Legal Services for Brisbane, Queensland & Australian Businesses

Which Legal Services Does Blaze Business & Legal Provide?

Rachelle Hare has a broad range of skills gained in her 25+ years of practice as a Construction Lawyer and Commercial Lawyer in Brisbane, Queensland and Australia.

She provides Legal Services to construction businesses in the Construction Law and Commercial Law practice areas, from the planning phase through to conclusion of a project or transaction.

Rachelle advises in plain English and with a commercial focus, ensuring her legal advice is tailored to how you need to run your business. She takes into account any restrictions you have on how the business may act, including parent company policies and procedures, franchise requirements, lease provisions, joint venture arrangements, access entitlements, and more.

Construction Law covers the contracts, tenders, claims and legal issues involved in winning and delivering construction work. Rachelle spends much of her time on Construction Law matters, working on your tenders, your Construction Contracts, your Projects and your claims.

Commercial Law covers the contracts, ownership documents, governance arrangements and business transactions required to operate the company behind those projects.

Choosing between Construction Law and Commercial Law

Rachelle also carries out Commercial Law work to help your company run its business and enter into agreements with other parties. She can draft and review your lease, your employment documents and your shareholder arrangements, advise on circumstances causing legal challenges for your business, give advice on legislation and regulation applying to your business, prepare each legal document and act for you on a business sale or purchase.

Call Rachelle direct on (07) 3063 3373 if you are unsure which practice area of law applies to your issue. She will tell you on the call, at no cost.

Do You Need Construction Commercial Legal Advice?

Some legal issues clearly fit within Construction Law or Commercial Law. Others involve both the construction project and the company delivering it.

Call Rachelle on (07) 3063 3373 if you are unsure which service applies. She can discuss the issue, identify the documents she needs to see and direct you to the appropriate Legal Service, plus provide you with the definition of the form of Legal Service you may be seeking where appropriate.

Construction Law Services

Rachelle provides front-end Construction Law services and advice during project delivery. She has worked for Principals, Head Contractors, Subcontractors, Specialist Trade Contractors, consultants, suppliers, tenderers and bid teams, as well as for government and authority organisations.

Select the service you need to protect your business or that match the stage of your contract or project:

Construction Contract Drafting

Use Construction Contract Drafting when your business needs a Construction Contract, Subcontract, Consultancy Agreement or other project contract prepared or amended.

Construction Contract Review

Use Construction Contract Review when you have received a tender contract, head contract, Subcontract or Special Conditions that you have not signed, particularly where you need to be aware of the risks it involves and get a sense of whether or not your business should sign the contract.

The review can include a Contract Risk Analysis, advice on the proposed risk allocation and a Statement of Departures for submission with your tender or negotiation.

Construction Contract Negotiation

Use Construction Contract Negotiation when the parties are working through proposed departures, Special Conditions, liability provisions, payment terms or other changes before signing.

Construction Contract Advice

Use Construction Contract Advice when the contract has been signed and you need advice about your rights, obligations, notices or available options.

Construction Contract Administration and Commercial Management

Use Construction Contract Management for legal support with notices, payment, variations, delay, Extensions of Time and other contract administration requirements.

Broader project controls, financial performance, commercial reporting and management of the contracting chain fall within Commercial Management.

Construction Contract Claims and Disputes

Use Construction Contract Claims for advice on payment, variations, delay, Extensions of Time and other contractual claims.

Use Construction Contract Disputes when the parties already disagree about entitlement, valuation, payment, termination or another contract issue.

Blaze Business & Legal advises on claims, negotiations, Security of Payment and pre-litigation disputes. The practice does not conduct court proceedings or litigation.

Construction Project Delivery

Use Construction Project Delivery when your issue concerns how a project will be structured and delivered, including the proposed contract model, allocation of design responsibility and the relationship between project participants.

You can compare common Project Delivery Methods before deciding how the project and its contracts should be structured.

Commercial Law Services

Commercial Law covers the company, contracts and ownership arrangements behind the construction work. Rachelle also provides these services to business owners in professional services, transport, logistics, allied health, manufacturing, development, ICT and other industries.

Go to Commercial Law for advice or documents concerning:

• Commercial Contract drafting, review and negotiation

• Commercial Leases

• supply, services, distribution and agency agreements

• confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements

• employment contracts, position descriptions and KPIs

• Shareholders Agreements and Directors Agreements

• Joint Venture Agreements and Teaming Agreements

• Corporate Governance and company decision-making

• business purchases and sales

• mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructures

• privacy, data protection and regulatory compliance

• pre-litigation commercial disputes

Rachelle has owned and operated trading businesses alongside her legal career. She has negotiated her own Commercial Leases, prepared employment documents for her businesses and dealt with the legal requirements that arise when employing staff and operating from leased premises.

Rachelle also owns a business with a business partner and personally negotiated and drafted the Shareholders Agreement and Directors Agreement governing that relationship. Her advice on ownership arrangements addresses how the owners will make decisions, contribute funds, receive remuneration, transfer shares, resolve deadlocks and leave the business.

Legal Advice from a Construction Lawyer and Commercial Manager

Rachelle has more than 25 years of experience across private legal practice, in-house legal roles, Commercial Management and business ownership. Her construction roles include Acting General Counsel at Thiess and Senior Legal Counsel positions at Laing O’Rourke and Acciona. She has also worked with UGL, Golding, Australian Government Solicitor, Defence Housing Australia and the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group.

Her six years as a Commercial Manager included working on bids, contract administration, variations and Extension of Time claims alongside project, commercial and legal teams. This experience is relevant when legal advice must be used by the people pricing the tender, administering the contract or managing the project.

A proposed contract departure can affect the bid price, program, insurance, subcontracting strategy and Project controls. Where the Principal will not accept the departure, the business needs to understand what it must price, manage or pass down through the contracting chain if it signs the contract.

Read more about Rachelle’s locally focused services at Construction Lawyer Brisbane and Commercial Lawyer Brisbane.

External General Counsel for Ongoing Legal Support

External General Counsel is available to construction businesses that need regular senior legal support without employing a full-time in-house Lawyer.

The scope can include routine legal questions, Contract Review, Commercial Contracts, policies, governance, negotiation support and advice on more substantial issues as they arise. A fixed monthly retainer starts from $2,500 plus GST, with the scope agreed for the particular business.

How Are Legal Services Priced?

Blaze Business & Legal provides a fixed-price Quotation for the agreed scope before the Legal Services begin. The price depends on the documents, complexity, risk, urgency, required deliverables and the extent of any negotiation.

Published fixed prices are available for several defined Commercial Law services, including:

• Standard Shareholders Agreement from $850 plus GST

• Complex Shareholders Agreement from $2,500 plus GST

• Directors Agreement from $1,500 plus GST

• Partnership Agreement from $2,000 plus GST

• Loan Agreement from $1,500 plus GST

• Joint Venture Agreement from $3,000 plus GST

• Company incorporation for $2,400 plus GST, plus government fees

• Business sale or purchase (from $2,500 plus GST) with lease assignment (from $1,000 plus GST)

Construction Contract Review pricing depends on the length and complexity of the contract, the extent of amendments, the proposed contract value and the deliverables required. Rachelle will confirm the scope and fixed price after reviewing the relevant documents.

How Do You Engage Blaze Business & Legal?

Call Rachelle direct or send an enquiry explaining the Legal Services you need and any contractual, statutory or commercial deadline.

Rachelle offers a free chat so you can describe your issue, project or transaction and make sure you will both be a good fit for each other. Initial consultations allow you to carry out an assessment of a lawyer’s communication and style, to make sure you will work well together, and Rachelle encourages you to take the time to do so. 

Before issuing the engagement documents, Blaze Business & Legal determines whether it can accept the work and completes the required conflict search, identification, Onboarding and Due Diligence. Rachelle then sends a fixed-price Quotation and a Disclosure and Costs Agreement.

Blaze Business & Legal is engaged as your Lawyer when the person authorised to engage the practice signs and returns the Disclosure and Costs Agreement. A separate acceptance email is not required.

AML/CTF obligations apply when Blaze Business & Legal provides a designated service covered by the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006. Where customer due diligence is required, it must be completed before the designated service begins. An urgent deadline does not remove a verification or Due Diligence requirement imposed by law.

Read the complete process at How to Engage Blaze Business & Legal.

Does Blaze Business & Legal Conduct Litigation?

Blaze Business & Legal does not conduct court proceedings or litigation. Rachelle advises on contractual claims, negotiations, Security of Payment and pre-litigation construction and commercial disputes. She also helps you resolve disputes with your counterparty, for example, where the other party has committed a breach of contract or where your business needs to terminate.

Where court or tribunal proceedings become necessary, Rachelle can refer you to a specialist Litigation Lawyer. You can choose whether Blaze Business & Legal continues advising on your contracts, projects or other business issues while the Litigation Lawyer conducts the proceedings.

Legal Services from Brisbane to Businesses Across Australia

Blaze Business & Legal has its office at Suite 8, Level 7, 154 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane QLD 4101.

Rachelle provides Legal Services to businesses in Brisbane and elsewhere in Queensland, as well as businesses operating across each state and territory of Australia where the work falls within her expertise and the scope of the practice. 

Can I get Legal Services from someone other than a Lawyer in Qld?

Only lawyers can provide legal services in Queensland. Chapter 2 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) – General Requirements of Legal Practice – reserves the right to carry out legal practice in Queensland to Australian legal practitioners, ie admitted solicitors who hold a current practising certificate from the Queensland Law Society. For the purposes of Part 2.2 of the Legal Profession Act, Rachelle Hare is the Legal Practitioner Director of Blaze Business & Legal.

Our Integrated Business Advisory Services

Blaze Business & Legal is one of the few firms in Australia that provide integrated Business Advisory and Legal Services to any client who needs them. Our Legal Services can also be provided separate from Business Advisory and Construction Business Improvement services, as stand-alone legal advice.

Our engagement process for Legal Services is different from our Business Advisory engagements, as law firms are required to comply with additional processes and take action in certain ways. Where we provide Legal Services to you, these will each have its own scope, Quotation and engagement process.

FAQs About Legal Services

1. What Legal Services Does Blaze Business & Legal Provide?

The Legal Services provided by Blaze Business & Legal include Construction Law and Commercial Law. The work covers Construction Contracts, Commercial Contracts, tender departures, claims, contract administration, Commercial Leases, employment documents, ownership arrangements, Corporate Governance and business transactions.

2. Who Carries Out the Legal Work?

Rachelle Hare carries out the legal work and remains your direct contact. She is the Legal Practitioner Director of Blaze Business & Legal and has more than 25 years of experience in Construction Law, Commercial Law, in-house legal roles, Commercial Management and business ownership.

3. How Does Blaze Business & Legal Price Legal Services?

Blaze Business & Legal prices Legal Services by providing a fixed-price Quotation for the agreed scope. The price depends on the documents, complexity, risk, urgency, deliverables and required negotiation.

4. When Is Blaze Business & Legal Engaged as My Lawyer?

Blaze Business & Legal is engaged as your Lawyer when the person authorised to engage the practice signs and returns the Disclosure and Costs Agreement. The conflict search, required identification, Onboarding and Due Diligence take place before Rachelle sends the Quotation and Disclosure and Costs Agreement.

5. Can Blaze Business & Legal Start Urgent Legal Work Immediately?

Whether Blaze Business & Legal can start urgent Legal Services immediately depends on the deadline, available capacity and whether all required conflict, identification, Onboarding and Due Diligence steps have been completed. Tell Rachelle about every contractual, statutory and commercial deadline during the first call.

6. Does Blaze Business & Legal Act for Businesses Outside Brisbane?

Blaze Business & Legal acts for businesses in Brisbane, elsewhere in Queensland and across Australia where the required Legal Services fall within the scope of the practice.

7. Does Blaze Business & Legal Handle Litigation?

Blaze Business & Legal does not handle court proceedings or litigation. Rachelle advises on claims, negotiations and pre-litigation disputes and can refer you to a specialist Litigation Lawyer if proceedings become necessary.

8. Can a Construction Business Engage Rachelle as External General Counsel?

A construction business can engage Rachelle as its External General Counsel for an agreed monthly scope. Retainers start from $2,500 plus GST per month for a set number of hours’ work, and can cover regular legal questions, Contract Review, policies, governance and other agreed Legal Services.

Discuss the Legal Services Your Business Needs

Call Rachelle Hare direct to discuss your Construction Contract, Commercial Contract or other legal work. The preliminary call is free and does not oblige you to proceed.

Rachelle will ask about the work you need, the documents available and any deadline. If Blaze Business & Legal can accept the engagement, she will provide a fixed-price Quotation and Disclosure and Costs Agreement.

Call Rachelle Direct on (07) 3063 3373

Request a Fixed-Price Quote

You can also email enquiry@blazebusinessandlegal.com.au or send an enquiry through the Contact Blaze Business & Legal page.