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 William Clement
William Clement
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Kathryn Schultz
Kathryn Schultz
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Hugo Mahony
Hugo Mahony
Associate*
Portrait photograph of Peter Kim
Peter Kim
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Jess Hui
Jess Hui
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Alexander Leong
Alexander Leong
Associate
Portrait photograph of Emma Van Klaveren
Emma Van Klaveren
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

10 year long stop on build­ing defect claims rein­forced for con­tri­bu­tion claims

The recent deci­sion in For­tius Broad­way No 1 Pty Ltd V ACN 103 211 141 Pty Ltd (for­mer­ly known as Wat­pac Con­struc­tion…

A High­er Evi­den­tiary Bur­den for Work Orders: The Prac­ti­cal Impli­ca­tions of The Own­ers – Stra­ta Plan No 102171 v Ceerose Pty Ltd [2025] NSW­CATCD 137

The deci­sion in The Own­ers – Stra­ta Plan No 102171 v Ceerose Pty Ltd; Zone Q Mil­sons Point Devel­op­ment Pty Ltd v Ceerose…

Impor­tant Work­place Rela­tions Changes Effec­tive 1 July 2026

Employ­ers and employ­ees alike should be aware of impor­tant changes in the work­place rela­tions are­na, effec­tive 1 July 2026. From that date:the…

In the News

Roger Corn­forth Retires Fol­low­ing 45 Years of Dis­tin­guished Legal Practice

Roger’s career has been defined by trust­ed rela­tion­ships, prac­ti­cal advice and an unwa­ver­ing com­mit­ment to his clients. Begin­ning his legal…

Protest group los­es appeal to obtain gov­ern­ment documents

The cas­es — Mudgee Region Health Alliance v Min­is­ter for Finance, Domes­tic Man­u­fac­tur­ing and Gov­ern­ment Pro­cure­ment and Nat­ur­al Resources [2026] NSW­CATAD…

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“The PM v work­place stan­dards”, pub­lished in HR Leader on 8 July 2026

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“The PM v work­place stan­dards”, pub­lished in HR Leader on 8 July 2026To read the…