John is the founder of Mahony Law.  Previously John was a partner of Michell Sillar, Abbott Tout and HWL Ebsworth.  He has acted for many large corporations, local councils, government departments, as well as individuals.

John has particular expertise in commercial drafting and interpretation, as well as commercial problem solving. John has run numerous large corporate acquisitions, requiring significant expertise in commercial law and commonsense.

John prides himself not only on his “black letter” law abilities, but also his commercial ability and straightforward approach – he can distil complex commercial arrangements into simple, understandable and effective documentation.

John is also heavily involved in many different types of Commercial Litigation, mainly in the Supreme Court of NSW.

Commercial and Corporate law:

• John has provided extensive and varied commercial and legal advice to Corporations (large and small), Partnerships, Incorporated Associations, Unincorporated Associations, Statutory Authorities, Trusts and individuals on various matters including: manufacturing and distribution agreements (national and international), Agency Agreements, Unit and Discretionary Trusts, Trade Practices, ASIC and ACCC compliance, sports advertising and management agreements, Multi media production agreements, Management and Consultancy Agreements, Confidentiality Agreements, Licence Agreements of many types, Brokerage Contracts, Heads of Agreement and M.O.U.s and Project Management Agreements
• M.B.O. share sale and purchase agreements and transactions, sale and purchase of businesses, Joint Ventures, Partnership Agreements, Shareholder Agreements, Buy/Sell agreements, Unit holder Agreements, Due Diligence investigations.

Commercial Property -

John has been involved in numerous large commercial and property transactions including freehold and leasehold transactions of all types for the Private Sector (especially Developers) and the Public Sector (including Local Councils).

Franchising advice and structuring -

John has acted for both Franchisors and Franchisees in different networks and the work he has carried out includes:

• Drafting amendments to Franchise Agreements;
• Drafting amendments to Disclosure Documents under the Franchising Code of Conduct;
• Advising on Franchisors’ rights and responsibilities under the Franchising Code of Conduct;
• Acting for the Franchisors in relation to disputes and/or litigation by and against Franchisees;
• Drafting all necessary commercial documents required by Franchisors;
• Providing commercial advice as and when required including Trade Practices advice, Intellectual Property advice and Trade Mark and Copyright advice;
• Perusing and considering all necessary commercial documents on behalf of Franchisors;
• Acting on the purchase and sale for Franchisors of franchised businesses within the network.

Securities advice-

John has extensive experience in securities advice including drafting and advising on mortgages, guarantees, loan instruments, bills of sale, company charges and various other forms of security.

Local Government Act advice

John has provided high level advice to Local Governments which has included interpretation of the Law for many local councils including tendering, meetings procedure, probity, conflicts of interest, ICAC, Codes of Conduct, revenue sources and constraints, Ultra Vires and Due Diligence.

Commercial litigation,

John currently runs a significant practice in commercial litigation for both individuals and corporations, based mainly in the Supreme Court of NSW and/or the Court of Appeal. John has become well known in having acted against large corporations on behalf of small companies or individuals, having regularly sued large banks and/or large commercial organizations which have sought to take advantage of their size and power to the detriment of small corporations or individuals with whom they trade.

Qualifications