Eliza Tiernan

Eliza Tiernan – Barrister | Accredited Mediator
Commanding | Strategic | Empathic

Eliza is an experienced advocate known for delivering clarity and control in the most challenging family law disputes. With insight, care, and a high degree of emotional intelligence, she guides solicitors and clients through complex parenting and property matters, particularly those involving high conflict, financial complexity, or unusual legal issues.

Eliza began her career as the Legal Associate to the Honourable Justice Cronin of the Family Court of Australia in 2010, before practising exclusively in family law at a national firm for over four years. Her courtroom experience spans both trial and appellate jurisdictions, with a strong track record in high-stakes litigation. She holds a Juris Doctor and First Class Honours in Arts from the University of Melbourne, where she was awarded the Melbourne Law School Prize for Legal Research.

She maintains a particular interest in high conflict parenting disputes, including relocation cases and Independent Children’s Lawyer work, and complex property and financial matters, including third party interests, trusts, business structures, and spousal maintenance.

Her appellate work is well recognised, with recent appearances in significant cases including:

Shinohara & Shinohara [2025] FedCFamC1A 126 
(for discussion thereof, see https://foleys.com.au/resources/daze-in-court-appeals-addbacks-shinohara-v-shinohara )
Sujatha & Gutierrez [2024] FedCFamC1A 223
Koen & Biondi [2023] FedCFamC1A 89 (as co-counsel)
Rubin & Rubin [2022] FedCFamC1A 148
 

An accomplished speaker and author, Eliza regularly presents at legal conferences and contributes to thought leadership in family law. She co-authored Certain Unions Are Not Marriages: Predicting Outcomes on Separation for Same-sex Couples Married Overseas, presented at the World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights in Dublin and published in the Family Law Review. In July 2025, she was again invited to speak at the World Congress, this time on Rhetoric, Risk, and the Role of the Independent Children's Lawyer.

Eliza’s professional leadership extends beyond the courtroom. She has been a member of the Women's Barristers' Association Committee since 2024. She was a member of the Bar’s Equality and Diversity Committee from 2023 to 2025, and the inaugural Co-Treasurer of the Hock & Selzer Society in 2025.  She is committed to mentoring emerging barristers and contributing to the ongoing improvement of the profession.

Eliza read with Hilary Bonney, and her senior mentor is Geoffrey Dickson KC. She is a proud member of the Family Law Bar Association and accepts briefs in all areas of family law.