Andrew began his career in the Queensland State Government’s Department of Justice – Magistrates Court section, commencing as a Clerk in the Redcliffe Magistrates Court. It was from this position he accepted a transfer to Kingaroy and after spending the next few years as a Clerk in the Kingaroy Magistrates Court, he was promoted to a Depositions Clerk, travelling with a relieving Magistrate to various Courts around South East Queensland. Eventually Andrew attained the position of Relieving Registrar based in Rockhampton before electing to return to Kingaroy in 1993 to finish his law degree.
After approximately six months studying fulltime, he secured employment with Kevin FJ Woods, a local solicitor who had been operating a general practice law firm in Kingaroy for many years. In 1995, Andrew was admitted as a Solicitor and subsequently commenced his own legal practice in October 1999. At this time Andrew started up the Duty Lawyer program in the South Burnett area and to this day (some 20 years later) continues to provide this service in the local Courts, providing legal assistance to locals who otherwise would not have an advocate. In 2003, another local practitioner, Gary Down, was relocating to the middle-east and Andrew opted to take over his practice, continue to employ his staff and assist his clients. The firm then became known as Kelly & Down, even though Gary had left. Over time the firm expanded and Andrew employed his first solicitor, Deb Frecklington, who became a partner in the firm 12 months later. The firm then became Kelly & Frecklingon however with Deb’s departure into politics in 2012, the firm finally became known as KF Solicitors – the largest law firm in the South Burnett.
Andrew has a well-earned reputation of having broad expertise across many areas of law, as he manages each of the specialised teams within KF Solicitors – family law, criminal & traffic law, conveyancing & leasing, wills & estates, personal injury and commercial law. The number of repeat clients speaks volumes about the loyalty and trust KF Solicitors has earned over the years. With over 30 years’ experience in the legal industry, Andrew has successfully fostered an outstanding team of junior and mid-level lawyers in a predominantly country practice. Now with offices in both Kingaroy and Brisbane, Andrew has expanded the firm to cater perfectly for his clients’ varied needs. Andrew practices out of both offices and maintains very proactive supervision, regularly meeting with the teams to discuss unusual or complicated issues they may have and generally assisting whenever needed with their files.
The firm supports any local students interested in a legal career and wishing to study law and offers work experience to such individuals on a regular basis.
In his spare time, Andrew enjoys playing golf and rugby league for the Kingaroy Red Ants Old Boys and is enthusiastic about supporting local business in the South Burnett area.