Commercial & Business Law

Services

We assist business owners, directors and entrepreneurs across all stages of business, from formation and growth through to sale or succession.

We advise on the establishment and operation of business structures including sole traders, partnerships, companies, and trusts. The right structure can influence taxation, liability, control, and future growth. We ensure your business is set up correctly from the outset, and remains compliant as it evolves.

Our team assists directors and officers to understand and meet their obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). We provide advice on company governance, ASIC reporting, directors’ duties, and company secretarial compliance, ensuring your business operates ethically and within the law.

We draft and review contracts, service agreements and executive employment arrangements, ensuring they align with both commercial objectives and regulatory obligations. We also help clarify rights, remuneration, performance obligations and termination clauses to prevent disputes.

When providing a personal or director’s guarantee, it’s critical to understand the risks involved. We offer independent legal advice for guarantors, ensuring you fully understand your obligations before signing and helping to protect your personal assets.

Adoption is the legal process by which a child ceases to be the legal child of his or her birth parents and becomes instead the child of the adoptive parents, as if born to them.

We can help you with the process of adoption, which is relatively straightforward.

Sale and purchase of businesses

Shareholder, unitholder, partnership and joint venture documents

Business succession

Franchising agreements, disputes and advice

Loan and financing arrangements

Terms of trade, supply and distribution agreements

Internet and media issues

Commercial contracts

Privacy law

Corporations Law

Personal Property Securities advice

Business settlements

Business structures

Management contracts and rights

Joint venture agreements

Strata Management

Independent advice for guarantors

Business Structures

Choosing the right business structure is one of the most important decisions you will make when starting or growing your business. The structure you select, whether sole trader, partnership, company or trust, affects how you pay tax, your personal liability, access to capital and your long-term growth options. We provide tailored advice to help you establish and manager the structure that best supports your commercial goals and risk profile. We explain the advantages and disadvantages of each option in plain language, ensuring you understand how each choice impacts control, compliance and future succession. We assist with:

Setting up companies, partnerships and trusts;

Drafting partnership, shareholder or joint venture agreements;

Restructuring businesses for growth or asset protection;

Advising on Corporations Act and ASIC compliance; and

Preparing documentation for new ventures and investments.

Shareholder, Partnership and JV Documents

Clear, well-drafted agreements are essential to protect the interests of everyone involved in a business. We assist in the preparation and review of shareholder, partnership and JV agreements that set out each party’s rights, responsibilities and obligations. These documents define how decisions are made, how profits are distributed and what happens if a partner wants to exit or sell their interest. They also cover important governance issues such as voting rights, capital contributions, restraint of trade and dispute resolution processes. We assist clients to:

Draft or review shareholder agreements for companies and unit trusts;

Prepare partnership and JV agreements for business collaborations;

Negotiate and formalise ownerships, management and exit terms;

Resolve disputes between shareholders, partners or joint venturers; and

Align legal frameworks with commercial objectives.

Business Succession Planning

Business Succession Planning is planning for the transition in the management and/or ownership of a business.

We work with you and your key advisors in your business such as your accountant, insurance and financial advisors. This ensures all your Business Succession arrangements are optimised for the best legal, financial, tax and insurance purposes to protect your business in the event of an involuntary exit (such as death, total permanent disability or trauma) or a voluntary exit (such as retirement, resignation or sale) of an owner/manager.

Anton Conti

Principal

Michael Taylor

Director

Godfrey Taylor

Consultant

Need more information?

If you would like any more information on commercial/business law matters please contact our team today.