Today marks a significant milestone in our lives – a jubilant celebration of dreams, belief, resilience, leadership, relationships, team spirit and community. Ten years ago today, Cornerstone Conveyancing was born.
Today we celebrate the remarkable decade-long journey since the inception of Cornerstone Conveyancing Services in 2014. Though it feels like just yesterday, as we look back on the past decade, we are filled with pride and joy witnessing the remarkable growth and achievements of the Cornerstone team.
Where it all began in 2014
From humble beginnings, Therese fondly remembers waiting for the first Cornerstone Conveyancing phone call from her lounge room in Middle Boambee. It wasn’t long before that phone call came through from a local real estate agent referring Cornerstone’s first client. This marked the beginning of a new era for Therese, having supported thousands of clients in her time working for various law firms in Sydney and on the Coffs Coast. This wealth of experience combined with her ethics, tenacity and belief in providing her clients the best service quickly led to many more clients seeking out Cornerstone’s services.
With success came rapid growth
Within six months of launching the business and some very long days and nights, Therese knew it was time to take the next step and expand, employing our first paralegal Cassie Valentino and in close succession Lyn Rovere who joined the team as a second Licensed Conveyancer.
Our remarkable combined skillset and mutual passion for delivering client excellence were a natural fit and so we set about cementing our business relationship and becoming business partners in 2016, forming Cornerstone’s dynamic leadership duo.
The advent of electronic conveyancing
At this time, the momentum for electronic conveyancing started to gather pace. Therese was at the forefront of introducing this brave new world to lawyers and conveyancers on the NSW North Coast – dismantling our profession from 150 year old paper based industry to onboarding, training and mentoring our colleagues into believing and trusting in this new technology was no small feat. PEXA is the world’s first settlement digital platform which has revolutionized the way we transfer property in Australia and it was so exciting to be a part of it and the first to bring it to the Coffs Coast.
The benefits for the part we played in being change leaders in this new technology are still very much being realized by our office today, with Therese now a key member of the PEXA Advisory Council. We are considered by our peers to have a deep, ahead-of-the-curve knowledge and understanding of modern conveyancing practice, which results in us being a trusted source of market insights and as such hold a collaborative rapport with our broader industry, peak bodies, stakeholders and our clients.
Throughout this time, Cornerstone continued to grow and evolve with Milly Tribe joining the team, who today is Cornerstone’s longest serving team member and considered an integral part of the Cornerstone fabric. With the growth in team and clients, it was time for a dedicated office space.
A brand new office space on Sawtell’s main street
In 2018 we moved into our new purpose built and designed office space in First Avenue, Sawtell, raising the bar for conveyancing on the NSW North Coast and as a whole for the profession. We were keen for an open plan style that would convey our credibility that comes with 70 years’ industry experience between us, as well as our love for Sawtell and not to mention practical solutions for merging workflows, the talents of team members and confidential high stakes conversations as well as juggling many files on our desks on any given day.
Having previously experienced fairly dry and conservative legal work environments, we were keen to shake things up a little, which resulted in a transformative and assuring environment for both our clients and the Cornerstone team being created. From the outset, Cornerstone’s core values of experience, trust and integrity were the guiding light for what was to come next. Now having a street presence, coupled with a high powered update to our website at the time, saw even more exponential growth.
In 2019, we opened our second office in Nambucca Heads to enable our clients further south to have a dedicated space for face-to-face meetings closer to home. At the same time, we also acquired Clever Conveyancing formerly based in Moonee, servicing their clients under the Cornerstone Conveyancing brand.
Working through a pandemic
With the unimaginable shutdowns as a result of COVID 19, we like the rest of the world were fast transported into another new world. Suddenly we were dealing with lockdowns, working remotely, JobKeeper, Cash Flow Boost, masks, meeting clients via Zoom rather than in the office face to face, social distancing, sanitizing and so much turmoil and angst around vaccinations. We had a constant lifeline in our Accountant (thank you Alison from the bottom of our hearts).
Amidst formidable challenges, we faced the daunting task of adapting to rapidly shifting business landscapes while prioritizing the well-being of our team and ourselves. Maintaining team cohesion and morale demanded significant effort.
Thankfully, the widespread adoption and proficiency in PEXA amongst the team provided a silver lining for our business operations. This ensured that essential tasks like client transactions, sales, purchases and title transfers continued smoothly, largely unaffected by external disruptions. PEXA emerged as a timely technological asset precisely when we needed it most. Despite the challenges, we have been leveraging the many valuable lessons learned during the pandemic, we are more agile and resilient and have fostered a more supportive business model for the benefit of our team and clients.
Giving back to our community
Community is key to our business, both in Sawtell, Nambucca and the wider Coffs Coast region. We feel it’s so important in business to be there for your community, especially in times of need and are therefore active supporters of members of our community facing adversity through Bushfire Relief North Coast NSW, Northern Rivers Flood Relief and Aussie Farmers Drought Appeal.
Supporting those affected by cancer is also close to our hearts. We do this through an Annual Biggest Morning Tea for the Cancer Council and in 2022 sponsored the Cornerstone Conveyancing Celebrity Chef Degustation Dinner with Manu Feildel raising more than $15,000 for the Can Do Cancer Trust.
We also support the youngest members of the community through The Smith Family Australian school children sponsorship program and Christmas gifting to the Children’s Ward at Coffs Harbour Base Hospital.
Ten years on – 2024
Today Cornerstone Conveyancing has expanded to a talented team of six dynamic and inspiring women including Kelsey Woods, Kelly Howard and Kaz Mack. Empowering our team to strive for excellence, through positive collaboration and the highest levels of client services. One of our aims is to cultivate a culture of trust, the foundation of an enduring and rewarding client and workplace relationship.
At Cornerstone, we aspire to develop and maintain strong client relationships, which is key to our success of the last decade. We achieve this through client services built on trust and integrity both of which are held in the highest regard by our Cornerstone team, it is part of the fabric of our culture.
What’s next for Cornerstone Conveyancing
To continue to live and breathe our core values, to empower our team and to cultivate a culture of trust, to build our brand awareness. We won’t be resting on our laurels, as we strive to continue to improve and be at the forefront of our Conveyancing profession, it is what we were born to do, it is in our blood.
Thank you
Last but by no means least we want to thank all of those who have supported Cornerstone Conveyancing Services through the years, we couldn’t have done it without you!
Thank you and immense gratitude to our team, both past and present; to our exceptional clients; to our supportive colleagues and broader industry network, peak bodies; and our community, not forgetting those closest to us, our family and friends who have ridden the waves with us – you have all played an integral part in our achievements and successes over the last 10 years. We are humbled to be here and very excited for what lies ahead.
Cheers!
Therese & Lyn
Co-Directors Cornerstone Conveyancing Services