Business & Commercial Law
Commercial and business law covers a broad range of legal matters that impact business and commerce. Running a business requires navigating numerous rules, regulations, and compliance issues. Whether you’re already in business or starting a new venture, it’s essential to understand that you will likely encounter various legal challenges, opportunities, and decisions. In these situations, tailored legal advice from experienced professionals can be invaluable. Our team can assist you with:
- Structuring and apportioning the purchase price, including goodwill, stock, plant, equipment, and inventory
- Evaluating the suitability of and arranging transfers for ancillary agreements such as commercial leases and service contracts
- Handling intellectual property, including business names, trademarks, and domain names, and facilitating the transfer of these assets to the new owner
- Managing employment arrangements, such as transfers, offers, redundancies, and calculating leave and other entitlements
- Addressing restraint of trade and confidentiality provisions
- Negotiating training periods, representations, and warranties
Choosing a Business Structure
Selecting the right business structure is a critical decision when setting up a new venture. Your choice depends on the nature of the business, your financial situation, and your future plans and goals. We can help you determine the most suitable structure and provide guidance on your legal obligations.
- Sole Trader: If you’re starting a small business alone, operating as a sole trader may be appropriate. A sole trader is legally responsible for all aspects of the business and operates with an ABN.
- Partnership: If you’re starting a business with others, a partnership might be more suitable. A formal partnership agreement can clarify each partner’s responsibilities and outline procedures for termination, retirement, or sale. While there is an upfront cost to setting up an agreement, it can prevent costly disputes in the future.
- Company: Operating as a registered company offers protection for directors and officers, as the company is a separate legal entity. However, this structure incurs ongoing costs and reporting obligations, and directors have various duties they must uphold.
- Trusts: Using a trust structure may provide tax advantages and other benefits, but it must be properly set up and administered to achieve the desired outcomes.
Commercial Agreements
Most commercial arrangements and transactions should be governed by a written contract. Whether you’re dealing with commercial or retail leases, licensing agreements, or supply contracts, it’s wise to have a lawyer review the fine print. We can draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of contracts, whether they relate to a one-off transaction or if you need a standard contract template for recurring transactions.
Debt Collection
Debt collection is an unfortunate but common aspect of running a business. Even with the best relationships, clients sometimes fail to pay invoices on time. If your calls and follow-ups are being ignored, we can assist you.
Recovering a debt can be straightforward, but the legal status of the debtor and the amount owed must be carefully considered. Choosing the right method of recovery depends on the circumstances, the nature of the debt, and the terms of any relevant contracts.
Our team will provide expert legal advice designed to help you recover any debt owed as efficiently as possible, whether through negotiation, court action, or other legal processes. We can also assist you in developing credit policies, terms of trade, contracts, and recovery strategies to minimise bad debts in the future.
For expert legal advice, contact us at reception@rjilegal.com.au or call 02 9466 5189.