Hillhouse Burrough McKeown’s Corporate and Commercial Division provides businesses with legal advice that it clear, practical and commercially useful.

Our experience includes mergers and acquisitions and business structuring, including tax, stamp duty, asset protection and business succession issues, share issues and capital reductions, joint venture structure and funding, insolvency, fundraising and ASIC and ASX compliance.

Hillhouse Burrough McKeown has recently been involved in joint ventures in aged care, mining and public and private joint ventures. Hillhouse has also advised retail organisations and the takeover by an Australian ASX-listed company of a mining company in Chile.

To discuss your corporate and commercial advice, please contact Ian Hillhouse.

The Federal Government’s WorkChoices laws commenced on 27 March 2006. Under WorkChoices employees and employers are encouraged to enter into individual agreements. Hillhouse Burrough McKeown has kept abreast of the important developments in the legislation to best advise clients and to ensure a smooth transition for employers and employees.

Hillhouse Burrough McKeown can advise on areas including WorkChoices legislation, employment contracts (particularly for executives and professional sports people), rights and obligations of employers and employees, protection or defence from unlawful dismissal claims, advising on drafting workplace policies and procedures regarding equal opportunity, sexual harrassment, dismissal and discipline, internet usage and grievances and bullying.

For employment advice, please contact Robert Lamb .

At Hillhouse Burrough McKeown we review your current structures and recommend what is necessary to give certainty to your individual estate plan.

Our expertise in trust structuring, personal estate planning, superannuation and business succession planning ensures that our lawyers will be able to devise an estate plan that meets all of your needs.

Our estate plans are comprehensive and consider wills, testamentary trusts, family trusts, corporate structures, superannuation, business succession agreements, binding financial and co-habitation agreements, appointment of guardians for children and enduring powers of attorney.

Unlike other firms, we have a fixed fee for an initial consultation and provide clients with fixed fees for the completion of their estate plans. Click here for our services and pricing.

To discuss your estate planning needs, please contact John McKeown .

Hillhouse Burrough McKeown has the industry know-how and experience to ensure that your next IT development project is successful.

Our IT team possesses qualifications and experience in both law and IT. We are able to offer up-to-date skills and knowledge to assist clients with the legal issues associated with IT development, sale and protection. We speak the language of IT professionals and understand the issues that matter most to clients within the industry.

We can advise in negotiation and drafting of IT contracts, software development, licensing, privacy law and compliance, websites, e-commerce, project planning and system procurement.

For information technology advice, please contact Craig Hong .

At Hillhouse Burrough McKeown we pride ourselves on providing practical commercial advice to assist clients to both identify and protect their intellectual property assets.

Intellectual property consists of a number of legal elements including copyright, trade marks, patents and business names. Hillhouse Burrough McKeown has significant experience in assisting businesses to identify, protect and exploit all aspects of their intellectual property assets.

Lack of awareness of both the value and nature of intellectual property is an increasing problem for Australian businesses and our team can provide thorough advice to allow businesses to maximise the benefits of their intellectual property.

For intellectual property advice, please contact Craig Hong .

Hillhouse Burrough McKeown’s attitude to litigation is simple. We aggressively assert our clients’ rights while keeping a commercial focus. Our aim is to ensure that clients get the best possible outcomes with the minimum amount of expense and disturbance.

Hillhouse Burrough McKeown’s litigators have significant experience in the process of litigation, as well as in broader commercial fields. This commercial understanding means that our lawyers are well attuned to the needs of businesses involved in disputes. Hillhouse also ensures that we are up-to-date on the latest alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Some of the areas that Hillhouse Burrough McKeown can advise on include general commercial disputes, life insurance and TPD policies, general and indemnity insurance policies, employment, building disputes, commercial and consumer tribunal disputes, disciplinary proceedings, personal injuries and debt recovery.

For litigation advice, please contact Robert Lamb .

Hillhouse Burrough McKeown’s approach to conveyancing, leasing and property development is to provide clients with accurate and commercially focused advice to ensure that their projects are completed on time and within budget.

Hillhouse Burrough McKeown boasts professionals with extensive experience across all areas of property law. Our experience means that it is highly unlikely that a situation will arise that we will not have dealt with in the past.

Hillhouse Burrough McKeown can advise on matters such as pre-contractual and "off-the-plan" advice, property acquisitions and sales, commercial and retail leasing, developments, financing and investment structures.

For property advice, please contact John McKeown.

The focus of our practice is small business. We are particularly aware of what small business operators need from their lawyers. Most small businesses will deal with some or all of the following issues:

• a premises lease
• supplier contracts
• setting up business structures, including accompanying documentation
• intellectual property, including business names, trade marks and domain names
• employment contracts and employment law
• asset protection - both business and personal assets
• customer contracts and debt recovery
• business succession.

Hillhouse Burrough McKeown has over 20 years’ experience in the tourism and hospitality industry.  We are experts in the sale and purchase of hotels, motels, pubs, caravan parks and management rights businesses.

Our publications "Everything you need to know about Management Rights" and "Everything you need to know about Motels" are some of the most widely distributed in Australia.

We have developed relationships with a large number of related industry providers, including accountants, financiers and industry bodies, and are able to provide clients with more practical commercial legal advice.

For tourism and hospitality advice, please contact David Burrough.