Bridget is a skilled corporate and commercial lawyer with extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, business restructuring, succession planning, and commercial contracts. Her experience dealing with both corporate and personal structures has given her a unique and comprehensive understanding of the risks and drivers of a business and those of its stakeholders. This understanding is further enhanced by her time as an in-house lawyer for a large Australian port and logistics services group.
Known for her practical, commercial approach, Bridget excels at quickly assessing situations, simplifying complex issues, and finding solutions that balance risk while achieving her clients’ goals.
Corporate/M&A expertise
With significant experience on both the buyer and seller side, Bridget advises clients on all facets of M&A transactions, including structuring, negotiating and executing deals, regulatory compliance and stakeholder management.
Examples of Bridget’s work includes:
- Advising the founding shareholders of an Australian beverage manufacturing business on its international restructure and sale of a minority stake of shares in its international group to a private equity firm.
- Advising a blinds and window furnishings manufacturer on the sale of shares and units to a large international corporate.
- Advising a blinds and window furnishings retailer and distributor, on the sale of shares to a large international corporate which included undertaking a complex corporate restructure to facilitate the sale.
Commercial expertise
Bridget’s commercial expertise spans general day-to-day commercial drafting and advice, through to high-value transactions and strategic projects. With a background as an in-house lawyer for a large Australian port and logistics services group, Bridget offers valuable legal counsel to companies, contractors, developers, and other stakeholders. Her experience allows her to navigate complex contracts, manage regulatory compliance, and handle risk management issues throughout a project’s lifecycle.
Notable examples of Bridget’s work include:
- Developing bespoke contracts for a civil construction company based in Australia.
- Advising on project specific joint venture arrangements.
- Negotiating long-term preferred-provider contracts and project framework agreements.
- Drafting and negotiating services, supply, distribution and partnering arrangements.
- General commercial contracting and advice.
Corporate restructures and business succession planning
Bridget works with her clients to strengthen and grow their businesses, whilst protecting their personal wealth and assets for future generations and owners. She works with clients of all sizes including high net-worth individuals, founders and other stakeholders, SMEs and family businesses, through to large corporates.
Examples of Bridget’s include:
- Implementing a family succession plan for a large family business, including establishing an overarching family council, supported by legally binding documents tailored to each of the various entities in the group, whilst ensuring all family members had buy-in along the way.
- Working with a large, closely held family business to first develop a structure which significantly minimised their risk and decreased their tax obligations over a number of years by utilising various corporate and trust structures. Later, when the client received a favourable offer from a potential purchaser, Bridget worked with both our tax and corporate teams to restructure the various entities into a simple sale vehicle, using rollover relief to avoid triggering any taxing events throughout the restructure process.
- Developing and implementing a personal and corporate succession plan for a highly successful family business incorporating assets held in more than 30 trusts and corporate entities and across multiple jurisdictions.
- Working with the owner of successful dental practices to assist his smooth transition to retirement via the restructure of his business, followed by a partial and then complete sale process.
- Advising on and preparing a personal asset protection structure for a high net worth client involving complex testamentary wills, powers of attorney, appointment of Medical Treatment Decision Makers, trusts, and equity transfer arrangements to separate assets from risks (family law, insolvency and bankruptcy).
