Money moves fast. Legal problems move faster. We work with lenders, borrowers, and business owners who need a lawyer that understands the deal not just the paperwork behind it. We keep things moving, keep the language plain, and make sure your position is protected before anything is signed.
Who we act for
We act for lenders, non-bank lenders, private credit providers, and family offices — who need loan documentation prepared accurately and settlements that occur on time. We also act for borrowers who need to understand what they are signing before they sign it, and for guarantors who require independent legal advice as a condition of a transaction proceeding.
Our finance practice sits alongside our property, corporate, and succession practices, which means we can handle the full picture of a transaction. A commercial loan secured over a property owned by a family trust, for instance, raises property, corporate, and succession considerations simultaneously. We deal with all of them.
We prepare loan documents for lenders who seek a clear, commercial outcome, safeguarding their investment and effecting settlement in a prompt, commercially minded fashion.
Areas of expertise
Services in detail
We draft, review, and negotiate loan and credit facility agreements for commercial, residential, and development transactions. Whether you are a bank, a private lender, or a borrower, we make sure the terms say what you think they say and that they protect you if things go sideways. We prepare commercial loan agreements (ensuring terms are clear, enforceable, and appropriately priced for the risk), private and non-bank lending (structuring private credit deals properly from the outset, accounting for the unique risks they carry), and variations and refinancing (documenting changes to existing facilities cleanly so there are no disputes about the original terms).
Good security is the difference between a recoverable debt and an expensive lesson. We prepare and register mortgages over real property under the Torrens system, Personal Property Securities Act (PPSA) security interests, and general security agreements covering a borrower's full asset base. We also prepare guarantees and indemnities and provide independent legal advice to guarantors who need to understand exactly what they are committing to before they sign.
Many lenders require borrowers and guarantors to obtain independent legal advice (ILA) as a condition of the transaction proceeding. We provide ILA certificates that are accepted by banks and private lenders across Queensland and nationally. We explain obligations clearly, answer questions honestly, and issue certificates without unnecessary delay. We ensure the person receiving advice genuinely understands what they are signing.
We stay across the transaction from instruction to settlement. That means conducting PPSR, title, and ASIC searches to confirm security is clean before money changes hands; preparing priority agreements when multiple creditors are involved and their relative positions need to be formalised; and coordinating settlement so the legal side of the transaction is ready when the commercial side is. We do not create delays, we endeavour to prevent them.
Some transactions require more than a standard loan agreement. We can advise on SMSF limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) for self-managed superannuation funds acquiring property or other assets ensuring the structure complies with the SIS Act and the ATO's requirements. We also prepare vendor finance and instalment sale arrangements for property and business deals where the seller is effectively acting as the lender, and structure related party loans, intra-company and family lending, at arm's length, documented properly, and built to withstand ATO or liquidator scrutiny.
Defaults happen. Security gets disputed. Guarantors push back. We prefer not to represent lenders and borrowers when finance transactions turn contentious as the litigation is better suited by someonw more regularly experienced in the litigtation of loan documents, however, we can project manage and facilitate the litigation with our referal partners (we don't get paid for our referrals)
Lenders
If you are a lender, bank, non-bank, or private, and you require borrowers or guarantors to obtain independent legal advice as a condition of your loan, we can facilitate that efficiently. We understand that your transaction has a settlement date, and that ILA obtained at the last moment is a risk to the whole deal.
We are available on short notice for ILA appointments and can issue certificates accepted nationally. Please have your borrowers contact us directly.
Contact us about ILA referralsNeed ILA urgently?
If a lender has asked you to obtain independent legal advice before you sign for a mortgage, guarantee, or credit facility, we can help. We will explain your obligations clearly, answer your questions, and issue a certificate the lender will accept.
Contact us by email or WhatsApp and we will arrange an appointment, in person or by video, at short notice bbut note your lender will likely require you to meet us in person.
Reach us by email, phone, or WhatsApp. We respond promptly and we keep transactions moving.