Our Team

Michael Tree­by

Partner
Prop­er­ty, Plan­ning & Projects, Com­mer­cial, Estate Plan­ning

I am a pas­sion­ate com­mer­cial lawyer with over 30 years’ expe­ri­ence in a num­ber of States of Aus­tralia and in the Unit­ed Kingdom.

I advise on a wide vari­ety of com­mer­cial trans­ac­tions from small busi­ness own­ers to large scale, mul­ti-juris­dic­tion­al deals for clients involv­ing com­plex own­er­ship struc­tures, lease back arrange­ments and financ­ing trans­ac­tions for medi­um and large sized enter­pris­es, includ­ing list­ed companies. 

Expe­ri­ence

My busi­ness law expe­ri­ence includes advis­ing on buy­ing and sell­ing com­pa­nies and/​or busi­ness assets of all sizes and com­plex­i­ties, draft­ing and nego­ti­at­ing share­hold­er and joint ven­ture arrange­ments, advis­ing on cus­tomer con­tracts includ­ing sup­ply, dis­tri­b­u­tion and exploita­tion agree­ments, and advis­ing on busi­ness suc­ces­sion structuring.

My prop­er­ty law expe­ri­ence ranges from straight for­ward home pur­chase and sale for indi­vid­ual clients to the pur­chase and sale of ful­ly and par­tial­ly ten­ant­ed high-rise office tow­ers, retail shops, agri­cul­tur­al farms and land devel­op­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties held as lease­hold, free­hold and stra­ta title. 

I also have exten­sive prop­er­ty leas­ing expe­ri­ence in the retail, com­mer­cial and indus­tri­al areas act­ing for both land­lords and ten­ants through­out Aus­tralia. I cur­rent­ly advise a num­ber of well-known nation­al and inter­na­tion­al brands in their Aus­tralian prop­er­ty portfolios. 

Busi­ness suc­ces­sion and estate plan­ning run hand in hand with my pri­vate client prac­tice and encom­pass Will prepa­ra­tion, buy/​sell arrange­ments and asset pro­tec­tion strategies. 

Expertise

  • Due diligence, sale and acquisition of businesses, shares and units
  • Due diligence, sale and acquisition of individual residential and mixed-use, rural, commercial, retail and industrial property portfolios
  • Property leasing
  • Drafting and negotiating joint ventures, strategic alliances, partnership and shareholder agreements
  • Family business succession, organisation and re-structuring
  • Corporate advisory
  • Personal and business structuring and asset protection
  • Estate planning

Roles, memberships and education

  • Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from QUT, 1989
  • Admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland, 1989
  • Admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, 1993
  • Admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW, 1994
  • Queensland Justice of the Peace (Qualified), 2015
  • Secretary, Manly Warringah Athletics Centre Incorporated, 2016 – present