Corporate & Commercial

Having the right company and governance structures in place is vital for the compliance obligations of your business. Rigby Cooke can assist you to establish an appropriate legal structure that aligns with your short- and long-term commercial goals.

We then help with all supplementary aspects of structuring, including drafting and negotiating agreements between equity holders, setting up your structure to be tax effective, meeting prospectus and managed investment schemes requirements, and where your structure includes trusts, we will advise you of your rights and obligations of trustees and beneficiaries under trust deeds.

Our team has expertise assisting corporate clients with:

• shareholder and unitholder agreements
• partnership and joint venture agreements
• directors, shareholders and consultants agreements
• employment agreements

If you are planning to list on the Australian Stock Exchange, we can assist with all regulatory requirements, including compliance with listing rules and all disclosure requirements.

Corporate governance is about managing your risk. We can assist businesses in establishing robust corporate governance structures and processes, such as drafting company constitutions, board and shareholder notices and advising on directors’ duties.

We are experienced negotiators and mediators when it comes to discussions between board and management, and can assist with the strategy and delivery of general meetings, corporate announcements and community discussions.

Recent court decisions have highlighted the importance of understanding your personal liabilities if you are a company director or in a management role. We assist senior executives to comply with all relevant regulations and to manage their risk.

Contracts are the foundation of successful business and an effective tool to manage commercial risk.

Reliable, up-to-date advice is crucial to ensure your commercial interests are protected and to enable your business to run smoothly.

Our lawyers have extensive experience in all types of commercial contracts in a broad range of industries including property development, hotels and accommodation, transport and logistics, manufacturing, health and aged care, hospitality and tourism, liquor and gaming, and IT.

We draft contracts that reflect and protect your interests in plain English and advise on agreements that you are considering signing across all facets of your operations including services, distribution, licencing, operations and maintenance, supply, transport, labour hire and agency agreements.

In this age of digital communication services and global operations, it is more important than ever to ensure all aspects of your digital electronic operations are carefully considered. We are experienced in preparing IT and software agreements (including Software as a Service and cloud-based services), terms and conditions for websites and digital platforms and e-commerce arrangements.

We can help you with:

• due diligence before entering into commercial agreements
• drafting, reviewing and negotiating all commercial contracts
• advising on intellectual property rights, obligations and exposures in commercial agreements
• ensuring your contract reflects your obligations under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Australian Consumer Law
• formulating a strategy in the context of contractual disputes and enforcement rights

Rigby Cooke will help you ensure compliance with the regulatory frameworks that apply to your business right from the start, when you are rolling out new initiatives or responding to legislative change, changing your business operations or conducting a review.

As the regulatory environment changes and evolves, we can provide current expert advice that you can rely on to ensure your ongoing compliance. Our advice is always thorough and up-to-date. We stay constantly educated on current and future regulatory changes so that you can rely on our advice to maintain ongoing compliance.

We specialise in advising on the Corporations Act 2001, AML/CTF Act 2006, occupational health and safety legislation, the Privacy Act 1988, the Gambling Regulation Act 2003, the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 and Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

Rigby Cooke has expertise in advising clients on Australian competition and consumer law, including the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

We can assist you with drafting terms and conditions and warranties against defects which reflect the requirements of the ACL.

If an ACCC investigation or enforcement arises, such as actions relating to false and misleading or deceptive conduct, claims of anti-competitive behaviour/conduct or exclusive dealing, we can guide you through the legal process.

We have assisted a number of our clients through the product recall process and in many circumstances, we have successfully implemented a strategy to avoid a product recall altogether.

We also advise you on price fixing and re-sale price maintenance, third-line forcing, boycotts, product labelling and country of origin issues.

Privacy and data protection concerns the management of personal information.

The definition of personal information is broad and it captures most information about an identified individual. This includes names, photographs, basic contact information, credit card details and information about a person’s location at a specific point in time.

Learn more about our privacy and data protection services >>

Our mergers and acquisitions group comprises experienced practitioners across our commercial, tax and workplace relations practice groups.

Learn more about our mergers and acquisitions services >>

The financial services industry is highly complex, heavily regulated and constantly in motion. Providing financial products and services requires in-depth understanding of the regulatory environment and the wide-ranging impacts of the multiplicity of structures and arrangements available.

Rigby Cooke provides guidance on licensing, compliance and disclosure for operators in the financial services industry, including financial advisers, insurance companies and fund managers.

We focus on understanding your business, and our experience dealing successfully with regulators means we can meet our clients’ objectives efficiently.

Rigby Cooke can assist with establishing structures for property arrangement ensuring they comply with all relevant regulatory frameworks.

We can also help you to establish unit trusts and joint ventures, and organise financing.

Navigating the world of financial products, loan agreements and securities documentation requires up-to-date legal acumen and a solid understanding of your situation.

Our lawyers focus on maximising value and minimising risk to you, so you can be confident that when we draft or review your loan agreements, security agreements and Personal Property Securities Act documents, you are getting the best advice available.

Our team’s in-depth understanding of the complexities of financial tools and the regulatory environment in which they exist means we can help you with a broad range of agreements and documentation for senior and mezzanine funding, project finance, security trustees, managed investment schemes and real estate investment trusts.

When you are running a tender, you want to achieve the most favourable result possible for your business. The tender process results in a contract, and you need that contract to preserve your financial interests and protect you from risks that could jeopardise your business operations.

Equally, if you are bidding for a tender, you want to ensure you are protected from unforeseen actions or situations that could compromise your success.

Rigby Cooke can help you ensure your tender or bid documents are well constructed, error-free and contain everything you need to fully represent your position.

We can help you with:

• Request for Pricing/Proposal (RFP) documents
• Request for Tender (RFT) documents
• tender terms and conditions
• probity advice
• bid preparation