Business
Business and commercial lawyers in Richmond
Most commercial legal problems are cheap to prevent and expensive to fix. A lease signed without reading the make-good clause, a shareholder arrangement nobody wrote down, a business bought without checking what came with it — each of those is a modest piece of work beforehand and a substantial one afterwards. We do the beforehand work, and the afterwards work when it is already too late for the first kind.
- Franchise agreement reviewBuying a franchise? The disclosure document, the agreement and the lease all have to work together. We read all three before you sign. Fixed fee quoted first.
- Buying or selling a businessBusiness sale and purchase agreements, due diligence, lease assignment and restraints. The lease is what derails most sales. Fixed fee quoted in writing first.
- Shareholder agreementsWhat happens if a founder leaves, dies, or you cannot agree. A shareholder agreement decides it while everyone is still friendly. Fixed fee quoted in writing first.
- Commercial contracts and termsSupply, service and distribution agreements, terms and conditions, and contractor agreements. Drafted or reviewed. Fixed fee quoted in writing before we start.
What we do
Leases. Retail and commercial leases for tenants and landlords — review, negotiation, renewals, assignments, rent reviews, make-good and disputes. This is the single largest source of avoidable commercial cost we see.
Contracts. Supply, distribution and service agreements. Terms and conditions. Employment and contractor agreements. The documents that govern how your business actually earns money.
Structures. Trust establishment, shareholder agreements and asset protection. We also advise on company registration, constitutions and corporate changes, with each task scoped separately.
Buying and selling. Business sale and purchase agreements, due diligence, lease assignments, restraints and earn-outs.
Disputes. Breach of contract, shareholder and partnership disputes, leasing disputes, debt recovery, and the tribunal and court proceedings that follow when negotiation does not resolve them.
How we price it
Fixed-fee options are available for defined pieces of work — a lease review, a company setup, a set of terms and conditions — and you always receive a written estimate before we begin.
Disputes cannot honestly be fixed end to end, because neither we nor anyone else controls what the other side does. We fix the cost of each stage instead, so you always know what the next step costs before you take it.
Why a solicitor rather than a template
Plenty of commercial documents can be downloaded. Some of them are fine. The difficulty is that a template cannot tell you which clause matters for your situation, and the clauses that cause disputes are rarely the ones a non-specialist would look at twice.
A shareholder agreement that does not deal with what happens when one founder wants out. A lease with a demolition clause the tenant did not notice. A sale agreement with a restraint that is unenforceable, or one that is enforceable and much wider than the seller realised. These are not exotic problems. They are the ordinary ones.
Working with us
You deal with a solicitor, not a queue. Enquiries are answered within one business day by someone who has read what you sent, and if a matter has a deadline on it, that moves it up the order.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to review a commercial lease?
The cost depends on the length and complexity of the lease and the amount of negotiation required. We provide a written estimate before work begins, and fixed-fee options where appropriate. It is worth separating the two things you might be buying: a review and written advice is one piece of work, and negotiating the lease with the other side is another.
Do you act for landlords as well as tenants?
Yes, though not on both sides of the same lease. We act for landlords on drafting, rent reviews, renewals, assignments, defaults and enforcement, and for tenants on review, negotiation and disputes.
Can you help me set up a company and a trust?
Yes. Company registration and corporate changes sit in our Companies area. We also prepare discretionary and unit trusts and the shareholder or unitholder agreements that may sit alongside the structure. Legal and tax advice should be coordinated before you start trading.
I am buying a business. What do you actually do?
Review or draft the sale agreement, carry out legal due diligence on what you are buying, deal with the lease assignment if premises are involved, and check the restraint, the employee entitlements and any contracts that transfer with the business. The lease assignment is the step that most often derails a sale, because it needs the landlord's consent.
Do you handle commercial disputes?
Yes — breach of contract, shareholder and partnership disputes, leasing disputes, debt recovery, and proceedings at VCAT or in court where they become necessary. We start with a fixed-fee assessment of the merits so you can decide whether the dispute is worth running before you commit to it.
We are a small business. Are we too small for you?
No. We are a small firm ourselves and most of our commercial clients are owner-operated businesses. If a matter is genuinely better handled elsewhere we will say so rather than take it on.
Send the document if you have one. If there is a deadline, tell us the date.
Tell us what you are dealing withLet's start the conversation.
Tell us about your matter and we'll respond within one business day. Transparent fees: a written estimate before work begins, fixed-fee options where we can, and we tell you immediately if the scope changes.