Buying a practice is a significant professional and financial decision. Getting the right legal advice before you commit can help you understand exactly what you’re acquiring and identify potential issues before they become your responsibility.

Our team can support you throughout the entire acquisition process including:

• Due Diligence: Reviewing the legal and commercial aspects of the practice including ownership, contracts, employees, leases, liabilities and other material obligations.
• Contract Review and Negotiation: Reviewing and negotiating the sale agreement and ensuring the terms appropriately protect your interests.
• Business Structures: Working with you and your other advisers to ensure the appropriate structure is in place before the acquisition.
• Commercial Leases: Reviewing, negotiating or transferring the lease for the practice premises.
• Employment Matters: Reviewing employee arrangements and advising on the transfer of employees as part of the acquisition.
• Restraints and Goodwill: Advising on appropriate protections around goodwill, patient relationships and restraints.
• Settlement: Managing the legal process through to completion and helping ensure the transition of ownership occurs as smoothly as possible.

We don’t just look at the contract. We help you understand what you’re actually buying and the legal risks that come with it.

You’ve spent years building your practice. When it’s time to sell you want to know that its value and your interests are properly protected.

We work with practice owners from the early stages of preparing for a sale through negotiation, due diligence and settlement.

We can assist with:

• Preparing and negotiating sale documentation
• Managing the buyer’s due diligence process
• Advising on warranties, indemnities and restraints
• Reviewing ownership and business structures ahead of the sale
• Commercial lease assignments and landlord requirements
• Employee transfer and entitlement considerations
• Negotiating commercial terms with purchasers and their advisers
• Protecting intellectual property and goodwill
• Managing settlement and transition arrangements
• Working alongside your accountant and financial advisers on the broader transaction.

Preparing early can also make a significant difference. If you’re considering selling in the next few years we can help identify legal issues that may need to be addressed before your practice goes to market.

Once you own a practice there are contracts, relationships and commercial decisions to manage throughout its life.

Our team provides ongoing commercial legal support to healthcare practice owners including:

• Partnership, shareholder and unitholder agreements
• Associate and contractor agreements
• Service agreements
• Employment contracts and workplace policies
• Commercial leases and lease negotiations
• Supplier and other commercial agreements
• Business structures and restructures
• Intellectual property and trade marks
• Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements
• Terms of trade
• Regulatory and commercial compliance
• Business succession and ownership transitions
• Legal health checks.

Disputes can be costly, stressful and disruptive to your practice.

Where possible our focus is on resolving disputes commercially and efficiently before litigation becomes necessary. When court proceedings are unavoidable we can represent you and protect your interests throughout the process.

We can assist healthcare professionals with disputes involving:

• Business partners, shareholders and co-owners
• Practice purchases and sales
• Contracts and commercial agreements
• Employees and contractors
• Commercial landlords and leases
• Suppliers and service providers
• Debts and payment disputes
• Intellectual property
• Restraints and confidentiality
• Other commercial disputes affecting your practice.

You may not be ready to sell your practice today but the legal decisions you make now can affect your options later.

We can work with you to put appropriate agreements and structures in place and help you plan for changes in ownership including bringing in a new partner, transitioning ownership to another practitioner or preparing the practice for an eventual sale.

Our team can assist with:

• Succession planning
• Shareholder, partnership and unitholder agreements
• Buy-sell arrangements
• Ownership changes
• Bringing new practitioners into the business
• Partner and shareholder exits
• Preparing for the future sale of the practice.

Your premises are an important part of your practice. The terms of your lease can have significant financial and operational consequences for your practice particularly when you have invested heavily in specialist equipment and fit-out.

Whether you’re taking on new premises, renewing an existing lease or acquiring a practice with a lease already in place our team can help you understand your obligations and negotiate terms that support your business.

We can assist with:

• Reviewing and negotiating new leases
• Lease assignments when buying or selling a practice
• Renewals and variations
• Options and rent reviews
• Personal guarantees
• Fit-out and make good obligations
• Landlord and tenant disputes
• Understanding your rights and responsibilities throughout the lease.