Commercial Law
Boettcher Law advises Australian and international businesses on the commercial work that runs through every company: contracts, corporate structure, transactions, and the disputes that follow when they go wrong. We act from Sydney, Canberra and Frankfurt am Main, and much of our work is cross-border, particularly for German-speaking companies investing in or trading with Australia.
We draft and negotiate supply, distribution, services, technology and lease agreements, advise on share and business sales, shareholder arrangements and restructures, and act in commercial disputes in court, in arbitration and in negotiation. Where a matter turns on tax, we work with Accru Felsers through the German Professional Services Alliance, so the legal and the tax advice are settled together. Each matter is run by the lawyer advising on it, with a partner involved from the first instruction.
Litigation & Disputes
Boettcher Law acts in commercial and civil disputes in the courts of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, the Federal Court, tribunals and international arbitration. Fabian Hoffmann holds an unrestricted practising certificate as a barrister and solicitor in the ACT and appears for clients himself, so the lawyer who runs the file can also argue it.
We start with an assessment of what the client wants to achieve, what it will cost, and what can and cannot be recovered, and we recommend proceedings only where they make commercial sense. Much of our work is cross-border, for German-speaking clients and for disputes with a party, an asset or evidence overseas, and we work in English and in German throughout.
General Advice
Advice for businesses on the questions that arise between transactions: whether a contract can be terminated, what directors may and may not do, how to answer a letter of demand, whether a term in standard terms will hold, and what an overseas parent needs in place to operate in Australia. We give a direct answer, the reasons for it and the steps that follow, in English or in German.
Trusts
We draft and advise on trusts for families and businesses: discretionary, unit and hybrid trust deeds, deeds of variation, changes of trustee and appointor, testamentary trusts, and trusts that hold business and investment assets. We also advise trustees and beneficiaries on their powers and duties, on the meaning of an existing deed, and in disputes over how a trust is administered. The tax effect of a structure or variation is confirmed with the client's accountant before the documents are signed.
Company Secretarial
We provide company secretarial services for Australian companies and for the Australian subsidiaries of overseas groups: incorporation, constitutions, ASIC lodgements and changes, share issues and transfers, statutory registers, board and shareholder resolutions, and annual reviews. For European companies entering Australia we also act as resident director and public officer, so the local requirements are met from the day the company is registered.
Superannuation
We advise business owners, employers and families on the legal side of superannuation: self-managed super fund deeds and their amendment, corporate trustee arrangements, binding death benefit nominations and how super passes on death outside the will, and employer superannuation guarantee obligations, including the payday super changes that took effect on 1 July 2026. Investment and tax questions within a fund sit with the client's accountant or licensed financial adviser, and we work alongside them.
Technology Law
Software, data and brands are assets before they are disputes, and most of their value is fixed in the contract. We advise on software development and licensing agreements, SaaS and technology supply terms, ownership of intellectual property created by employees and contractors, privacy and data protection under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the European GDPR, and enforcement when intellectual property or confidential information is taken.
Tax Law
We advise on the legal structures and documents that decide tax outcomes: company, trust and partnership structures, share and business sales, restructures, cross-border arrangements between Australia, Germany and Europe, and transfer pricing for international groups. Tax calculations, returns and ATO ruling applications require a tax accountant. We work with Accru Felsers through the German Professional Services Alliance and bring them in at the start, so the numbers are settled before the documents are drawn.
Notary Public
Fabian Hoffmann is a notary public on the roll in both the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales. We witness and notarise signatures, certify copies, and prepare notarial certificates for documents to be used overseas, including powers of attorney, company and registry documents, and documents for German, Austrian and other European authorities. The notarial act and the DFAT apostille or authentication are both arranged from this office. Certified copies are made against the original in person, and notarial work can be conducted in German.
Strata Law
We advise lot owners, owners corporations and developers on strata and units plan matters in New South Wales and the ACT: building defects and claims against builders and developers, by-law disputes, levies and their recovery, rights over lots and common property, and the strata side of buying and selling, including what the owners corporation's records disclose before exchange.
Mediation
We represent clients at mediations, both court-ordered and those required by a contract before proceedings may start, and at settlement conferences. We prepare the client's position, the figures and the terms of settlement in advance so that an agreement reached on the day can be signed on the day, and we document settlements in deeds and consent orders that can be enforced if they are not honoured. Mediations can be conducted in English or in German.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
We act in negotiation, mediation, expert determination and arbitration, and advise on the dispute resolution clause before a dispute arises. Fabian Hoffmann sits as an arbitrator and acts as counsel in international arbitration under the SIAC, ACICA and ICC rules and in ad hoc proceedings, including German-Australian disputes conducted in German. Where a contract requires negotiation or mediation before proceedings, we run that step so that it is complied with and preserves the client's position if the matter goes further.
Leases
We act for landlords and tenants on commercial and retail leases in New South Wales and the ACT: drafting and negotiating leases and agreements for lease, disclosure obligations under the retail leases legislation, options and rent reviews, assignment and subletting, make good, and disputes over breach, termination and recovery of premises. For overseas businesses opening Australian premises, we review the lease before signing, where most of the tenant's long-term position is decided.
Mortgages
We draft and review mortgages for private lenders and borrowers, including all-moneys and specific-sum mortgages, related loan agreements and guarantees, mortgagee consents, and discharges. We also advise lenders on enforcement, from default notices to the exercise of the power of sale, and borrowers and guarantors who receive them, in New South Wales and the ACT.
Construction Law
We advise owners, developers, builders and subcontractors on the contract side of construction in New South Wales and the ACT: drafting and reviewing building and construction contracts, amending standard forms, variations and extensions of time, security and retention, payment claims under the security of payment legislation, and the warranties and insurances that apply to residential building work. When a project turns into a dispute, our litigation practice acts in adjudication, the tribunals, the courts and arbitration.
Banking & Finance
We act for borrowers and private lenders on property and business finance: facility and loan agreements, mortgages and general security deeds, guarantees, registration of security interests on the PPSR, intercreditor and subordination arrangements, and the variation, refinancing and discharge of existing facilities. For overseas investors and groups financing Australian property or operations, we deal with how the security and the guarantee chain work under Australian law alongside the home-country documents.
Building and Construction
We act for owners, developers, builders and subcontractors in building and construction disputes in New South Wales and the ACT: defective work, variations and delay claims, payment claims and adjudication under the security of payment legislation, termination of building contracts, and statutory warranty claims, including strata defect claims by owners corporations. We review and draft building contracts so that disputes are less likely to arise, and act in the tribunals, the courts and arbitration when they do.
Civil Litigation
We act in civil proceedings in the Local, Magistrates, District and Supreme Courts of New South Wales and the ACT, the Federal Court and on appeal: contract and commercial claims, claims against directors and professionals, property disputes, costs disputes, and interlocutory applications including freezing orders, security for costs and summary judgment. Fabian Hoffmann appears for clients in court himself, and we brief specialist counsel where the matter calls for it.
Debt Recovery
We recover commercial debts for businesses in Australia and across borders: letters of demand, statutory demands, proceedings for unpaid invoices, enforcement of judgments, and claims under guarantees. For German and European creditors with Australian debtors, and Australian creditors with debtors in Germany, we act on both sides of the border, including the German Mahnverfahren. We advise early on whether a debtor is worth pursuing and on the cost of each step against what is likely to be recovered.
Disputes
We act for businesses in disputes over intellectual property and confidential information: copyright and trade mark infringement, passing off and misleading conduct under the Australian Consumer Law, misuse of confidential information by former employees or business partners, and disputes over licences and ownership. We send and answer letters of demand, seek urgent injunctions where the conduct is continuing, and run proceedings in court or in arbitration where the contract requires it.
Employment Law
We advise employers on Australian employment law, with particular depth for German and European companies employing staff in Australia. Our work covers employment contracts and executive service agreements, modern award coverage and pay compliance, the National Employment Standards under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), restraints and confidentiality, termination and redundancy, unfair dismissal and general protections claims in the Fair Work Commission and the courts, and workplace investigations. Overseas employers often bring a home-country contract template, and we identify where Australian law, and award coverage in particular, overrides it before a dispute does. Advice can be given in English or in German.
General Advice
Advice at the point a dispute is forming: whether a claim or a defence is sound, what the evidence needs to show, which forum applies, what limitation periods are running, what a letter received from the other side means, and what each available step costs against what it achieves. We give a direct view of the prospects and a recommendation, including where the commercial answer is not to litigate.
High court
We act in appeals and applications for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia, and in intermediate appeals in the Court of Appeal and the Full Federal Court that may lead there. Work at this level is prepared with specialist appellate counsel, and we advise at the outset on whether the question has the general importance the High Court requires before leave is granted.
Intellectual Property
We advise businesses on owning, protecting and commercialising their intellectual property: who owns what is created by employees, contractors and development partners, assignments and licences, confidentiality arrangements, brand protection, and the intellectual property position in share and business sales and investment rounds. A large part of this work is for German and European companies bringing products, software and brands into Australia, where the ownership and licensing chain has to work under Australian law as well as at home. Patent and trade mark filing and prosecution are handled by registered attorneys, and we work with them on the commercial and contractual side.
Local Court
We act for businesses and individuals in civil claims in the Local Court of New South Wales: unpaid invoices and debts, contract and consumer claims, property damage, and the defence of claims brought against them, together with the enforcement of judgments once obtained. Local Court proceedings move quickly and costs recovery is limited, so we advise at the outset on what the claim is worth against what it will cost to run, and on whether an early offer or a letter of demand achieves the same result.
Magistrates Court
We act in civil claims in the ACT Magistrates Court from our Canberra office: commercial debts, contract disputes, property and consumer claims, the defence of claims, and the enforcement of judgments. Fabian Hoffmann appears in the ACT courts himself, and we advise at the outset on what the claim is worth against the cost of running it and whether it should instead go to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Supreme Court
We act in the Supreme Courts of New South Wales and the ACT in commercial and civil proceedings: contract and commercial claims, corporations and shareholder disputes, disputes over trusts and estates, urgent applications for injunctions and freezing orders, and appeals. Fabian Hoffmann appears for clients in the ACT Supreme Court himself, and we brief specialist counsel where the size or nature of the matter calls for it.
