Commercial Law, Insolvency & Tax

We understand the importance of preparing and maintaining thorough and strategic commercial agreements between all business stakeholders.  Our commercial team will structure, draft, implement and administer your commercial agreements, focusing on your commercial objectives.  Our team has extensive experience preparing a wide range of commercial agreements, including:

• Shareholder and Unitholder agreements
• Partnership agreements
• Joint Venture agreements
• Licence, Management and Service agreements
• Intercompany Loan agreements
• Financing, Mortgages and other security agreements
• Share purchase and sale agreements
• Asset purchase and sale agreements
• Consultancy and employment agreements
• Intellectual Property Agreements
• General Commercial and Business agreements
• Deeds of Settlement and Releases

When resolving disputes, we appreciate that some clients may place priority on maintaining a positive relationship with other parties involved, while other clients may seek a stronger or direct approach. Regardless, we will work with you to reach commercially practical and realistic solutions in all commercial areas including:

• Shareholder and partnership disputes
• Contractual and other commercial disputes
• Intellectual property disputes
• Property and construction disputes
• Trust, equity and beneficiary disputes
• Debt recovery
• Interlocutory and urgent injunctions and freezing orders

Our lawyers often seek to resolve disputes through Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR). These include mediation, arbitration, conciliation, and formal and informal settlement conferences. Through our professional and creative approach, disputes often settle with clients having achieved their commercial objectives.

It is inevitable that some cases will proceed to litigation. We will carefully craft a litigation strategy that reflects your commercial objectives, and work with you to achieve a successful outcome. With a technically competent and astute litigation team, along with our network of expert witnesses and barristers, we will represent you in:

• the Federal Court of Australia;
• the Court of Appeal of NSW;
• the Supreme Court of NSW;
• the District Court of NSW;
• the NSW Local Court;
• the Administrative Appeals Tribunals (AAT); and
• the NSW Civil and Administrative tribunals (NCAT).

Our team of tax lawyers have the skills and experience to navigate you through audit activity and negotiate successful settlements on all forms of taxation disputes with revenue authorities.

If necessary, we are highly equipped with comprehensive knowledge of tax legislation, policies and precedent cases, to advise and litigate complex and technical tax disputes. In this regard, we have extensive experience in representing clients in:

• Reviews and audits by the ATO and Revenue NSW;
• Section 353-10 notices for interviews or requests for information;
• Responding to position papers, Reasons for Decisions and requests for information;
• The Objection process;
• Defending tax recovery proceedings; and
• Tax Appeals before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Federal Court of Australia or the NSW Supreme Court .

We advise on legitimate and professional strategies to assist you with your tax obligations and minimise taxation. Our team of tax lawyers actively ensure that your business affairs are compliant with current laws, and that your tax structure obtains optimal results in areas including:

• Income tax
• Corporate and transactional tax
• Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Capital Gains tax
• Payroll tax
• Tax planning related to property, shares and restructuring
• Tax audits, compliance and risk analysis

Our insolvency team has detailed knowledge of Australian corporations law and insolvency cases and procedures. We act for insolvency practitioners, directors and secured creditors, and provide our legal services and advice in:

• Corporate restructuring
• Company Liquidations, Voluntary Administrations and Receiverships
• Voidable transactions, including prosecuting or defending claims for unfair preferences, uncommercial transactions, insolvent transactions, unfair loans, and unreasonable director-related transactions.
• Public examinations
• ASIC investigations, including director disqualifications
• Director penalty notices
• Negotiations with secured creditors
• Statutory demands