Service
Corporate Law & Commercial Litigation.
Whether buying or selling property or a business, we can assist you with professional, expert advice and assistance, at a competitive rate.
With the confidence of knowing that a solicitor is overseeing all conveyancing work, you can rest assured that your matter is in safe hands.We also offer advice on building and construction contracts, to ensure that you are aware of your rights and obligations when building your home, and investment or larger developments.
CORPORATE LAW
Business And Corporate Advice
At Legal Concerns we have wealth of experience and provide useful and practical services to our clients in regards to their business needs.We can assist you in buying or selling a business, or leasing premises, as a landlord, or tenant. We provide a support for your settlement and dispute resolution.We also give advice and assist in relation to Joint Venture, Partnership and Franchise Agreements.
Corporate Insolvency
The business environment is complex and increasingly volatile. When a business is in trouble, an experienced team who understands the issues and obligations of creditors and debtors is critical in achieving the best possible outcome. We offer help to you and your business by providing expert advice to achieve results with certainty and speed, whilst at the same time, working to reduce the loss on other aspects of your business.
Credit Management
One of the biggest challenges for any business is ensuring that there is sufficient cash flow to manage the requirements of the business. By ensuring adequate Credit Management procedures are in place to ensure that you are controlling and collecting payments from your customers or clients. A good credit management system will help you reduce the amount of capital tied up with debtors and minimise your exposure to bad debts. We can help you with drafting terms and conditions on all quotes, estimates, contracts, agreements, purchase orders, and related documentation. Some terms and conditions that are important to consider: Penalties for late payment Retention of title’ clause where you retain title to the goods, or a ‘lien’ clause where you retain a clients file or documents, until payment is made Your policy on returns and refunds Your policy on refund of deposits Incentives for early payment whether a fee is charged for payment by credit card
Personal Insolvency
Being unable to manage your debts can be caused by various reasons, some of which may be beyond your control. Sudden unemployment, ill health and breakdowns in family relationships are often events that can trigger financial hardship. It is important to recognise financial difficulty at the earliest so that you can address the situation before it beyond reasonable control. Recognising you need help can be the first and most crucial step to avoiding resort to options that you would otherwise prefer to avoid. We can assist you in dealing with debt including advising you of your rights and responsibilities, arranging informal and formal agreements, voluntary bankruptcy and dealing with debtors and creditors
Areas of Practice
Contracts and Terms of Engagement Sale or Purchase of assets, businesses, companies or trusts Personal and Corporate Insolvency Asset Protection and Restructuring Franchise Disputes Bank or Consumer disputes Trade Practices issues
COMMERCIAL LITIGATION
Our aim is to obtain your desired outcome in the most cost effective and expeditious manner. If possible we seek to resolve your dispute without resort to litigation. Where necessary litigation will be prosecuted or defended vigorously on your behalf. We are prepared to take on Melbourne’s larger litigation practices.
CORPORATE STRUCTURES AND ADVISORY
Australia offers a number of different company and business structures. Legal Concerns can help you identify the best structure for liability, cost, tax effectiveness and ongoing regulations. We will also act as Australian agents, where necessary, to overcome the requirement of having an Australian resident director. Australia’s regulatory system is highly efficient with company registrations, with most companies or other business structures able to be set up in less than a week. Beyond simply registering a company, we can help secure an office, put together all staffing agreements and other internal regulatory documents and put in place appropriate infrastructure so that your business is ready to operate.
AREAS OF PRACTISE
Commercial and Contractual
Disputes Debt Recovery
Property Disputes
Motor Vehicle Collisions
Building and Construction
Disputes
OUR EXPERTISE
Our lead commercial transactions lawyer has experience managing and advising on commercial transactions in some of the world’s largest law firms. He has successfully established hundreds of companies in Australia, helped structure some of Australia’s emerging investment companies and retail operations, and advised on large international takeovers.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Many companies choose to enter Australia by purchasing or merging with an existing company. This can be done in a variety of ways, ranging from a joint venture with an Australian company through to acquiring a publicly listed company, enabling you to enter the Australian market with an established brand and existing business systems. If the appropriate company is selected for takeover, this can also be a relatively cost effective means of entering the Australian market. The process involved in acquiring an Australian company can be extremely complex, but will be managed by the team at Legal Concerns. We can negotiate with the target company on your behalf, put in place all necessary legal protections and documentation and ensure that the takeover runs smoothly. Australia has a unique mergers and acquisitions framework, with takeovers being regulated outside of the normal jurisdiction of courts. An appropriately structured takeover can allow for an efficient and straightforward transition process. Larger takeovers may fall within the jurisdiction of the ‘Takeovers Panel’, which regulates with the aim of achieving ‘fair’ takeovers, rather than looking to the wording of the law. Legal Concerns offers specialist advice on these takeovers, and our team has extensive experience managing major companies through the Takeover Panel process. The team has been successful in taking over numerous companies and assets, even where the directors of the target company refused to negotiate and rejected the takeover offer.
FOREIGN INVESTORS AND FIRB
As a general rule, international investors wishing to purchase Australian real estate must receive approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). The FIRB was established as a mechanism to regulate foreign investment into Australia, and was underpinned by a desire to create a clear path by which companies from the United States could acquire Australian assets. As Australia drifts further away from the United States and further toward its neighbours in Asia, the direction of FIRB has slowly changed. The unfortunate reality is that FIRB can still pose a significant administrative hurdle to investing in Australian property. There are many different ways of clearing this hurdle, depending on the individual investor’s circumstances. Larger property purchases may require significant strategic planning to work within the framework of both FIRB and Chinese outbound currency laws. We can discuss a multitude of options available. For those who do not wish to engage with FIRB, it is possible to locate properties which are exempt from FIRB approval requirements. We can assist you in the search for one of these properties.
