The right structure and documents from day one protect you, your partners and your business. Here is how we set it up with you.
We learn about your business, who the owners are, what each person contributes, and your plans for growth, investment and risk.
We explain the options, such as sole trader, partnership, company or trust, and work with your accountant so the legal and tax sides line up.
We register your company with ASIC, set up a trust or partnership, and help with your ABN, business name and director ID requirements.
We prepare your company constitution or trust deed, first resolutions, share certificates and registers, so your records are complete from the start.
Where there is more than one owner, we prepare a shareholders agreement covering decision-making, deadlocks, exits, and how shares are valued and transferred.
We advise on directors' duties and ASIC obligations, bringing in new shareholders or investors, and restructuring as your business grows.
Whether you are buying or selling, we guide you through each stage so the deal is completed smoothly and your interests are protected.
We discuss the business, the price, what is included, the structure of the deal and your timeframe.
We prepare or review the sale contract, including what is being sold, stock, employees, warranties and restraint of trade.
We review the business's key contracts, licences, permits and lease, run PPSR searches, and work with your accountant on the financials.
We arrange the landlord's consent to assign the lease, and the transfer of licences, supplier contracts and other approvals.
We deal with employee entitlements, stock valuation, settlement adjustments and the release of any securities over business assets.
We complete the sale, arrange payment and the transfer of assets, and confirm the handover and any training period.
From unpaid invoices to contract and shareholder disputes, we aim to resolve your dispute quickly, sensibly and at a cost that makes sense.
We review the contract, correspondence and key facts, and explain your rights, your risks and the likely costs.
We identify urgent deadlines and time limits, preserve the evidence you need, and advise on what to say, and not say, to the other side.
We set out your claim, or your response to a claim against you, clearly and firmly, often prompting the other side to engage.
We negotiate with the other party or their lawyers, and consider alternative dispute resolution where it suits the dispute.
If the dispute can't be resolved, we start or defend proceedings in the appropriate court, and brief experienced barristers where needed.
We document settlements in a deed and help enforce judgments. For debts owed by companies, this can include statutory demands and winding-up applications.
Many disputes are resolved faster, more privately and at lower cost outside court. We guide you through the process that best fits your dispute.
We review the facts and your goals, and advise whether alternative dispute resolution is likely to work for your dispute.
Many contracts require a set dispute resolution process before court. We check what yours requires and make sure each step is followed.
We recommend the most suitable option, such as negotiation, mediation, expert determination or arbitration, and help select the mediator or other independent person.
We prepare a clear summary of your position and the key documents, and work out with you a realistic range for settlement.
We attend the mediation or other process with you, present your case and negotiate on your behalf.
If agreement is reached, we document it in a binding settlement deed. If not, we advise on your next steps, including court.