Phillip Dacunto

Phil was born in Ischia which is a little island off the cost of Naples, Italy. He migrated to Australia with his parents in 1972, settling in Leichhardt where he attended Leichhardt High School. After completing his HSC he attended Macquarie University and paid for his studies with a part time job as a waiter/barista in a coffee lounge, long before coffee was trendy. Phil graduated from Macquarie University in 1985 with degrees in Arts and Law.

Phil has a wide range of legal experience, having spent over 33 years in private practice. His journey as a lawyer has taken him through many aspects of the legal system. He started by filing Court documents and attending property settlements when he was a junior lawyer in a small legal firm in Leichhardt, with a large Italian clientele. Soon he was attending to their court work, conveyancing and business transactions.

Later he moved to Ryde where he spent the next 10 years honing his skills in all manner of court work, conveyancing and deceased estates. Eventually, to balance the demands of a young family, he sought a change from the rigours of court work. Phil spent the next 14 years with the firm of Jennifer Darin at Chatswood. There he concentrated on business transactions, domestic and commercial conveyancing including all aspects of property development, wills and deceased estates, including contested estates.

When the firm of Jennifer Darin merged with Bull Son & Schmidt in 2011 Phil came on board with the current team and has continued to concentrate on deceased estates, contested estates and conveyancing.

Phil is highly approachable. He is a realist and provides clear and commercially practical legal advice to his clients in a timely manner.

Phil was a member of the Ryde Rotary Club for many years and being fluent in Italian has given his time to a number of Italian Community Organisations including Co.As.It. As a young lawyer he was involved in pro-bono court work and young offender programs. For a number of years, Phil also coached his local school in the Law Society’s Mock Trial Competition.

He is married with three adult children and two dogs. He has been known to play a social game of volleyball with old schoolmates and enjoys going off on 4WD adventures in between longer trips overseas.