Jenkins Legal Services

Strategic – A highly experienced and skilled team of professional people that understand our clients’ businesses and are sensitive to what is required in every situation.

Authentic – An independent law firm, servicing both Newcastle and Sydney, dedicated to meeting the needs and expectations of our clients.

Dependable – A professional law firm focused on always ensuring our client’s best position and providing on demand legal solutions.

Jenkins Legal Services is a people business. Our people are highly valued for their skills and how they use these to create the best possible outcomes for our clients.

Jenkins Legal Services (JLS) specialises in all aspects of business law from starting a business to commercial contracting to commercial litigation and services to support buying or selling businesses to succession planning and insolvency. We work for a wide range of SMEs, government bodies and individuals including:

• Health professionals: doctors, dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists and other allied health professionals
• Engineering, manufacturing and mining services
• Hospitality industry
• Not-for-profit enterprises including the housing sector, schools and religious institutions
• “In-bound” foreign businesses and investors in NSW
• Local government and related enterprises
• Acting for “in-bound” foreign businesses and investors in NSW and as an agent for foreign and interstate lawyers or accountants

Through our highly experienced team headed by Micah Jenkins – who is a NSW Law Society Accredited Specialist in Business Law – we offer practical legal solutions that have most recently included:

• Joint purchasing arrangements for local councils – contract drafting, tendering and probity advice
• Negotiating state-funded project agreements for a registered community housing provider
• Purchase and redevelopment of a private hospital
• Preparation of export and import supply and distribution agreements for the Hunter’s engineering, mining services and winery sectors
• Review of numerous contracts for the mining services sector including supply, leasing and IP agreements
• Purchase and redevelopment of a major airport facility
• Leasing and subdivision work for retirement village operators
• Acting on a number of health professional practice acquisitions and structuring
• Acting on numerous purchases and leasing of hospitality premises and licensing changes including for hotels, restaurants and Hunter wineries

In particular, the services provided by Jenkins Legal Services include:

Commercial law

• Mergers and acquisitions – purchase and sale of businesses, business assets and shares including arms-length, family succession and management buy-outs
• Not for profit mergers and amalgamations
• Establishing and restructuring business structures including partnership, shareholders, unitholders agreements, franchising and other joint venture and affiliation arrangements
• Preparation of constitution (private and not-for-profit), trust deeds and buy-sell insurance deeds
• Business contracts: all types of legal contracts including purchase or sale of business, Put and Call Options, franchise agreements, supply agreements (including for export and import), service agreements, distribution agreements, partnership agreements, commercial contracts.
• Finance and security documentation and PPSR advice, registration and searching
• Franchising
• Insolvency advice and representation
• Commercialisation of intellectual property rights including distribution agreement and IP licensing
• Importation and export
• Business succession planning and asset protection structuring
• Discrete tax advice (as opposed to tax planning or accounting advice)

Commercial litigation and dispute resolution

Our commercial litigation and dispute resolution services involve disputes relating to:

• Debt recovery
• Landlord and tenancy
• Sale of business, share and property transactions
• Joint ventures including partnerships, company and trusts
• Corporate insolvency and bankruptcy
• Intellectual property including confidential information, copyright and patent infringement
• Defamation and injurious falsehood claims

Liquor and hospitality applications and regulations

• Advice on development applications and s.96 modifications for proposed and existing licensed premises including new premises, trading hour increases and boundary changes
• All liquor and gaming applications to the Independent Liquor Authority (ILA)
• Community Impact Statements for liquor and Local Impact Statement for gaming applications
• Defence against local court and L&E Court prosecutions for liquor, gaming, EP&A Act and Local Government Act offences;
• Defence against complaints: ILA complaints by residents, police, OLGR and councils
• Urgent Supreme Court injunctions against government decision-making
• Advice on all aspects of the planning, liquor, gaming, smoking and public entertainment regulations

Jenkins Legal Services offers many years of experience with Australian property law, including:

• Representing clients on purchasing or selling property whether Torrens, company or old system title and whether vacant land, units, strata and community title, rural land and purchases ‘off the plan’
• Advice and documentation in relation to SMSF borrowing
• Advice and representation in relation to commercial and retail leasing
• Planning law advice including L&E Court representation
• Documentation and advice on the legal requirements for property developments including the development of strata and community management statements, plans and s.88 instruments
• Advice in regard to building contracts and contracts with consultants and finance institutions
• Advice and negotiation in regard to neighbourhood disputes including dividing fence and DA disputes
• Representation in dispute resolution and in court

In relation to conveyancing our solicitors and paralegals can offer assistance with property law in the following ways:

• Assistance with buying or selling at auction or by private sale
• Information about the costs involved (including tax, stamp duty and concessions)
• Negotiating real estate contract terms and conditions
• Advice in regard to sale or purchase of property
• Advice for meeting lender requirements
• Arrange searches and land enquiries
• Help you with settlement

• Employment and consultancy contracts
• Unfair dismissal and adverse action claims
• Advising on the Fair Work Act 2009 and Modern Awards as well as other workplace laws
• Advising employers on workplace issues such as redundancy and termination
• Drafting workplace policies and procedure

• Preparation of simple to complex wills including testamentary trusts
• Variations (codicils) to existing wills where necessary
• Advice on “intervivos” gifts
• Preparation of family, protective and charitable trusts including Private Ancillary Funds (PAF) and Public Ancillary Funds(PuAF)
• Preparation of powers of attorney and enduring guardianship forms
• Preparation of Advance Health Directive forms
• Reverse mortgages
• Binding family arrangements
• Obtaining probate and letters of administration

We provide all public notarial services. The most common work includes:

• Authenticating official, government and personal documents and information for use overseas
• Witnessing signatures of individuals to documents and authenticating identity
• Witnessing Powers of Attorney for use overseas, including preparing them when necessary
• Certifying true copies of documents for use overseas
• For corporations and business, witnessing documents and authenticating status and transactions
• Dealing documentation for land, property and deceased estates overseas

We have contacts with the following professionals throughout the Asia-Pacific region:

• Experienced and reliable family, criminal, contest wills and employment lawyers
• Real estate agents and hotel brokers
• Architects, landscape architects builders and project managements
• Accountants, auditors, actuaries and bookkeepers
• Insolvency practitioners
• Financial planners and stock brokers
• Finance and insurance brokers
• Recruitment and HR consultants
• Patent and trademark attorneys
• Expert witnesses including medio-legal, engineering, forensic accountants, forensic IT consultants and handwriting experts

Jenkins Legal Services have extensive experience in corporate governance and corporate secretarial services. We can assist your private or not-for-profit company with any of its legal, corporation governance or compliance requirements and policies in order to have the most effective governance framework in place in your organisation including:

• amendments to constitution and members’ agreements
• preparation and review of board charters and committee terms of reference
• advice on board policies and procedures including meeting procedures and documentation to ensure efficient and effective communication, controls and decision-making
• preparation and review of board and committee work plans and calendars
• structuring and joint venturing advice
• internal audit and risk management advice
• advice on charity status and other tax concessions
• legal and strategic advice on commercial transactions, projects and PPPs

We can also assist (or take the lead) on the establishment of new NFP entities and ACNC registration.  The initial setup of a NFP is important due to the complex legislative issues surrounding NFP’s. It is imperative that an NFP is established with the right legal structure for maximum administrative efficiency, control, asset protection and tax effectiveness.

All the above will increase performance of your company through an optimal organisational environment individualised to your needs.

North Sydney
Suite 3, Level 13, 20 Berry St
North Sydney, NSW 2059
Phone: +612 9929 4258
Email: [email protected]

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