Damian Burgess
FOUNDING PARTNER
Damian Burgess
Founding Partner
Damian Burgess is a world class operator with a passion for the law and over 40 years’ experience. He is dedicated to delivering the best possible result for his clients.
With a phenomenal track record of more than 40 years’ practice in the law, Damian Burgess brings an unmatched level of enthusiasm and commitment to his position at Burgess Thomson. He is armed with over 40 years’ legal experience and a personal approach that’s both open and honest.
Damian is widely recognised as one of Newcastle’s best lawyers and clients feel confident in Damian’s well established reputation, practical experience and professional judgement.
Damian’s commitment to achieving exceptional results is unwavering. He executes his work with exacting attention to detail, striving to achieve outstanding outcomes for clients which consistently exceed their expectations. His long list of repeat clients is testament to this.
Damian is a well-known and highly respected lawyer advising on legal issues affecting businesses and individuals in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens and broader Hunter region.
Areas of Practice
- Residential and commercial property conveyancing, contract reviews and contract preparation, sale and purchase transactions, property transfers, first home buyers, off the plan sales and purchases, property development and torrens title land subdivisions, residential strata subdivisions, transfer duty advice, self managed super fund purchases using bare trusts, retirement villages contracts and leases
- Residential and commercial lending and security including drafting and advising on finance and loan documents, general security and guarantee documents, mortgages, caveats, loan agreements, vendor finance agreements and independent legal advice on personal guarantee documents for guarantors
- Commercial and industrial leases, retail leases and lessee and lessor disclosure statements, leasing advice including drafting leases, reviewing and negotiating leases and acting for landlords and tenants, arranging transfer of leases and drafting deeds of assignment of lease, arranging surrender of leases and drafting deeds of surrender of lease, advising on build to lease transactions and drafting agreements for lease, licence agreements and subleases
- Estate planning including wills, enduring powers of attorney, appointments of enduring guardians, testamentary discretionary trusts, all needs protective trusts, blended family wills, life estates and right of residence/ life interest trusts, complex estate planning matters, taxation issues, advice regarding superannuation and binding death benefit nominations, integration of existing trust structures within estate planning, company powers of attorney
- Business succession planning for family groups, high net worth individuals and privately held businesses including strategies for protection of family wealth through loan and security documentation for family and related entity loans, reviewing trust, SMSF and corporate documentation and advising on strategies and documentation for succession of control
- Deceased estate administration including applications for grants of probate and letters of administration, resealing of probate grants in other jurisdictions, acting for executors in all aspects of estate administration including notices of death and transmission applications, realisation of estate assets and arranging distribution of estates to beneficiaries
- Deceased estate disputes and estate litigation, including contested estate claims, contested wills due to lack of testamentary capacity, duress, fraud or undue influence, estate administration claims, advice regarding informal wills
- Family provision claims under the Succession Act, acting for both plaintiffs in family provision claims and executors defending the estate
- Commercial dispute resolution including commercial contract disputes, leasing disputes, partnership and shareholder disputes
- Commercial contracts drafting, negotiation, review and advice
- Business sale and purchase contracts and advice regarding business acquisitions and employment law issues, asset sale agreements, contracts for sale of shares / share sale agreements, contracts for sale of units / unit sale agreements, deeds of restraint of trade, confidentiality agreements
- Business law advice including drafting and advising on unitholder agreements, shareholder agreements, joint venture agreements, partnership agreements, buy/sell agreements
- Asset protection and business structures advice including establishment of unit trusts, discretionary trusts and companies for business structuring purposes, self managed superannuation funds, advice regarding structuring, deeds of amendment of trust deeds, transfers of business real property assets to self managed superannuation funds
Qualifications
- Diploma in Law, University of Sydney
Admissions
- Supreme Court of New South Wales
- High Court of Australia
Memberships
- Law Society of New South Wales
- Newcastle Law Society
- Commercial Law Association of Australia
Outstanding Newcastle Lawyers & Conveyancers
Get In Touch With Damian Burgess
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