The ser­vice sec­tor con­sti­tutes the bulk of Australia’s econ­o­my, con­tribut­ing an esti­mat­ed 80% of val­ue added and 88% of employ­ment. A diverse sec­tor, encom­pass­ing clean­ing ser­vices to med­i­cine to account­ing and man­age­ment con­sult­ing which means dif­fer­ent ser­vice indus­tries oper­at­ing in very dif­fer­ent ways.

Growth in many ser­vice indus­tries (includ­ing finance, ICT and trans­port) has out­paced the goods sec­tor by a sig­nif­i­cant mar­gin over the past few decades. Our expe­ri­ence and deep exper­tise across this vast sec­tor helps set us apart in the mar­ket place.

We are renowned for our com­mer­cial legal exper­tise and indus­try knowl­edge, which means we can expert­ly guide our clients through each stage of their busi­ness cycle.

Our Team

Portrait photograph of James Skelton
James Skelton
Partner
Portrait photograph of Angela Harvey
Angela Harvey
Partner
Portrait photograph of Marc Baddams
Marc Baddams
Partner
Portrait photograph of Michael Treeby
Michael Treeby
Partner
Portrait photograph of Michael Hayter
Michael Hayter
Partner
Portrait photograph of Gerald Carides
Gerald Carides
Partner
Portrait photograph of Michael Byrnes
Michael Byrnes
Partner
Portrait photograph of Nick Dale
Nick Dale
Partner
Portrait photograph of Anna Sharpe
Anna Sharpe
Consultant
Portrait photograph of Esther Khoo
Esther Khoo
Special Counsel
Portrait photograph of John Trinh
John Trinh
Special Counsel
Portrait photograph of Jennifer Hold
Jennifer Hold
Special Counsel
Portrait photograph of Nicholas Hufton
Nicholas Hufton
Special Counsel
Portrait photograph of Kellie Van Munster
Kellie Van Munster
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Daniel Miller
Daniel Miller
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Lynn Hawes
Lynn Hawes
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Rebecca Priem
Rebecca Priem
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Stevie-Lee Nobbs
Stevie-Lee Nobbs
Associate
Portrait photograph of William Clement
William Clement
Associate
Portrait photograph of Kathryn Schultz
Kathryn Schultz
Associate

We can assist you with all of your legal needs includ­ing struc­tur­ing your busi­ness, draft­ing con­tracts, pri­va­cy and data require­ments, pro­tect­ing your brand and intel­lec­tu­al prop­er­ty and buy­ing or sell­ing businesses.

Use­ful links:

No mat­ter how rou­tine or com­plex the busi­ness issues you face, Mer­i­tas’ net­work of law firms is with you every step of the way. Mar­ket-lead­ing firms offer a full range of legal ser­vices, which enable you to do busi­ness any­where. Wise coun­sel and prac­ti­cal solu­tions are just a phone call or e‑mail away. Dis­cov­er the breadth and depth of the prac­tice and indus­try sec­tor capa­bil­i­ties avail­able to you through Meritas.

Publications

Valid­i­ty, void­abil­i­ty and unen­force­abil­i­ty in con­tract law

If you have entered into a con­tract, you or the oth­er par­ty have draft­ed with­out legal assis­tance, you should con­sid­er some…

Nav­i­gat­ing Pri­or­i­ty Dis­putes under the PPSR: Path­ways and con­sid­er­a­tions for Secured Parties

The Per­son­al Prop­er­ty Secu­ri­ties Reg­is­ter (PPSR) serves as a vital frame­work for estab­lish­ing and pro­tect­ing inter­ests in per­son­al prop­er­ty in Aus­tralia…

‘Tis the Sea­son to Avoid Fol­ly: Work­place Christ­mas Par­ties (2024 Edition)

It’s that time of year. The ​‘Sil­ly Sea­son’. For many organ­i­sa­tions, the offi­cial employ­er Christ­mas par­ty is imminent.The start­ing point for…

In the News

CPD webinar/​online mod­ule for UNSW Edge (Law & Justice)

Recent cas­es have shown that expert evi­dence is not the only evi­dence that a Court will rely on in deter­min­ing whether…

Fixed term employ­ment con­tracts and work­place Christ­mas par­ties, Michael Byrnes appeared on Nights with John Stan­ley on 2GB and 4BC on 4 Decem­ber 2024 to discuss

Fixed term employ­ment con­tracts and work­place Christ­mas par­ties, Michael Byrnes appeared on Nights with John Stan­ley on 2GB and 4BC…

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“What should you do if an employ­ee secret­ly records a sen­si­tive con­ver­sa­tion at work?”, pub­lished in HRM Online on 27 Novem­ber 2024

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“What should you do if an employ­ee secret­ly records a sen­si­tive con­ver­sa­tion at work?”, pub­lished…