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Solicitor's Certificates & Business Law

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SOLICITOR'S CERTIFICATES
Fixed price fees starting at $770

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A solicitor's certificate for borrowers and mortgage guarantors is a formal document provided by a solicitor confirming that they have independently explained the legal implications of a guarantee or the terms of lending to a borrower or a guarantor. This certificate of independent legal advice is often required by the lender in the context of mortgage agreements, particularly when someone agrees to guarantee another person's (or a company's) loan.  

 

The purpose of the solicitor's certificate is to ensure that the guarantor fully understands the nature and extent of their obligations under the guarantee. It helps protect the guarantor by ensuring they are making an informed decision and also protects the lender by demonstrating that the guarantor has been properly advised and understands the risks involved.

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For our independent legal advice and the provision of a solicitor's certificate, we charge a reasonable fixed price fee of $770 (including GST) on all mortgages and loans from any of the "big 4" Australian banks. For loans from private non-bank lenders, our fixed fee is negotiable, depending on the complexity of the loan agreement. Please telephone us and obtain a complimentary case assessment with a qualified solicitor who will also explain our fixed price fee. Urgent provision of certificates can be accomodated.  Please telephone us for a cost estimate.

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COMMERCIAL AND RETAIL LEASES 

We help safeguard and enforce your rights under any lease

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If you are a landlord and require a commercial or retail lease for your tenants, we can assist you by drawing the lease and by advising you as to your rights and obligations under the lease.

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If you are a tenant, we will advise you on your rights and obligations under your lease.

 

We act for either the landlord or the tenant in all commercial leases. Commercial and Retail leases are extremely important to your business and are legally binding documents between your Landlord and your company.  

 

Commercial and Retail leases define the rights and obligations of each party to the lease and, therefore, must be carefully drafted and analysed by a lawyer before you execute it.  Renewing your lease is also an important process, as the lease will most likely contain rent increase clauses.  ALFA Lawyers will help you obtain the best terms in your new lease or renewal.

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Commercial and Retail leases are extremely important to your business and are legally binding documents between your Landlord and your company.  Commercial leases define the rights and obligations of each party to the lease and, therefore, must be carefully drafted and analysed by a lawyer before you execute it.  Renewing your lease is also an important process, as the lease will most likely contain rent increase clauses.  ALFA Lawyers will help you obtain the best terms in your new lease or renewal.

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We cordially invite you to contact us now to obtain a complimentary case assessment with an experienced and friendly lawyer.

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FEES

Our fees for drawing leases for the landlord, or acting for the tenant, are based on the scale Practitioner Remuneration Order, Schedule 3. This scale is a a fair and economical fee structure for lawyers, landlords and tenants, and the scale fees are based on the rental amount for the period of the lease. It is a fixed fee, and you will know exactly how much it will cost you from the beginning. You can view the Practitioner Remuneration Order here, and see for yourself how reasonable this scale is.

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ALL CIVIL LITIGATION - BUSINESS & PERSONAL

We help safeguard and enforce your legal rights in court

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We help safeguard and enforce your legal rights in the most efficient and economical way possible, and to enforce both the concept and the reality of accountability among those alleged wrongdoers who are ultimately proven responsible for injustices and damages.  We also offer "No-Win, No-Fee" to our clients in eligible cases.

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Our range of business and personal court appearances include the following:

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Reasonable fees based on court scales of cost are available for all commercial or personal litigation matters in all Courts and VCAT.

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ALFA Lawyers are experienced and highly skilful litigators.  We will provide you with realistic and relevant advice on your prospects of success in court and we will inform you of all the legal options available to help you achieve your targeted goals. However, where litigation is unavoidable, in addition to our legal capabilities, we can offer integrated evidence gathering, analysis, and assessment employing significant skills in forensic accounting / auditing which can be applied to the gathering of important forensic evidence, in any type of legal matter, either commercial or domestic, to help prove your case, and to demonstrate the accountability of the person or company that may be ultimately responsible for your proven losses.

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In certain matters (notwithstanding the merits of your case), highly effective technical defences can also sometimes be applied successfully to defend a claim.

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WE ACT FOR PLAINTIFFS OR DEFENDANTS IN ALL CIVIL COURT MATTERS

Whether you are the plaintiff or the defendant in a matter, we help safeguard and enforce your legal rights in the most effective and economical way possible, and to enforce both the concept and the reality of accountability among those alleged wrongdoers who are ultimately proven responsible for injustices and damages.

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One important way we can express our respect and concern for you as a client is to confer with you on a very regular basis. Frequent updates of progress in your case are important for your well-being and for you to have the opportunity to continue to instruct us and advise us as your case progresses.

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We want you to feel in control as much as possible in any matter, or at least in the loop, when important decisions must be made either in costs or in strategy.

Skilful evidence gathering is also critically necessary for success in mediation or negotiation, and crucial to your success if the case should ever proceed to the courts.

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If you have received a letter of demand or a Complaint or a Writ, or if you need to issue a Complaint or a Writ against a person or company, we can help you first to attempt to settle the claim or, in cases where negotiation or settlement does not work and the matter proceeds to court, we will actively defend you, or issue proceedings on your behalf.

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We can act for you in any court or tribunal, including the following:

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  • Magistrates’ Court of Victoria

  • County Court of Victoria

  • Supreme Court of Victoria

  • All Federal Courts

  • High Court of Australia

  • Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)

  • Superannuation Complaints Tribunal

 

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Negotiation and mediation are important first steps in any dispute.

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By attempting to negotiate and settle legal disputes early in a matter, enduring relationships can often be saved, and the significant outlay of time, emotion, and money involved in court proceeding can often be avoided. If a dispute does not resolve to your satisfaction, however, even after genuine attempts at settlement, we can offer smart and sensible strategies to protect your interest through due process in the courts or other governmental bodies.

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FRAUD

​Our Principal Lawyer, Alfred Fabrizio, who is also a CPA (Certified Practising Accountant), was employed for over 32 years in Australian corporate businesses. For over 22 of those years he held the position of Global Corporate General Manager (reporting directly to the CEO) for two high profile international Australian companies, where he specialised in global risk management, forensic accounting matters, internal controls, fraud investigations and prosecutions, and fraud detection and prevention strategies.   ALFA Lawyers, therefore, naturally understands business risks.  Our principal lawyer is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced business lawyers in Australia, ready to assist you to understand, minimise, and make the most of your businesses' legal and commercial risks.

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If you are a business person, we can help you deal with a broad range of legal and forensic issues, including allegations relating to possibly fraudulent business transactions, misleading or deceptive conduct, conflicts between partners or directors, employee or management fraud, disputes regarding trade practices, insurance disputes, commercial contractual disputes, theft of intellectual property or confidential information, and a range other commercial legal issues, as follows:

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  • Civil Litigation (all Courts, VCAT)

  • Debt Recovery

  • Fraud Recovery in the civil courts (of misappropriated assets such as cash, intellectual property, or confidential information)

  • Negotiation with alleged perpetrators, and court action if unsatisfactory response, to recover stolen assets, including intellectual property and confidential information

  • Fraud Offences by employees or others

  • Forensic Audit/Legal Support Services

  • Commercial Leases, Lease Renewals, & Lease Transfers

  • Contracts and Agreements

 

ALFA Lawyers can help you control your debtors, and can act for you in debt recovery proceedings.  Often, you can recover all or most of your legal costs in such actions.

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Debts up to $100,000 can be recovered by lodging a Complaint in either the Magistrates Court or at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT.)  If the debt is over $100,000, then the proper venue is either the County Court or VCAT.

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The minimum amount of debt required for creditors to apply for a bankruptcy notice against an individual debtor is $10,000. Also, the time period  for a debtor to respond to a Bankruptcy notice is 21 days.  Therefore, a creditor now must wait 21 days before they can commence bankruptcy proceedings.

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A statutory demand is a notice issued pursuant to section 459E of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) which enables a creditor to demand payment of a debt owed by an Australian company.  The statutory minimum amount for a creditor to issue a statutory demand to recover a debt from an Australian company is $4,000.

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ALFA Lawyers can do the following for you to help you recover debts owing to you:

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  • prepare and send a letter of demand to the debtor;

  • prepare and serve the Complaint; and

  • enter judgement against the debtor if within 21 days no Defence is lodged.

 

We offer legal services with special expertise in forensic accountability issues, as our principal lawyer is also an experienced forensic accountant. We offer our services to you as a business person, or as an individual, or if you are a lawyer or accountant who requires skilful gathering of forensic evidence to support your clients’ cases, to you as well.

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If you are a victim of fraud, we can help you deal with a broad range of legal and forensic issues, including fraudulent business transactions perpetrated by employees, misleading or deceptive conduct, conflicts between partners or directors, supplier or management fraud, disputes regarding trade practices, insurance disputes, commercial contractual disputes, and a range other commercial legal issues.

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LEGAL COSTS FOR COURT ACTION - FEES ARE BASED ON COURT SCALES OF COSTS

Our fees for acting for you in any court action are exceptionally reasonable and economical. We recommend that you investigate fees and costs before choosing a lawyer. Our fees for litigious matters in VCAT or Magistrates' Court can be based entirely on the court scale of costs, rather than using an expensive hourly rate that most other firms charge. We can also use a reasonable hourly rate, if billing by the hour is more cost-effective for our client, or a fixed fee if appropriate.  We can also combine fixed fees with an hourly rate. We will explain our billing options to you and, with our help, you can choose the billing method that will be most economical for your matter.

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We can also apply our fees on a "No-Win, No-Fee" basis in most motor vehicle accident matters, and in several other areas.

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We offer you choices in billing methods that can give you the most cost-effective outcome in your matter. We invite you to look at our fees for service page to learn more about our economical billing methods.

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COMPLIMENTARY CASE ASSESSMENT

We cordially invite you to contact us now to obtain a complimentary case assessment with an experienced and friendly lawyer .

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