Commercial + Business Services

Helping you to feel confident in your decision making as a business owner!

Commercial Law Services + Advice

Canny Insight offers a range of commercial law services.  When it comes to your business – from large, strategic decisions to everyday business practices – having expert advice from a specialist commercial lawyer is vitally important.  Canny Insight’s commercial law services will help support and grow your business.

Our full-service firm pulls together our expert advisors from our team who will work directly with our accounting service arm to advise on taxation, property and commercial contracts and will cover off any legal and commercial issues arising from the day-to-day running of your business.

What is Commercial Law?

Commercial law, also commonly known as business law, involves the multiple areas of law integral to setting up and running a business.  It essentially relates to the legal aspects of commercial relationships between businesses, and between a business and its clients.

Commercial law is best understood as an umbrella term encompassing:

  • Contract law;
  • Consumer law;
  • Employment law;
  • Property law;
  • Finance;
  • Structuring;
  • Safety and compliance; and
  • Environmental law.

Basically, if any interaction involves a business it can fall under the canopy of commercial law!

The type of business you run dictates the areas of law relevant to your business, and Canny Insight will assist you in providing expert advice on a broad range of Commercial Law areas.

What Commercial Legal Advice Do We Offer?

By collaborating closely with our accounting and advisory service arms, our legal team will support the commercial legal needs of your business.  From the start-up phase, to facilitating the growth of your business and continuing right through to your succession plan, our team will be with you every step of the way.

Our Canny Insight team is experienced when it comes to all of your business contracts, including preparing, reviewing and advising on the following:

  • Terms of trade or terms and conditions;
  • Service and Supply Agreements;
  • Joint Venture Agreements;
  • Loan Agreements;
  • General Security Agreements and registering on the Personal Property Securities Register;
  • Shareholder Agreements;
  • Confidentiality Agreements;
  • Employment and Independent Contractor Agreements; and
  • Licence and Intellectual Property Agreements.

Just to name a few!

What Areas of Commercial and Business Law Do We Work In?

Our team will work with you to provide legal and business advice that you actually need.  Our expert legal advice will assist in all stages of your business, from inception to growth to sale, and all of the matters in between.

Some common areas that we assist with include:

  • Business planning and structuring for start-ups, growing your business, or succession planning;
  • Asset protection and structuring advice on:
    • Company formation;
    • Partnerships; and
    • Trust advice, including Discretionary Trusts, Unit Trusts, Charitable Trusts and Special Disability Trusts.
  • Corporate Law governance and compliance assistance;
  • Intellectual Property protection and advice;
  • Competition and Consumer Law;
  • Employment Law;
  • Property Law; and
  • Franchising and Licensing.

Canny Insight can also provide practical advice on growing or financing your venture, including reviewing and preparing loan agreements, advice on being a guarantor and protecting your personal assets, and structuring advice and preparing shareholders agreements when you are ready to bring in new investors and shareholders.

Why Choose A Canny Group Commercial Business Lawyer?

With Canny Insight, you have the benefit of our legal and accounting service arm teams working together, which will give you the added reassurance of knowing you are making sound business and investment decisions.

Canny Insight’s commercial law advice will not only assist you in protecting your business interests and personal assets, we will also ensure you are meeting your obligations to employees and customers, and from a general legal compliance standpoint.

Commercial Law FAQ's

Commercial Law is a broad term encompassing the legal services relevant in running a business.

It is an umbrella term, often interchangeable with Business Law, encompassing contract law, consumer law, employment law, finance, structuring, safety and compliance, and environmental law – basically, if any interaction involves a business it can fall under the canopy of commercial law!

Commercial Law and Corporate Law are terms that are often used interchangeably, but technically speaking Commercial Law refers to matters arising from business transactions and trading, whereas Corporate Law is focused on the governance and regulation of businesses.

At Canny Legal, we provide advice in both Commercial and Corporate Law.

If you run a business, purchase something from or selling something to a business, contract supplies or services to a business, or are employed by a business, you will engage with an area of Commercial Law at some point.

Commercial Law is crucial in managing relationships between businesses, and in influencing how businesses are managed and interact with the wider community.

A Commercial Law Agreement is a contract between a lender and a borrower to loan funds for business purposes.

Every company with more than one shareholder should have a Shareholders Agreement.

A Shareholders Agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities of the shareholder and is crucial at times of disagreement or dispute between shareholders, or in restraining competition and maintaining confidentiality and non-disparagement when a shareholder is exiting the company.

A good Shareholders Agreement will reduce avenues for dispute by setting out clear procedures relating to the shareholdings and the appointment or removal of directors, and consequently allows for the smooth functioning of the company.

Terms of Trade, or Terms and Conditions are the terms you have clients agree to before signing up to your product or service.

They outline the features of the product or scope of the work and specify the rights and responsibilities of those involved.

Typically, they’ll cover matters such as the cost, how invoicing and payment are to occur, when the relationship commences, how either party may terminate and will refer to any relevant warranties or liabilities being made or waived.

A Confidentiality Agreement is a legal agreement between parties outlining the confidentiality and non-disclosure of certain matters or information.

These do not have to be standalone documents and are often terms within other broader agreements such as Employment Agreements, Sale or Licensing Agreements, Service and Supply Agreements or Shareholders Agreements.

Also known as a contract for services, a Service Agreement is an agreement for the provision of services by one party to another.  It outlines the specifics of the service being supplied and the terms, conditions, rights and obligations of both the supplier and the client.

Service Agreements are used in a range of industries and are particularly relevant not only for businesses but also for independent contractors. 

If you are supplying or receiving services, Canny Legal can assist in having your Service Agreement prepared or reviewed.

Similar to a Service Agreement, a Supply Agreement is an agreement relating to the supply of goods, rather than services, and is often referred to as a Supply Contract.

A Supply Agreement outlines the terms and conditions relating to the provision of goods and will usually specify the type of goods, the price for the goods, the payment terms, the order and delivery process, the timeframe for provision of the goods, how any defects in the goods are to be dealt with, the title and security interests in the goods, and how and when either party may terminate the supply of the goods.

Given the importance of these matters it is crucial that your Supply Agreement is properly drafted, something that Canny Legal is available to assist with.

Employment Agreements are crucial for your business in properly managing employees and ensuring your legal obligations are being met. 

Not only do they provide clear rules on probation, work duties, hours of work and leave entitlements, but they also alert your employee to their responsibilities in relation to any confidential documents, trade secrets, know-how or intellectual property, and provide important restraint, confidentiality, non-disparagement and non-solicitation clauses for the employee to adhere to after their employment with you ends.

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