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 Kellie Van Munster
Kellie Van Munster
Special Counsel
Portrait photograph of Daniel Miller
Daniel Miller
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
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Kathryn Schultz
Kathryn Schultz
Associate
Portrait photograph of Hugo Mahony
Hugo Mahony
Associate*
Portrait photograph of Peter Kim
Peter Kim
Senior 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

A Frus­trat­ed FWC: Look­ing beyond the ​“Plumber’s Crack”

The recent Fair Work Com­mis­sion (FWC) deci­sion in Antho­ny Davitkov v Wool­worths Group Lim­it­ed [2026] FWC 1655 has attract­ed much mirth…

Aus­tralian Anti-Mon­ey Laun­der­ing AML/CTF Tranche 2 laws are coming

Australia’s Anti-Mon­ey Laun­der­ing and Counter-Ter­ror­ism Financ­ing (AML/CTF) Act is designed to stop ille­gal funds from enter­ing the finan­cial sys­tem. It…

Ober­to Pty Ltd v The Own­ers Stra­ta Plan No 2004 No 2 [2026] NSW­CATCD 24 & costs in Stra­ta Dis­putes – Rule 38 of Civ­il and Admin­is­tra­tive Rules 2014

After a lot own­er was suc­cess­ful in its claim for dam­ages in an apart­ment build­ing as a result of an own­ers cor­po­ra­tion’s…

In the News

2026 Insol­ven­cy & Financier Drinks | Thank you to our clients and friends

Marc Bad­dams, Michael Hayter, Ger­ald Carides, Nick Dale, and Swaab’s Insol­ven­cy team would like to extend their thanks to our…

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“Cus­tomer and con­trac­tor ordered to pay $116,000 for homo­pho­bic harass­ment of man­ag­er”, pub­lished in the Aus­tralian on 18 May 2026

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“Cus­tomer and con­trac­tor ordered to pay $116,000 for homo­pho­bic harass­ment of man­ag­er”, pub­lished…

Michael Byrnes appeared on McK­night Tonight with Robert McK­night on 12 May 2026 to dis­cuss the lat­est court doc­u­ments in the sep­a­rate legal pro­ceed­ings com­menced by Kyle Sandi­lands and Jack­ie ​‘O’ Hen­der­son against ARN

Michael Byrnes appeared on McK­night Tonight with Robert McK­night on 12 May 2026 to dis­cuss the lat­est court doc­u­ments in the…