While Australian businesses are said to be the backbone of our economy, running one comes with a maze of challenges. Companies are highly regulated, and businesses of varying sizes must comply with numerous laws to exist, let alone be successful.
Whether you’re starting a new venture, growing one, facing a roadblock, or ready to retire, TED Legal is on your team. Our commercially focused and insightful lawyers have a wealth of experience and can deliver comprehensive solutions tailored to your needs.
As specialists in business and property law, we’ve helped numerous individuals, small businesses and SMEs navigate a range of business matters.
Business structures
Choosing the right business structure is fundamental. We can guide you through the options, including partnerships, joint ventures, companies, trusts, and franchises, ensuring your business is set up right from the start. We can also assist with restructuring, partnership dissolutions, and corporate restructures.
Buying or selling a business
If you are buying or selling a business, we can draft, review, and negotiate the contract to ensure what you’ve agreed to is documented and your interests are protected. This often includes consideration of incidental arrangements that form part of the negotiations (commercial leases, service agreements, intellectual property) to ensure they are suitable, and the rights and obligations can be properly transferred between the parties.
Business contracts and advice
Commercial transactions should be documented in a written contract setting out the parties’ rights and responsibilities with clear terms regarding the scope of services or products to be provided, warranties and indemnities, etc. Our commercial lawyers can prepare or review your legal contracts to ensure the contract terms and conditions are compliant and suitable for your business.
Copyright, trademarks and patents
Intellectual property, or IP, refers to any unique idea capable of being owned. If someone develops or buys IP, they may be able to protect it from being used without their permission. The tools to protect IP in Australia are copyright, patents, trademarks, registered designs, plant breeder’s rights and circuit layouts. We can help you manage and enforce your intellectual property rights and register designs, patents and trademarks.
Commercial and retail leasing
If you need an office, shop, warehouse, or other space to run your business you may need to enter a commercial lease. Similarly, if you own commercial or retail premises that you rent out, you will need an agreement containing provisions to ensure your investment is protected.
A lease agreement is a significant financial investment, so it is important to ensure that:
- the premises are suitable for the planned purposes
- commercial provisions (the term, rent and rent increases, renewal options, fit-out provisions, etc.) are appropriate for your business or investment plans
- the lease is compliant with applicable retail leasing legislation, if relevant
- the lease includes provisions to address a range of contingencies or unforeseen events
A carefully drafted lease agreement with clear terms puts the parties on the same page at the beginning of the relationship and helps avoid future disputes. We can assist with all your retail and commercial leasing needs.
Debt recovery
As most business owners know, making money is one thing, ensuring that you are paid is another. The financial viability of a business can be heavily dependent upon whether accounts are paid on time. While a business may be able to recoup an outstanding account with a friendly reminder, sometimes it’s necessary to outsource the debt recovery to a commercial lawyer. We can assist with the whole process of recovering money owed to your business, from issuing a letter of demand, commencing court proceedings (if necessary) and enforcing a court judgment.
Commercial disputes & litigation
Commercial disputes can be detrimental to a business, affecting its financial stability, operations and potentially, its reputation. If your business is facing a commercial dispute, acting quickly and seeking competent legal advice can significantly minimise the impact. Doing so can help you resolve the matter without expensive litigation and before the matter becomes more complicated. We offer dispute resolution services and business litigation covering a range of problems including breach of contract, building and property disputes, debt recovery, copyright infringement, and partnership/shareholder disputes.
Business succession & asset protection
A succession plan is a statement of what will happen to your business when you are no longer involved, whether by choice or chance. It should include financial, legal and operational steps and strategies to help protect assets and enable your business to survive the loss of key people. We work with business clients and their families using various structures and plans to help keep hard-earned assets safe.
Our commercial services can help get your business startup or microbusiness off to a good start, or nurture and sustain your established enterprise. We can work with your financial or accounting professionals, or our strategic partners in these areas, to ensure a holistic approach to your business planning.
If you need assistance contact [email protected] or call 07 5657 8919.