale, Kim Turvey and their firm now work at all three levels of Queensland’s criminal court – Magistrate, District and Supreme – as well as within the Domestic Violence and Family courts. August 11, 2015. Photo Patrick Woods / Gympie Times

Each said career restrictions in their police work was a driving force in their moves.

Ms Turvey said it limited “what you could learn”.

“We were restricted to the local court in New South Wales,” she said.

“The workload got greater, and we still couldn’t go any further.”

Since moving to Gympie the firm has not looked back with staff numbers growing from one to seven across the three offices, the majority women.

“The growth has just been exponential,” Ms Nightingale said.

Mothers themselves, Ms Nightingale and Ms Turvey said the firm regularly engaged in philanthropy in the community, including sponsoring disability groups and related events.

In contrast to their restriction to local courts in New South Wales, the duo and their firm now work at all three levels of the state’s criminal court – Magistrate, District and Supreme – as well as within the Domestic Violence and Family courts.

They hoped to be able to serve Childrens Courts in the near future, too.

Mothers themselves, Ms Nightingale and Ms Turvey said the firm regularly engaged in philanthropy in the community, including sponsoring disability groups and related events.

“We are focused on particularly the vulnerable people in the community,” Ms Turvey said.

“Often those people (including women, children, domestic violence victims) will come out of situations where they don’t have any money,” she said.