Areas of Law

 
Property Law  
 
Our office assists with hundreds of residential conveyances per month, as well as attending to commercial property transactions, whether that be in the form of transfers of land or alternatively, the leasing of commercial property.  
 
 
Business and Commercial Law  
 
This involves all aspects of a business such as incorporation, formation of Trusts, preparation of Shareholder’s Agreements, Partnership Deeds or other documentation designed to govern the management of the business. It also involves the buying and selling of businesses, litigation arising out of business disputes and where appropriate, the ultimate winding up of businesses.  
 
 
Family & Relationships Law  
 
Family and Relationship law is also known as Family Law. It deals with the legal aspects of a person’s relationships with a partner, a spouse, a child or a parent. Naturally, when these relationships are threatened or broken, emotions run very high and our lives are changed forever. Our Family Lawyers are able to offer outstanding expertise and skill evenly tempered with empathy, with a focus on the resolution of these sensitive relationship disputes.  
 
Recent changes to the law, very sensibly impose on disputing parties an obligation to first explore opportunities of resolving matters through negotiation, by consent. This is certainly our preferred way of resolving relationship disputes, with minimal strain on you, both emotional and financial. Our lawyers help you achieve a negotiated outcome which has the advantage that you retain control over the final outcome rather than entrusting it to a third party whose decision may or may not be palatable to you.  
 
When you reach agreement, we help you write it up either as a Consent Order or a Binding Financial Agreement for married couples; or a Recognized Separation Agreement in the case of De Facto couples; a Child Support Agreement, or whichever document that best applies to your circumstances. We ensure that your interests are taken care of by correctly and properly documenting your hard earned settlement.  
 
In a very small percentage of matters where a settlement cannot be achieved, we will represent you in Court and guide you through the different stages of the Court process and safeguard your interests.  
 
 
Preparation of a Will & Power of Attorney  
 
Everyone should have a Will. The completion of a Will is one of the most important things you need to do in life, so as to assist in the timely distribution of your Estate, in accordance with your wishes and to ensure minimal difficulties for your family. The absence of a Will may mean that your Estate will be distributed in a fashion that does not meet your wishes.  
 
Just as everyone should have a Will, so too should everyone have an Enduring Power of Attorney. With such a document, in the event of an illness or accident, you will have the person of your choice managing your affairs. The absence of such a document could mean that your affairs cannot be managed by a person of your choice, and could result in a complete stranger doing so.  
 
 
Debt Recovery  
 
As with most Litigation, most Debt Recovery matters settle by negotiation. They can, however, proceed through the entire Court process to a hearing, judgment and enforcement.  
 
 
Criminal Law  
 
This involves the entire range of criminal proceedings from pleas of guilty in relation to minor matters such as driving offences through to more serious matters such as assault and even murder charges.  
 
 
Construction Law  
 
The building industry is one which, by its very nature, results in an enormous amount of commercial disputes. Construction Law is, to a great extent, Commercial Litigation as it relates to disputes arising in this industry but also in drafting and interpreting agreements and contracts in an effort to avoid the disputes.  
 
 
Administrative Law  
 
Administrative Law is essentially the law associated with having decisions of Government Departments reviewed by an independent body.  
 
 
Commercial Litigation  
 
Whenever a dispute arises between two or more people over any type of commercial transaction, there are at least two sides to the argument. In most instances the parties can sort it out amongst themselves by reaching agreement. If they can’t reach a resolution themselves the Court system provides a mechanism by which an independent person can listen to all sides and make a decision as to who is right and who is wrong. Taking those matters to the Courts is the process of Commercial Litigation.  
 
 
General Practice  
 
The general practice of law is something which distinguishes our firm from many of the CBD law firms who concentrate on a niche area. Few of our clients are large corporations. Most of our clients are families, retirees and small business owners. In the course of life we all come across one-off events in relation to which we require assistance. Our firm attempts to meet those needs of our clients. In the event that a client needs assistance in a niche or specialty area in which we do not practice, we are able to refer those clients to experts in those particular fields. In those circumstances we remain involved so that we can track the progress of our client’s claim.