Commercial and private client lawyers · Newcastle and Sydney
For the business you built, and the family it's for.
We advise owner-operators across Newcastle, the Hunter and Sydney. Selling the business, signing the lease, deciding who takes over: one partner who sees the whole picture, and a fee you'll know before we start.
Established 1994 A partner on every matter Fixed-fee scopes in writing
Why Ashcombe Kerr
A business owner's legal life doesn't sort neatly into departments. Neither do we.
Selling the company touches the family trust. A lease renewal changes what the business is worth. A will that ignores the shares is a dispute waiting to happen. We've spent thirty-one years advising the people who own Hunter and Sydney businesses, and most of our work comes from seeing those connections before they turn into problems.
You'll deal with a partner from the first call. They'll know your file, your accountant and, quite often, your children.
31
years advising Hunter and Sydney businesses
11
lawyers across two offices, four of them partners
2
business days to a written scope and fee
70%
of our matters run on a fixed fee
Practice areas
Five areas of law, one client at a time.
We keep to the work owner-operators actually need, and we do it often enough to be quick at it. Anything outside these five, we'll refer to a firm we trust.
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Buying and selling businesses
Vendor and purchaser work for businesses worth $1m to $40m. Heads of agreement, due diligence, sale contracts, staff transfers and the restraints that protect what you're paying for.
- Share and asset sales
- Management buy-outs
- Earn-outs and vendor finance
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Commercial contracts and leasing
Supply, distribution and service agreements, shareholders agreements, and retail and commercial leases from either side of the table. Contracts your team can actually follow.
- Shareholders agreements
- Retail and commercial leases
- Terms of trade
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Succession and estate planning
Wills, testamentary trusts and powers of attorney, then the harder part: who runs the business, who owns it, and how the family stays on speaking terms when it changes hands.
- Testamentary trusts
- Business succession plans
- Enduring powers and guardianship
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Commercial disputes
Partner fallouts, unpaid debts, contract claims and lease disputes. We'll tell you early whether it's worth the fight, and we settle most matters well before a hearing.
- Shareholder and partner disputes
- Debt recovery
- District and Supreme Court litigation
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Property and development
Site acquisitions, subdivisions, development agreements, joint ventures and off-the-plan sales across the Hunter, Lake Macquarie and Sydney.
- Site acquisitions
- Joint ventures
- Off-the-plan contracts
How a matter runs
The same five steps, whatever the matter.
You shouldn't have to wonder what your lawyer is doing, or what it's costing. This is how every file runs here, from a lease review to a contested estate.
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Step 01
A first conversation
Twenty minutes with a partner, at no charge. We check for conflicts, ask what's happened and tell you honestly whether you need a lawyer at all.
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Step 02
A written scope
Within two business days you'll have a letter setting out what we'll do, what we won't, who's doing it and what it'll cost. A fixed fee wherever the work allows.
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Step 03
The work itself
One named partner runs your matter from start to finish. You'll get an update every fortnight, sooner if something moves, and a reply to every email within a business day.
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Step 04
Completion
A closing letter in plain English: what was signed, what you now own or owe, and the dates that matter from here. Original documents go into safe custody at no charge.
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Step 05
What comes after
Lease options, restraint expiries and estate plan reviews go in our diary as well as yours. We'll call well before a deadline arrives, not the week it does.
Fees
What it costs, before you commit.
Before we start you'll get a written costs disclosure, as the law requires. Ours also tells you which of three ways we'll charge, and why.
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I
Fixed-fee scopes
For defined work, one price agreed in writing. If the job stays inside the scope, the fee doesn't move. If it grows, we'll quote the extra before doing it.
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II
Written estimates, in stages
Disputes and larger deals can't be priced to the dollar on day one. We estimate each stage, report against it monthly and ask before going past it.
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III
Hourly rates, disclosed up front
Where hourly billing is fairer, you'll see every rate below, billed in six-minute units with a description of the work on every invoice.
Typical fixed fees
- Wills and estate plan for a couple, with testamentary trusts
- from $3,850
- Commercial lease review and negotiation, for a tenant
- from $2,750
- Shareholders agreement for up to four owners
- from $4,950
- Business sale, vendor side, up to $3m
- from $16,500
- Business purchase, including legal due diligence
- from $19,800
Hourly rates
- Partner
- $660 an hour
- Special counsel
- $550 an hour
- Senior associate
- $480 an hour
- Associate
- $385 an hour
- Paralegal
- $220 an hour
All fees include GST. Court filing fees, searches and barristers' fees are passed on at cost and always estimated first.
People
Four partners. One of them on every file.
Eleven lawyers in all, small enough that the partners still answer the phone. Founded in Newcastle in 1994, with a Sydney office since 2011.
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Claire Whitaker
Managing partner · Newcastle
Business sales, succession and estate planning
Accredited Specialist, Wills and Estates. Admitted 1997.
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Andrew Kerr
Partner · Sydney
Commercial disputes and litigation
Admitted 1999. Runs our Sydney office.
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Siobhan Doyle
Partner · Newcastle
Property, development and leasing
Admitted 2004. Former in-house counsel to a Hunter developer.
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Rahul Menon
Partner · Newcastle and Sydney
Commercial contracts and business purchases
Admitted 2008. Chartered accountant before law.
Matters in practice
What the work looks like.
Illustrative matters. Names and identifying details are changed.
-
01
A family engineering business, Beresfield
- The situation
- Two brothers, 61 and 58, selling to a national competitor for $11.5m. One wanted cash on completion, the other was happy to stay on for an earn-out.
- What we did
- Structured a share sale with a staged earn-out for one interest only, negotiated the restraint down from five years to three, and updated both brothers' wills and the family trust deed before completion.
- Where it landed
- Completed in fourteen weeks. Both families' estate plans now reflect what they actually own.
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02
A hospitality group, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
- The situation
- Four venue leases ending within eighteen months, and two landlords proposing rent increases of around twenty per cent.
- What we did
- Ran all four renewals as one project, used the market review clauses as they were written and negotiated new options on three of the sites.
- Where it landed
- The average increase was held to six per cent, with fifteen more years of tenure across the group.
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03
A retired builder and his three adult children, Maitland
- The situation
- A property portfolio worth about $9m, a second marriage and one child who'd worked in the business for twenty years.
- What we did
- Testamentary trusts, a financial agreement negotiated with his wife's own lawyer, and a family meeting to explain the plan before anything was signed.
- Where it landed
- Everyone heard the same plan in the same room. Nobody will have to guess what he meant.
Our offices
Two offices. One way of working.
- Newcastle
- On the harbour since 1994. Most of our team, and the library.
- Sydney
- In the city since 2011, for clients whose businesses span both.
We'll meet you at either office, at your premises or by video. Your file is shared between both, so it never matters which one you call.
FAQs
Fair questions.
Something we haven't covered? Call 0491 570 110 and ask for a partner. You won't be put through to a call centre.
Do you charge for the first conversation?
No. The first twenty minutes with a partner is free, by phone or in person. If we can't help, or you don't need a lawyer yet, we'll tell you, and often point you to someone who can.
Can I get a fixed fee?
For most defined work, yes: wills and estate plans, leases, shareholders agreements, and the sale or purchase of a business. Where the work can't be fully scoped, such as a dispute, we give you a written estimate in stages and tell you before we go past it.
Who will actually do the work?
A named partner runs every matter and stays on it to the end. Associates and paralegals do some of the work at lower rates, and your scope letter says exactly who's doing what.
Will you work with my accountant and financial adviser?
We'd much rather. Selling a business or planning an estate crosses tax, law and money, so we share drafts with your other advisers and meet them with you when it helps.
How long does it take to sell a business?
From signed heads of agreement to completion, usually three to five months. Larger deals, landlord consents and regulatory approvals can stretch that, and we'll map the timetable for you at the start.
What if my dispute ends up in court?
Then the same partner stays with it, and we brief a barrister where the case needs one. Most commercial disputes settle well before a hearing, and we'll give you a frank view of the odds and the costs at every stage.
Get in touch
Start with twenty minutes and a partner.
No charge and no obligation. Tell us a little about what's happening and a partner will call you within one business day. Please don't send confidential documents yet: we need to check for conflicts first.
- Phone
- 0491 570 110
- Offices
- Newcastle and Sydney, by appointment
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm