Business and Commercial Law

Clear, practical legal advice for business owners — from set-up to sale

Whether you're starting out, growing, or planning your exit, the legal side of running a business doesn't need to be complicated. We work with owner-operators, founders, and small-to-mid-sized businesses across a wide range of industries — giving you clear, practical advice in language that makes sense, without the big-firm price tag.

Most of our business clients started with one matter and stayed for everything else — because once you've got a lawyer who knows your business, calling them feels easier than starting from scratch every time.

Starting a business

Setting things up properly at the start saves a lot of time and money later.

Set up a company — incorporating with the Companies Office, share structure, director and shareholder appointments
Choose the right structure — sole trader, partnership, company, or trust (and when more than one of these makes sense)
Shareholders' agreements — what happens if a founder leaves, a new investor joins, or someone wants to sell out
Company constitutions — the document that governs how your company is run, including what you choose to override from the default Companies Act rules
Partnership agreements for those operating outside a company structure

Running the business

Once you're up and running, the day-to-day legal work tends to come from contracts, agreements, and the inevitable curveballs:

Drafting and negotiating commercial agreements — supplier, customer, distribution, service, and licence agreements
Terms of trade — the standard terms your customers agree to when they buy from you
Joint ventures — teaming up with another business to deliver something together
Financing arrangements — security documents, guarantees, and dealing with banks
Franchise agreements — whether you're entering a franchise, running one, or growing your franchise network

Growing the business

Bringing in investment, taking on partners, or buying another business each have a legal side that's worth getting right.

Agreements to buy or sell shares — when a new investor comes in, or an existing shareholder exits
Business acquisitions — buying another business, or merging with one
Due diligence — checking what you're actually buying before you commit
Restructuring — changing ownership, share structure, or operating entity

Selling or stepping back

When the time comes to sell, retire, or pass the business on, we help you do it cleanly.

Business sales — preparing the business for sale, negotiating the agreement, working through due diligence with the buyer's lawyers, all the way to settlement
Management buy-outs — when the new owners are already inside the business
Earn-out arrangements — when part of the sale price depends on future performance
Succession planning — handing the business to family or a long-serving employee

Why business owners choose Dawsons

Senior people on every matter. You're not handed off to a junior. Claire Endean (Director) leads our commercial work, supported by Senior Solicitor Chris Chak — who's fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, so for many of our clients the entire matter can happen in their first language.
Plain English, every time. We translate the legal points into commercial decisions you can actually make.
Upfront on fees. Good legal work doesn't have to come with big-firm bills. We'll quote you in advance.
Connected to the rest of the firm. When your commercial work touches property (a lease, a building purchase) or your personal life (a trust, a will, a relationship property agreement), the team already in place is the team you talk to.