Contracts & Commercial Law

Due Diligence is the legal and commercial process of examination of a transaction, including the entities involved and the related documentation. It is an essential part of a purchaser’s risk management strategy and it allows the purchaser to understand the risks associated with the purchase, incorporate these into the determination of the purchase price and deal with them as required. Through this process, issues can be dealt with and negotiated by the purchaser and vendor and if the issues cannot be resolved, the purchaser can then withdraw from the transaction and save costs.

We provide top tier services and top tier experience at substantially better rates to those of our competitors and we provide fixed fee costs wherever possible for all of our matters.

Further information that may be useful to you on the sale of a business click on the following links:

For more information on Employment Law – click here.

Sergey Aleynikov, a former Goldman Sachs programmer, was charged for computer theft crimes under New York state law. Mr Aleynikov was accused of stealing highly confidential information from his ex-employer.

This came after Mr Aleynikov’s federal charge on the same facts was overturned earlier. The federal court of appeal found the charges did not fall within the wording of the federal computer theft legislation due to the intangible nature of software code, nor could it fit within the corporate espionage legislation as the code was not intended to be sold or licensed.

Mr Aleynikov is now facing criminal charges of unlawful use of secret scientific material and duplication of computer-related material under New York state law.

We handle all disputes relating to improper use of intellectual property including breach of copyright – for further information read Intellectual Property and Protect Your Intellectual Property.

In Australia, the Copyright Act 1968 governs the existence of copyright material. Notwithstanding the fact that certain business offering copyright protection of registration services of copyright for a fee, there is no formal registration process or formalities in place for the protection of copyright. Copyright protection is automatically attached to an original work at the time in which it is created.

Once copyrighted work comes into existence, there are exclusive economic rights that are provided to the creator of the work, for example the right to copy and publish. Additionally, the creators of the copyrighted material are also afforded a bundle of non-economic rights or moral rights in respect of the integrity and attribution of authorship.

We provide top tier services and top tier experience at substantially better rates to those of our competitors and we provide fixed fee costs wherever possible for all of our matters.

Businesses often have their trade secrets misappropriated by former employees and competitors.

We assist new business owners and entrepreneurs start up, manage and grow businesses, including online businesses.

The following points will help you to set-up and manage your new business and any new online business. See also Companies and Businesses Setup.

1.  What legal structure best fits your business?

Employee restraint of trade voided by non-compliance with contract by employer

Employment restraints are vital for employers in order to protect their goodwill and client base developed in their business over numerous years.

Employment restraints usually restrain employees from poaching staff, poaching clients, setting up a competing business and working for a competitor, both during and after the employment has ended.

“Ahern Sierakowski Lawyers have advised employers and senior employees on employment contract issues for 25 years.”

See also Breaches of Restraint of Trade Clauses.

The recent case of Habitat1 Pty Ltd v Formby [No 2] [2017] WASC 331, has provided great insight into how the law operates in relation to restraint of trade clauses.

Christian Formby and Geoffrey Pritchard were co-owners of an interior design and construction firm Habitat1, each with a 50% stake in the company. Mr Formby was a founder of the company and in 2013, Mr Formby signed a non-compete agreement which contained several restraint clauses. In February 2016, Mr Formby left the business, ceasing to be an employee of Habitat1.