PRACTICE AREAS

Commercial Law

Business - negotiation, structuring, transactions and governance
We can assist you with the negotiation and documentation for your business transactions.

We provide advice about the most appropriate business structure for you to use, and can establish the structures for you. These structures may include Partnerships, Joint Ventures, Discretionary, Fixed and Unit Trusts, Companies, Incorporated Associations, or any other structure including any combination of the above.

We act for buyers and sellers of businesses including dealing with assignments of franchise agreements, asset lease-purchase arrangements, assignments of property leases and other licenses (like liquor and gaming licenses) and planning issues (such as with food premises licenses).

We can also work with you to govern the relations between the parties by way of Shareholder or Unitholder agreements, Management agreements and Partnership Agreements.

Commercial and Retail Property Leasing
We have a Law Institute Accredited Commercial Tenancy Law Specialist, and many lawyers in each of our offices who can:

• document commercial and retail leases and subleases, renewals, licenses, surrenders and variations, assignments and mortgages of leases,
  
• establish tailor-made Shopping Centre leases and leases of stand alone premises,
  
• provide advice about the relevant legislative rights and obligations of the parties, and
  
• handle leasing disputes through mediation or with the Small Business Commissioner, or through VCAT or the Court system (see Commercial Litigation link)

Agriculture
We can assist you with the establishment of the appropriate business and management structures for your agribusiness enterprise including:

• Agricultural Leases
  
• Equity Partnerships
  
• Sharefarming Agreements
  
• Herd lease agreements
  
• Grazing Licenses
  
• Management Agreements
  
• All Water related matters (see Water Law link)
  

Our commercial lawyers have a wide range of expertise and can advise you in regard to many other commercial matters. However, where we do not have a depth of knowledge in a particular area, we are happy to assist by referring you to specialists in that area.

Our commercial clients include local municipal councils, water authorities, property developers, commercial office owners, agribusiness, educational and religious institutions, clubs and hotels, as well as other commercial corporations and individuals.
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Property Law

Helping you to achieve your Goals
Our large and experienced team at Dawes & Vary aim to deal with your property matter in an efficient and stress-free manner. We pride ourselves on helping you to achieve your goals – be it buying your first home, expanding your farming property, or conducting a major development project – and appreciate when you trust us to represent and advise you in what may be the most significant investment that you make during your lifetime.

Our Property Law Team
Our Property Law staff includes Directors, Solicitors, qualified Legal Executives, senior Law Clerks and experienced Legal Assistants. Our team has a reputation for working hard to get the best result, and for developing long standing relationships with their clients.

We recognise that a property transaction is not merely a “conveyance”, and acknowledge that every transaction necessarily requires careful consideration and appropriate advice. Our team has the experience to deal with the complexities that your property transaction may involve, ranging from Goods and Services Tax to Water Entitlements associated with rural properties.

Over the years, our experienced team has developed excellent business relationships with other local professionals, such as Real Estate Agents, Accountants and Surveyors, which allows us to ensure that you are properly advised of all aspects of your property matters.

Our Services
Our Property Law services include:

• Residential (buying, selling or leasing)
  
• Commercial (buying, selling or leasing)
  
• Farm/Rural (buying, selling or leasing)
  
• Water
  
• Subdivisions
  
• Property Development
  
• Easements and other Property matters
  
• Stamp Duty and Government Grants
  
• Business Structure, Succession (Farm/Business) and Asset Protection Advice

Services in Victoria and New South Wales
We are also one of few Goulburn Valley law firms who are able to handle both Victorian and New South Wales property matters on your behalf.
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Family Law

Our Family Law team consists of Karen Manning, Davina Pugliese and Charles Hart who are located in our Shepparton office.

Our team will be approachable and sympathetic to your needs, but able to provide strong and effective representation to obtain the best outcome.

The Family Law team assists clients with:

• Divorces
• Property settlements
• Children’s issues including custody disputes
• Pre-nuptial arrangements and other financial agreements
• Property transfers

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Water Law

Water Law was identified as an important area of interest to our clients by our water guru John Adams more than 30 years ago. Recent reforms have resulted in Dawes & Vary developing an experienced team of advisers who:

• Advise many water authorities and catchment authorities relating to their rights and responsibilities under the Water Act 1989 and associated legislation;
• Assist our farming clients to understand their rights and responsibilities under the Act relating to water trading, division of water entitlements, ownership issues, drainage easements and fees and charges

Dawes & Vary has taken an active role over many years to assist clients to understand water laws, particularly during the recent water reforms, including conducting information sessions, meeting with relevant organisations to discuss issues such as the State Revenue Office, the Department of Sustainability & Environment and Goulburn-Murray Water.

The firm has also taken an active role in various working parties and advisory committees to not only provide legal advice but also to try to encourage changes which will benefit the overall processes involved in Water Law.
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Water Trading

The implementation of legislative change with the introduction of the amendments to the Water Act 1989 in Victoria has seen this new area of law develop. Water trading incorporates buying and selling High reliability and Low Reliability Water Shares, Allocation and Leasing of Water Entitlements.

Having recognised the need to have parties to water trading protected, Dawes & Vary are being engaged to:

• Prepare Contracts for the Sale of Water
  
• Give advice to Purchasers of Water
  
• Protect buyers' rights with regard to water shares and ensuring ‘good title’ to water
  
• Arranging security releases for water shares

Dawes & Vary have also been one of the major players in the Federal Government purchase of water shares, providing advice to clients with regard to government contracts and processes under government contracts.

In addition to assisting water traders, the firm assists Water Brokers and Agents in complex matters and also has been instructed by Brokers to prepare agency agreements to assist clients and Brokers in understanding all parties' roles in water trades.

In addition to this, our Echuca office has gained a reputation in being well knowledged and effective in New South Wales water trading. New South Wales water rules are evolving and are extremely complex.

The water trading team comprises Trish Vigliaturo, Leanne Schuyler, Racheal Alamaras and Lesley Hart.
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Mortgages

The area of Mortgages is a wide ranging practice and Dawes & Vary is involved in all of these areas including:

• Preparing mortgage documents between private parties. This means securing monies between private individuals (not banks) and formalising the terms of any loan;
  
• Drafting Mortgage documents for lending institutions including banks and other finance companies;
  
• Providing advice to borrowers with regard to loan documents and their obligations under their mortgages;
  
• Recovery matters assisting both borrowers and lenders in of defaults under mortgages;

Having been recognised as a leader in Water Law, the firm is working for several major banks to advise mortgagees in possession of water entitlements and their ability to realise the best price and arrangements for the sale of water.

Importantly, the majority of work being undertaken by Dawes & Vary is in providing advice to individuals relating to their personal guarantee of loan amounts either for friends, business associates or family. Most financial institutions require borrowers to obtain independent advice with regard to guarantees, a service that Dawes & Vary provides.

The Commercial team has members in all offices to assist clients.

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Commercial & Civil Litigation

The Dawes & Vary litigation team comprises Charles Hart and Davina Pugliese. They are based in our Shepparton Office and assist clients in:

• Contract disputes;
• Mortgagee in possession matters
• Debt recovery
• Agricultural dispute matters such as share farming disputes and dairy lease arrangements.

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Liquor Licensing

Ever rapidly changing, Liquor Licensing is imperative to business and Dawes & Vary can advise clients in all aspects of their Licence. This includes:

• providing advice about the right type of Licence
• assisting clients in obtaining a new Licence of varying their existing licence
• Transferring a Licence

Having provided advice to many Border Clubs and having close consulting contacts, providing advice in regard to Liquor Licensing is an area of interest to the firm.
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Wills & Probate & Power of Attorney

The most important gift anyone will ever make in their life is in their Will. This is why it is so important that your Will is prepared with good advice, detailed consideration and accuracy.

Dawes & Vary assists clients with their Will requirements by:

• drafting and arranging the correct execution of Wills;
  
• assessing the need for Testamentary Trusts and preparing them;
  
• Liaising with financial Planners and accountants to ensure satisfactory dealing with assets.

In addition to drafting Wills each location has its own safe custody storage to ensure the safe keeping of your documents.

Being based in agricultural areas, there has been an acknowledgement from the firm of the importance of Succession Planning in Will preparation. Generational shifting in business enterprises is important to our clients and Dawes & Vary has an experienced team to provide options and solutions to clients for a smooth transition.

In addition to preparing Wills, the administration of an Estate is important and can be complicated. Having a dedicated Estate team, the firm can assist clients in:

• obtaining a Grant of Probate and making distributions pursuant to a Will
• making application for Letters of Administration when someone dies without a Will
• assisting an aggrieved family member, when they have not been sufficiently provided for in a Will, under Part IV of the Administration and Probate Act 1958

As part of our practice, we also assist clients in preparation and operation of Powers of Attorney and Guardianship including:

• Preparing Powers of Attorney including:
  
  • Enduring Financial Power of Attorney;
    
  • Medical Treatment Power of Attorney;
    
  • Revocation of Existing Powers of Attorney;
    
  • Appointment of Guardianship.
    
• This may include applications to VCAT to secure clients' rights to care for their family.

Dawes & Vary’s Wills and Probate team is headed by Terry McKiterick who is an accredited specialist in Wills and Probates.
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