Find Lawyers in Melbourne, Australia for Commercial Law
Practice Area Overview
At its heart, corporate/commercial law involves:
- The consideration of the Law of Contract as it applies to corporations engaging in trade and commerce; and
- The interpretation and application of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) which is the central statute governing corporate law in Australia.
As such, the practice of corporate/commercial law in Australia requires:- A deep understanding of the Law of Contract which is largely derived from the Common Law (i.e. case-based and Court-developed precedent) with certain parameters imposed by statute (such as legislation dealing with consumer protection, unjust contracts, competition/anti-trust law, and time-bars on claims)
- Considerable knowledge and experience of corporate law, in particular the Corporations Act which applies to bodies corporate and includes foreign incorporated bodies carrying on business in Australia and certain trust structures such as managed investment schemes.
The Corporations Act governs: the establishment of corporations; membership rights and obligations; corporate governance (e.g. director's duties and requirements for meetings of members and directors); solvency; funding (both debt and equity) and the associated financial services licensing regime which regulates offers of financial products, providing financial advice and related services; capital management (e.g. share buybacks, capital reductions, and financial assistance); continuous disclosure, disclosure of direct and indirect share ownership and related issues such as insider trading, where company securities trade on a financial market; and acquisitions (including public company takeovers, schemes of arrangement, and compulsory acquisition of securities).
It is also important in the practice of corporate and commercial law in Australia to have an understanding of a number of important regulatory bodies, such as the Takeovers Panel (which has a significant oversight of takeovers and schemes of arrangement involving companies with 50 members or more) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) (the main Australian corporate regulator, which operates under a separate statute and is responsible for both the regulation of bodies corporate and the development of policy and guidelines for the operation of the Corporations Act). Additionally, in the listed company environment, an understanding of the financial markets and financial markets operators that carry on business in Australia, (principally ASX Ltd and the listing rules of ASX Ltd) is required.
As a consequence, corporate/commercial lawyers are required to have the skills and experience to canvass a very wide range of issues at some depth.
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James has experience in a broad range of commercial and intellectual property matters, including intellectual property commercialisation, agreements and licensing, trade mark registrability and infringement issues. James also has extensive experience in technology procurement, licensing and outsourcing matters. This work includes drafting and advising on IT contracts, including software licences, software, platform and infrastructure as a service agreements, software development agreements, I...
More than 20 years’ experience as a commercial and corporate lawyer in Perth and Melbourne has shaped Mark’s pragmatic and solutions-driven approach to practice. Since establishing the firm’s Melbourne office in 2006, Mark has advised clients on major technology projects, innovative and greenfield business models, acquisitions, divestments and commercial partnerships and relationships. Mark’s background also includes extensive experience in banking and finance, having ...
BAR PRACTICE 1988- : Full-time mixed trial, appellate and advisory practice. Dr Freckelton is an experienced silk who practises in a broad range of areas throughout Australia and internationally in cases which require a high level of strategic skills and close analysis of technical material in the form of expert evidence. Dr Freckelton has particular skills in addressing the broader repercussions of legal disputation so that clients can achieve outcomes which address the issues that have take...
David is a litigation and commercial lawyer with more than 20 years of experience. Hispractice is focused on complex commercial and contractual disputes in various Australian jurisdictions as well as providing his clients with general commercial and business advice. He has wide-ranging experience across many industries, including real estate, energy & resources (including renewable energy), manufacturing and construction, and IT. His experience has been built on being fortunate enough to ...
Michael specialises in corporate and personal insolvency law and is recognised as one of Australia’s leading insolvency lawyers. He acts regularly for banks, financial institutions and other secured lenders providing advice in relation to the security enforcement. He acts for insolvency practitioners in all types of personal and corporate business restructuring and insolvency administrations. Michael is regularly engaged to act for companies and directors providing advice on the restruc...
Tony has been the Hall & Wilcox Managing Partner since 2007. He is well recognised in the legal sector and has led the firm through a period of substantial growth and success. Tony won Managing Partner of the Year at the Australian Law Awards in 2017 and 2015 (and was a finalist in 2014 and 2016). He was also a finalist for Law Firm Leader at the Australasian Law Awards in 2017. Tony won the Law Institute of Victoria Managing Partner of the Year Award in 2009. Tony, as Managing Partner of...
Harry is the lead partner of the Hall & Wilcox financial services practice .Harry's practice focuses extensively on financial services, corporate advisory and general corporate and commercial work. Harry has represented a number of listed public companies, large private companies and government organisations. His clients include all types of financial services businesses, including responsible entities, financial planners, superannuation funds, investment advisers, insurance brokers, corp...
Ed’s practice covers private mergers & acquisitions (both local and international), with particular specialism in mid-market deals in Australia, distressed M&A and inbound international transactions. Ed has significant experience running large projects including company establishment, corporate restructures and succession for large family groups. Ed has advised on over 200 M&A transactions including acting for buyers and sellers across a range of sectors in share sales, busi...
Martin practices commercial law with extensive experience in contracts and commercial litigation. Martin focuses on corporate, commercial, regulatory and private clients, with particular expertise in the sports and media sectors. Martin’s clients include public and private corporations, numerous well known national and international sporting organisations, governing bodies, athletes, sponsors, agencies and high profile individuals. Martin has worked on high-profile and complex transacti...
Jonathan Tisher is well regarded within the Victorian property legal industry. He acts for some of the largest property developers in Victoria and has carried out the legal work on a number of significant landmark buildings within the State. Renowned for his expertise, Jonathan sits on numerous committees and regularly presents to various legal and professional bodies. Jonathan practices in property, leasing, town planning and commercial law. He oversees a variety of property matters (off the...
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