Whether you are starting a business and looking for legal advice, looking for a business lawyer to assist with commercial litigation or planning to buy or sell a business our team solicitors can help. We have sound experience across many different industries. We offer practical legal solutions to individuals, small businesses and SMEs.

Vanguard Legal offers the following legal services:

• Business structures: If you are establishing a new business enterprise we can help you make sure that you are setting the business up soundly, whether by partnership, joint venture, company, trust or franchise. If you’re looking to restructure your business we can help with partnership dissolutions and corporate restructures.
• Business contracts: We can prepare or review all types of legal contracts including purchase or sale of business, Put and Call Options, franchise agreements, supply agreements, service agreements, distribution agreements, partnership agreements, commercial contracts. We’ll make sure that the contract terms and conditions are suitable for your business now and into the future and ensure that due diligence standards are met.
• Commercial disputes and litigation: We offer dispute resolution services and business litigation covering a wide range of problems including breach of contract, building and property disputes, debt recovery, copyright infringement and partnership disputes.
• Corporations law: We can assist with shareholders agreements, advice on corporate governance, documenting company administrations.
• Franchises: If you’re looking to buy into a franchise we can help you go through the franchise agreement and franchisor disclosure documents to make sure that you are aware of all of the issues that could make or break your new business.
• Copyright, trademarks and patents: We can help you manage and enforce your intellectual property rights, including litigation where needed. We can also help you with registering designs, patents and trademarks.
• Property and leasing: We can assist with retail leasing and commercial leasing for both landlords and tenants. We can also assist with the sale or purchase of commercial property.
• Commercial law and small business legal advice: We offer small business legal help in a wide range of matters including trade practices law and consumer law.
• Workplace and employment: We can draw up or review employment contracts and workplace agreements as well as assist with disputes and unfair dismissals. We can also assist with occupational health and safety issues.
• Bankruptcy and insolvency: We can assist with the whole process of recovering money owed to you from an initial Letter of Demand through to Statement of Claim and Court Judgment.
• Business succession and asset protection: You need a plan in place to make sure that your business and personal assets are protected. We can work with your business and family to devise a plan that keeps your hard won assets safe through unit, discretionary and family trusts, Wills and/or Powers of Attorney.
• Sale and Purchase of business: We can assist with the entire process of your Sale and/or Purchase of business including liaising with financial institutions, transfers of liquor licences and poker machine entitlements, transfers of equipment licences, arranging due diligence searches and inspections, and organising and attending settlement.

Our business legal services can help get business startups and microbusinesses off to a good start and help nurture and sustain more established businesses and corporate enterprises.

Contact us to find out more or to arrange a consultation with our lawyers today.

Vanguard Legal have experienced lawyers to help with all stages of WA business or property transactions whether you are buying or selling a business, home, unit, vacant [Read more…]

What is Civil Litigation

Civil litigation is the process of dispute resolution between members of a community through the court system. Civil law grants to individuals the right to sue for compensation or for specific action in matters such as breach of contract, defamation and negligence.
When can I sue someone?

If you feel that you’ve been wronged but it’s not a criminal matter to be dealt with by the Police then you may be able to commence a lawsuit against someone. The kinds of disputes that are dealt with under civil law include disputes between:-

• Neighbours
• Customers and suppliers
• Business partners
• Landlords and tenants
• Buyers and sellers of property
• Home owners and builders
• Employees and employers
• Executors or beneficiaries in deceased estates
• Owners of copyrights and patents
• Creditors and debtors
• Accident victims

Different kinds of legal cases have different time limitations imposed so it’s important that you seek legal advice quickly to find out if you can commence legal proceedings.
How to file a law suit – the civil litigation process

Prior to court proceedings being commenced, the first course of action is always to seek a resolution to the dispute, saving both time and money. There are a number of alternative dispute resolution methods which can be used including round table negotiation, conflict mediation, conciliation, and arbitration. Dispute resolution lawyers can assist with this process.

If all attempts to settle the dispute fail then the dispute will be taken to trial.

Trial proceedings are lengthy and somewhat complex, but involve the stages of commencing proceedings, pleadings (where the dispute is described by the plaintiff and defended by the defendant), discovery (disclosure of documents by both sides), trial (where the judge will hear the testimony of witnesses and make a ruling in the dispute), settlement and appeal.

The particular court forms which need to be completed to commence a civil suit vary according to the type of dispute and your State so its best to seek legal advice in regard to this.

How we can help

Our lawyers are experienced in litigation and have proven experience across a wide range of civil suits including:-

• Commercial litigation
• Business litigation
• Employment litigation
• Unfair dismissal
• Divorce disputes
• Will disputes
• Debt recovery
• Building and property disputes
• Dividing fence disputes
• Breach of contract

Contact us for more specific advice from our lawyers about how we can assist you settle your dispute.

Wills & Probate

Planning for your family’s future after you’re gone is a really important legal task.

If you take the time now to make an effective legally binding Will and Testament you can save your family not only stress but money in what will undoubtedly be a difficult time for them.

Our lawyers can help:

• Advise you in regard to estate and Probate laws
• Write a will that maximises the inheritance for your family
• Set up family and testamentary trusts
• Advise you in regard to choosing executors and guardians
• Minimise the chance that your will is contested and subject to litigation

At the same time as considering your Will we strongly recommend that you also put in place plans for any future incapacity through Power of Attorney and Guardianship documents. This will ensure that if you somehow become unable to make decisions about your finances, your medical treatment or living arrangements then the person or persons who you trust to make these decisions can do so unhindered.

We understand that dealing with a deceased estate is one of the more difficult challenges in life. From mountains of paper work to legal jargon and simmering family disputes, they’re the last things you want to deal with when you’re grieving the loss of someone important in your life.

So, let us help you by:

• Interpreting the Will of the deceased in terms of estate laws
• Advising executors and trustees in regard to their duties and rights
• Informing government bodies including Centrelink and Veterans Affairs
• Applying for Probate of the Will in the Supreme Court
• Dealing with intestacy (where there is no Will)
• Applying for Letters of Administration (if the Will is deemed invalid or is absent)
• Identifying estate assets and liabilities
• Obtaining valuations of estate property
• Collecting estate financial assets including superannuation, bank funds, shares, outstanding loans, and insurance payouts
• Selling or transferring estate property including estate auctions
• Paying estate debts including mortgages, funeral costs, and testamentary expenses
• Advising in regard to family and testamentary trusts
• Administering trust funds
• Distributing bequests and inheritances to beneficiaries
• Organising information for estate tax returns
• Family mediation and negotiation
• Contesting wills and defending estate litigation in the Supreme Court

Contact us to find out more or to arrange an appointment with our lawyers today.

Our lawyers can provide assistance for a range of matters relating to family law and de facto relationships, including:

Marriage, De Facto and Divorce Law

• Divorce in Australia including preparing and serving divorce papers
• Legal separation issues
• Annulment of marriages
• Spousal maintenance
• Property settlements
• Binding Financial Agreements (prenups)
• Domestic and family violence and apprehended violence orders (AVOs)
• Family Mediation
• Legal representation at Family Court

Children’s issues

• Child support and enforcement of payments
• Parenting plans for child custody and visitation
• Parental rights, father’s rights and grandparent’s rights
• Guardianship of children
• Adoption
• Children’s Court

Contact us to arrange a consultation with our lawyers today.

At Vanguard Legal, our lawyers are experienced in immigration law and can provide assistance with the following matters:

• Helping people obtain either temporary or permanent residency
• Assistance with extension of visas
• Helping people bring their family members to Australia
• Sponsoring overseas employees to work in Australia
• Provide assistance for people to appeal refused visas
• Helping with immigration legislation, such as assisting people in identifying reasons as to why their application should not be refused/residence cancelled

Our lawyers are particularly experienced in Business Migration, Skilled Migration and Work Sponsored Migration. With an almost 100% success rate, clients can be assured that our lawyers are committed to helping you to obtain a visa to Australia.

Contact us to find out more or to arrange a consultation with our lawyers today.