Our story
Foundation
Travis Schultz & Partners (TSP) was born out of a simple idea. Establish a boutique law firm that is committed to social justice for all, while not being afraid to do things differently. It was the idea of our founding Managing Partner, Travis Schultz, who in 2018, brought his vision to life.
Travis has always been drawn to compensation work including insurance, injury and negligence cases. He enjoys making a difference to people’s lives and helping people during their toughest times. It was a calling that came to him early in his legal career and it’s what he has done ever since.
Travis enjoyed a successful career with an established law firm based on the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane (Schultz Toomey O’Brien), where, as a managing partner, he helped grow the firm to a head count of nearly 80 professionals. After the firm sold, Travis dabbled in consulting work but the urge to practice compensation law and make a difference in the community was too strong to resist.
Motivated by a desire to ensure justice was accessible for everyone, Travis’ heart was set on establishing a boutique firm that was driven by the values of fairness, respect and compassion. The professional service model he pursued didn’t necessarily make much commercial sense. But it just felt right.
TSP opened its doors on the Sunshine Coast in April 2018 with just two lawyers and three support staff. Since then, the firm has grown from strength to strength. Now boasting a significant team of lawyers and support staff, TSP has established offices on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Cairns, and Brisbane and a trusted referral network throughout Australia.
In 2020, TSP created a pathways to partnership program to recognise the significant contribution made by a number of senior team members; some of whom took on an equity interest in the firm. This program has proved successful in encouraging our talented team members to achieve their professional aspirations and enabled the firm to continue building on our legacy of progressiveness and inclusion.
Over the years, TSP has been privileged to support the community in a number of different ways, such as hosting professional services and business networking events, supporting charity fundraisers, providing leadership and commentary on legal trends and of course, providing legal advice for clients in the compensation law space.
Our approach to the future is one of growth for as long as there is a demand, reinforcing our values and continued ethical practice, social justice ethos and behaving as a professional services firm, rather than a business.
Travis Schultz & Partners' Promise
We firmly believe in our guiding values of fairness, respect and compassion. We are fair and we genuinely care about people. At Travis Schultz & Partners, our values reflect our commitment to being a professional services firm that always put people before profits.
The following core principles govern all that we do at TSP. They give insight into how we function as a firm and how you can expect to be treated as one of our valued clients.
Community conscience.
Being an active and engaged business within the community is incredibly important to Travis and the entire TSP team. We passionately support a number of community initiatives and charities, helping to raise funds for children and families in the communities in which we do business.
We do not ‘write a cheque and forget’. The team at TSP firmly believe in the causes we get behind and are active participants, whether through fundraising efforts or as meaningful ambassadors.
20 – 40% lower fees.
We want our clients to always receive the bulk of their compensation, so we decided to charge fees only on a Government set scale and to avoid those extra charges that most of the Biglaw firms use, like uplift fees, litigation funding arrangements and interest charges on outlays.
This means our fees are 20 to 40 per cent lower than the industry average. It’s a different way of doing things and we like to think it’s better.
We don’t use time costing, there are no litigation lenders to worry about, and we even offer a low cap on costs so that our clients enjoy the comfort of knowing that they will always receive the Lion’s Share of their settlement.
The last thing we’d want is for our clients to hesitate in asking us a question, or picking up the phone to talk. That’s why there’s no six-minute timers on our desks!
Unparalleled accreditation and expertise.
Considered some of the best in the country, our dynamic and experienced team is made up of highly awarded and accredited specialists in all areas of compensation law.
To achieve the best possible result for our clients, we need to have industry leading lawyers. So when we put our team together, we carefully designed it to have the right balance of experienced lawyers, rising stars and the wise counsel of Queensland Law Society accredited specialists.
We have a commitment to professional development and training, so our team is always at the top of their game.
Raising the industry bar on client service.
Our service is personalised to you and your case. We listen to understand, not simply to respond. We take the time to get to know your individual circumstances so we can get the best result possible.
Accessibility, respect and responsiveness are key attributes for us. We don’t have call centres or put walls around our lawyers. We provide you with the mobile number of your lawyer so you can speak to them directly. It’s important to us that we are there when you need us.
We often take on cases other firms reject because we are committed to making a positive difference to the lives of our clients. Our mission is to serve our clients well, maximise their claims and ensure they receive the lion’s share of their settlement.
Our brand
Travis’s grandfather, Jack O’Brien, was a Wing Commander pilot in the RAAF and fought in the Second World War (WWII) in a unit tasked with the strategic bombing of Germany in one of the most dangerous fronts that the Allied forces fought on.
Among the many bravery medals Jack O’Brien was awarded, was a Distinguished Flying Cross which is one of the highest honours a member of the RAAF can be awarded and there are very few of them.
To honour his memory and respect the family heritage, the purple and champagne colours of the Travis Schultz & Partners brand are those on the ribbon of the Cross.
Next time you’re visiting the Sunshine Coast office, keep an eye out for the absorbing painting of Jack O’Brien by acclaimed artist, Anna Rubin, which proudly hangs on the wall.
Pictured (L-R): Acclaimed artist – Anna Rubin, Travis Schultz’s Mum – Denise Schultz and Travis Schultz unveiling a painting of Jack O’Brien, at the launch of Travis Schultz & Partners in 2018.
Culture
The compensation law sector is dominated by large corporate firms that operate as businesses and behave like corporations. They tend to treat their lawyers as battery hens, shackling them to timesheets, time costing, and billable hour targets.
Travis Schultz & Partners have succeeded with a completely different approach.
At TSP, professional team members given a degree of flexibility in their working hours and they aren’t required to complete time sheets or even meet billable hour targets. We don’t use time costing as our people detest the pressure of it and clients loathe the lack of transparency and the perception of inherently poor value in time costing models. The feedback we receive from team members and clients alike is our philosophy of placing social justice and work life balance first and maximising profits second is both working and welcome.
Our values, highly accredited specialists, commitment to supporting our community, and being fair and compassionate in all that we do sets us apart. We are very proud to have become an award winning and industry leading compensation law firm with a solid reputation for providing cutting edge expertise, without the price tag.
Meet the team
Lawyers Travis Schultz and several of our lawyers are accredited specialists in personal injury law with extensive experience. Travis alongside the firms Partners and leadership team, service clients anywhere in Queensland with offices on the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Cairns.
It’s time to meet your team.