Elisha Hodgson and Tom Robinson ditched a city office to build a thriving firm that travels with them.
They picked up the nickname at an industry event: The Travelling Lawyers. It was bestowed in good humour, but in the legal world – where a fixed desk, a city office and a rigid routine are seen as hallmarks of legitimacy – it could easily have been taken as a slight. Instead, Elisha Hodgson (Class of 2010) and Tom Robinson (Class of 2011) leaned into it.
The Tallay Law co-founders don’t try to hide their globe-trotting lifestyle. In fact, they’ve built their business around it – and clients are happy to come along for the ride. Tallay Law has so far ventured to Japan, Bali, North Queensland, Sydney and Melbourne, with plans to take flight all over Europe and the UK. What began as a playful jab has become a point of difference, and a reminder that results matter more than your postcode.
Rise of the digital nomad
Remote work is hardly a novel concept these days. It surged during the pandemic when makeshift home offices and video calls became the norm. According to a 2025 YouGov survey, around 29 percent of Australians have worked remotely while travelling.
Some intrepid workers even venture interstate and overseas, going wherever a stable internet connection takes them. But few flaunt it. Most blur palm trees in the background of Zoom calls and keep up the illusion of still being just down the hall – or at least down the road.
This flexible lifestyle has mostly been reserved for behind-the-scenes professionals such as coders, designers and analysts – not lawyers. But expectations are changing, and the legal profession is catching up.
Early career
Ms Hodgson’s path to law began with her Year 10 legal studies class and a week of work experience at prominent Gold Coast law firm Hickey Lawyers.
“I remember making coffees for all the lawyers and I was so fascinated by all of them in their offices with their names on their door,” she says. “I wanted to have my name on the wall.”
During the last 12 months of her Bachelor of Laws at Bond University, Ms Hodgson worked at boutique law firm and discovered her niche in body corporate law. After graduating she secured a position at a large Gold Coast firm and spent the next eight-and-a-half years working her way up. But as the 9-to-5 grind began to take over her life, she noticed her role shifting. It became less about in-person meetings, and more about being constantly available online.
“With the rise of all of the electronic communication, clients don’t want face-to-face anymore, and that change in office dynamic was really interesting,” she says. “We wanted to explore that further.”
In early 2024, Ms Hodgson and Mr Robinson broke away from the traditional model of legal practice to create Tallay Law, a remote firm specialising in property and litigation. The business’s name derives from their hometowns, a combination of Tallebudgera Valley and Torbay in New Zealand. Ms Hodgson spent much of her childhood riding horses in `Tally Valley’, and today the Tallay Law office is a sunlit room in the couple’s home just over the ridge in the Gold Coast’s Currumbin Valley.
Working 24/7, worldwide
On a recent winter’s day, Ms Hodgson padded downstairs in her uggs, a cup of matcha in hand. Sully, the couple’s fluffy desk buddy, trailed behind and took his usual spot beside Mr Robinson, already deep into his day’s work. Rather than a battle with 9am traffic, a day might begin with a gym session, followed by brunch and a stint of remote work at Ms Hodgson’s favourite local café.
By afternoon she was back in her home office. It’s already an enviable work-life balance but add in the freedom to travel and carve up the slopes of Japan by morning, and settle client conveyances by night, and it becomes a dream job.
“If I’m going to be available for my clients at any time of the day, then I want to do it from anywhere in the world,” Ms Hodgson says.
Offices are optional
Associate Professor of law at Bond University Tammy Johnson says this new wave of legal practice is gaining momentum.
“People are dealing online more and more these days,” she says. “With the ability to do electronic signatures for a lot of documents, it takes away the necessity of having a physical office space.”
Ms Hodgson and Mr Robinson make sure they’re transparent with clients when working abroad, often writing out-of-office emails like, ‘Just tearing up the slopes in between answering emails.’ Clients have embraced the approach, sometimes replying with a recommendation for their favourite Japanese café or must-do activity.
“We haven’t had any criticism from any of our clients,” Ms Hodgson says. “If someone’s unhappy about it, they’re certainly not expressing it to us.”
Destinations are embracing the work-from-anywhere trend, with more than 50 countries now offering digital nomad or remote work visas. These typically extend stay duration beyond standard tourist limits for anywhere from several months to a few years. In Bali, Ms Hodgson discovered cafes dedicated purely to remote working and a Wi-Fi connection that was arguably stronger than back at home.
Law’s next frontier
However, it’s not all relaxing poolside with a laptop.
“Even though you might be looking at a mountain and you just want to go snowboarding, you need to get the work done,” Ms Hodgson says. “It’s about finding the balance. Work is a priority; the holiday is a benefit.”
Ms Hodgson says she’s a “massive Bondy,” and that the relationships she formed with lecturers and tutors played a key role in helping her secure the career opportunities she enjoys today.
“While it is impossible to learn everything there is to know about being a lawyer in the lecture theatre, the tools and skills from Bond taught me how to find the answers,” she says. “I just think the key is confidence – being empowered to say, ‘Hey, I don’t know the answer, but I’m going to find it for you.’ ”
Ms Hodgson remembers taking that mindset into one of her first body corporate meetings.
“I walked in and sat down, waiting for more people to come in, and then one of the guys goes, ‘So when’s this bloody lawyer arriving?’ By the end of the meeting they were asking, ‘Can you stay a bit longer so we can ask you some more questions?’ ”
It’s a moment that captures the heart of what Tallay Law represents: breaking down assumptions about how lawyers should look, work, or even where they should be. By building a business that moves with her, Ms Hodgson is literally taking the future of law to new places.
Published Day, Date Month, 2025.
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