Commercial Law

Commercial law is a comprehensive and complex topic – relevant to different aspects of the society and crucial to the success of your business.

We act for a wide range of business entities and will create a solution tailored to your unique needs and circumstances that occur throughout the life of a business.

As commercially astute lawyers, we are here to assist you with various commercial law issues, including but not limited to the following:

Purchase or sale of business

Buying or selling a business requires careful planning to ensure that agreed terms and conditions are properly negotiated and documented in a written contract. The contract should detail the parties’ rights and obligations, correctly deal with GST matters and set out the process to manage various contingencies.

Your contract and incidental agreements (e.g. lease or hire agreements) should be properly reviewed with due diligence prior to settlement.

Commercial Leases

A commercial lease sets out the legal terms and conditions through which the business may occupy premises and run the enterprise. Whether you are a lessor or lessee, a lease agreement should be formally prepared and reviewed by an experienced lawyer to ensure a balance of rights between the parties. Many lease disputes can be avoided with careful drafting and review to ensure all terms and conditions are clear and complete.

When the premises are regarded as a retail shop, the lease will be regulated by the Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW). We will provide legal advice in that regard to make sure statutory requirements are complied with.

Business Structure

Business structure is an important consideration for any venture. The structure through which your business operates is chosen based on your personal objectives, financial circumstances, future plans for the business and tax implications.

For example, you may set up a company with limited liability to provide a certain level of protection for its officers and shareholders due to the separate liability for the company’s debts. By contrast, in a partnership structure, partners have unlimited personal responsibility for the debts and liabilities of the partnership business. While setting up a trust can provide asset protection and favourable taxation benefits, it should be properly established and administered to ensure that the benefits outweigh the costs and ongoing fees.

Corporate Law

Corporate law issues are largely governed by the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) nowadays, including company incorporation, company dealings, officers and employees, director’s duties, member’s rights and remedies, issuing, buying and selling shares, insolvency, liquidation and administration, etc. Civil and even criminal penalties may be imposed on the company and individuals when you fail to comply with the law. Therefore, it is crucial that you have a corporate lawyer help you handle the expected and unexpected situations throughout the course of your business.

Disputes resolutions

Commercial disputes may be resolved without resorting to expensive and time-consuming litigation proceedings at court. Our lawyers will review your situation and suggest the most appropriate and cost-effective way to resolve a commercial dispute.

For instance, debt recovery is an unfortunate but common situation experienced by many businesses. There are various ways to pursue a unpaid debt including commencing court proceedings. However, you will save time and money by serving a statutory demand under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) at the initial stage and use litigation as a last resort.

Other Commercial Dealings

Business contracts are fundamental to enterprises and govern the legal rights and responsibilities of the parties for a range of commercial transactions. These include supply/service agreements, licence agreements, loan agreements, franchises, etc. It is important for the parties to be aware of their respective rights and obligations before entering into a commercial contract for the avoidance of any potential disputes at a later stage.

The above-mentioned scenarios are just some of the typical matters you are likely to encounter as a business owner or a company director. We have developed many trusted relationships with our business clients of varying sizes and operating across a range of industries.

If you need any assistance contact one of our lawyers at info@legalpointlawyers.com.au or call +61 2 9283 8588 for a no-obligation discussion and for expert legal advice.

Related Q & A

Q: In what circumstance, the company is in ‘insolvent trading’?
A:

When a company incurs a debt when the company is insolvent; or when a company becomes insolvent by incurring a debt.

Q: Who bears the cost of the commercial lease?
A:

In the past, the general approach had been that the tenant was liable for the entire lease costs. However, the recent trend is that each party bears its own costs for the lease. When the premise are difficult to lease, the tenant may negotiate with the landlord and seek concessions such as the la

Q: What is a bank guarantee?
A:

A bank guarantee is an unconditional promise by a bank, on behalf of the bank’s customer, to pay the recipient of the guarantee the amount of the guarantee on written demand. It is an alternative to providing a security deposit or bond to a supplier, vendor or landlord. Bank guarantees requ

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