Craig Higginbotham, Senior Partner
Craig has had more than 30 years’ experience in law, including as a Partner in several major national mid-tier Australian Law Firms for more than 17 years.
Craig has been an Accredited Specialist in Commercial Litigation law since 1998. Over this time, Craig has advised multi nationals and most of Australia’s largest listed public companies in a wide range of areas from disputes, corporate and commercial, property, corporate restructure and insolvency
Craig has extensive experience on corporate and commercial transactions, including acquisitions and sales, contractual negotiation and preparation, shareholder agreements, regulatory advice and representation including in relation to directors’ duties and regulatory enforcement action. Craig’s property experience includes a focus on the retail industry, in particular retail leasing, both transactional and disputes.
Craig is a skilled negotiator and has conducted thousands of successful negotiations and mediations, achieving the resolution of disputes for his clients. Craig acts in both pre-litigation negotiations and mediations throughout Australia, and in litigation in all Tribunals and Courts across Australia.
Craig applies his specialist legal skills in a manner which provides a practical and commercial outcome for his clients.
In addition, Craig is an experienced corporate restructuring and insolvency practitioner and routinely acts for Liquidators and Administrators in respect of advice and recovery of assets. This experience enables Craig to provide practical and effective advice to directors in respect of insolvency issues, including safe harbor protection, and defence of claims arising from insolvency, including preference claims and insolvent trading claims.
Practice Areas
Dispute Resolution
- Alternative dispute resolution – negotiation, mediation, arbitration, expert determination
- Litigation – Tribunals and Courts throughout Australia
- Contractual disputes
- Shareholder disputes
- Misleading & deceptive conduct
- Retail leasing disputes
- Debt recovery
- Intellectual property disputes
- Property disputes
- Regulatory disputes – ASIC, ACCC, Fair Work Ombudsman
Corporate and Commercial Law
- Due diligence
- Acquisition and sale
- Shareholder issues
- Directors’ duties and regulatory advice
- Financing and securitisation
- Trade terms
- Distribution agreements
- Intellectual property protection
- Franchising
- Regulatory, enforcement action advice and representation – ASIC, ACCC, Fair Work Ombudsman
- Product recall advice
Property Law
- Acquisitions and sales
- Leasing – retail, commercial, office & industrial
- Retail leasing
- Property disputes
Insolvency and Restructuring
- Directors duties and safe harbour protection
- Preference claims
- Directors breach of duty and insolvent trading claims
- Restructuring – DOCA, VA and Liquidation
- Personal bankruptcy
Qualifications
Bachelor of Laws, University of Technology Sydney (LLB) (1990)
Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, The College of Law (Grad. Dip. LP) (1991)
Solicitor of High Court of Australia and Supreme Court of New South Wales (1991)
Notary Public, Sydney (1999)
Masters of Law & Management, Australian Graduate School of Management (UNSW)(MLM) (2001)
Accredited Specialist Commercial Litigation Law (Law Society of New South Wales)
Craig Higginbotham
m. +61 402 126 222
e. chigginbotham@teneolaw.com.au
Sarah Robertson, Partner
Sarah has more than 20 years’ experience in law, including several in house legal roles. She has extensive experience in commercial property with a particular speciality in telecommunications property. In addition, Sarah has extensive experience in office and industrial, commercial and retail leasing, general property matters and commercial law.
Sarah has extensive experience providing legal services to listed property trusts, particularly in the office and shopping centre space, corporations, developers and national landlords and tenants. She has extensive experience in drafting and reviewing agreements for lease, leases, licences, development agreements and other related documents, as well as advising on developments, subdivisions, easements, property management and other property related transactions.
Practice Areas
Property Law
- Telecommunications leasing, access and general property
- Telecommunications Site Audits
- Office, industrial and retail leasing for landlords and tenants
- Property disputes
- Acquisitions and sales of commercial, industrial and retail property
- Property due diligence
- Property management
- General property advice
Commercial
- Telecommunications legislation and regulatory matters
- Contract negotiations and disputes
- General commercial advice
Qualifications
Bachelor of Laws, University of Technology of Sydney (LLB)
Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, The College of Law (Grad. Dip. LP)
Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Master of Laws, Macquarie University
Sarah Robertson
m. +61 422 816 425
e. srobertson@teneolaw.com.au
Richen Mojica, Senior Associate
Richen completed his law degree in 2019 and, in addition to his many years of experience as a paralegal, graduate solicitor and then solicitor, he now practises as a Senior Associate, having the day to day conduct of a wide range of matters including dispute resolution and litigation, insolvency, commercial and property matters.
Richen is highly skilled in assisting clients with all forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Litigation, including attempting to resolve matters through mediation, arbitration and other settlement discussions, running proceedings in all Federal and State Court jurisdictions, briefing Counsel, taking witness statements and affidavits, handling interlocutory issues including security for costs applications and all other work required required in a range of matters. In commercial matters, Richen routinely drafts commercial agreements including share sale agreements and terms of trade. Richen also has an in-depth knowledge of the insolvency and reconstruction sector and manages recovery claims made by liquidators for insolvency trading and uncommercial transactions, and in bankruptcy matters.
Richen is also a qualified Chartered Accountant in Australia and New Zealand, a Certified Public Accountant in the Philippines and an expert in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). He has had more than 12 years’ experience in assurance and business advisory, corporate and financial reporting, tax and statutory compliance, and treasury.
This experience provides Richen with a wide range of legal, accounting and business experience and industry knowledge. Richen’s diverse professional background and experience provides additional value to the work he undertakes for our clients.
Richen is widely travelled and has worked in several large firms and corporations in Australia and overseas, including the Philippines and the United States of America.
Practice Areas
Dispute Resolution
- Debt recovery proceedings – preparation of statement of claim, service and application for default judgment and enforcement
- Misleading and deceptive conduct claim – preparation of brief to counsel, instructing counsel in witness conferences, preparation of court bundles and general assistance at hearing
- Retail lease mediations
- Claim for defective work and claims for misleading and deceptive conduct and fraud
- Claim for breaches of the Retail Lease
- Misleading and deceptive conduct claim – preparation of witness affidavits
- Breach of commercial lease claims – appearance at court on return of subpoena, preparation of court bundles, brief to counsel, witness statements, research both legal and factual
Corporate and Commercial
- Sale of shares transaction – drafting Share Sale Agreements.
- Privacy policy – advice on Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) and drafting corporate privacy policy
- Advice on TGA compliance issues
- Advice to Liquidators on the assetless administration fund of ASIC
- General corporate regulatory advice
- FOI advice and requests
- FWO advice and representation
Insolvency
- Application for annulment of bankruptcy
- Letters of demand and Statements of Claim on behalf of the Trustee of a bankrupt estate to recover properties from transactions that were regarded as void against the Trustee
- Acting on behalf of a Liquidator in the interlocutory application of the Defendant to terminate the winding up of a company
Property
- Commercial lease advice
- Residential conveyancing
- Retail leasing
Qualifications
Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, University of the City of Manila, Philippines (2000)
Certified Public Accountant, Philippines (2000)
Chartered Accountant, Australia and New Zealand (2009)
Juris Doctor, University of Sydney (2019)
Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, The College of Law (Grad. Dip. LP) (2020)
Solicitor of Supreme Court of New South Wales (2020)
Richen Mojica
e. rmojica@teneolaw.com.au
Nicole Sarraf, Solicitor
Nicole Sarraf recently graduated from a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Technology. Nicole has joined the Teneo team as a Solicitor, and will be admitted as a Solicitor in late June 2022. Nicole’s experience includes previous work as a Paralegal, assisting in all areas of law, including commercial and corporate matters.
In addition, Nicole has experience in Property Law, including in relation to the retail industry.
Nicole assists our clients in general business law matters, involving advice on business structuring, shareholder agreements, distribution agreements, terms and conditions of trade, and including drafting and interpreting business contracts. Nicole works closely with the Principal, Craig Higginbotham, in our corporate and commercial team.
Practice Areas
Corporate and Commercial
- Research and briefing memorandums
- Assisting with drafting of advices
- Due diligence
- Acquisition and sale
- Shareholder issues
- Directors’ duties and regulatory advice
- Trade terms
- Distribution agreements
- Regulatory, enforcement action advice and representation – ASIC, ACCC, Fair Work Ombudsman
Property and Retail
- Leasing – retail, commercial, office & industrial
- Retail leasing
- Property disputes
Nicole Sarraf
e. nsarraf@teneolaw.com.au
Lynette Prichard, Senior Paralegal
Lynette has over 20 years experience in the legal industry, having commenced working for a sole practitioner shortly after her arrival to Australia from New Zealand in 1998.
Lynette has comprehensive knowledge of the legal system, gaining her experience firstly as a law clerk working in a small CBD based Sydney legal practice, before taking on a role as executive assistant for the busy Senior Litigation Partner of a mid-tier law firm. Her desire to continually learn, remain challenged and build and maintain strong client relationships led to promotions as Paralegal and then Senior Paralegal, supporting larger Litigation and Dispute Resolution teams in a vast range of matters across all jurisdictions.
Lynette’s extensive experience includes working with individuals, small to medium enterprises, major Australian companies and multinational corporations, supporting her team in a wide range of matters across a variety of sectors. This has encompassed work in the areas of corporate and commercial, litigation and dispute resolution, property and retail, and insolvency and restructuring.
Lynette has also been responsible for the day to day managing of conveyancing, breach of lease, divorce, debt recovery and wills and estates matters, including attending settlements, drafting Court pleadings and evidence, co-ordinating interviews and taking witness statements, conducting research and investigations, and briefing and instructing Counsel in Court proceedings.
Career highlights for Lynette include being involved in larger high profile Court proceedings and government inquiries, having assisted her team during the Royal Commission into the AWB Limited Oil-for-Food Program scandal, and the McCabe family’s action against cigarette giant British American Tobacco, as well as its subsequent appeal against the McCabe Estate, and eventual out of Court settlement.
Lynette plays an essential role within the firm, and continues to utilise her skills to provide practical, capable and efficient support to her team. She is a sound, mature, team player who is committed to anticipating and meeting deadlines, who deals with the unexpected promptly and professionally and is able to facilitate seamless collaboration and teamwork, for the benefit of our clients and to ensure the firm’s continual success.
Practice Areas
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
- Investigation and evidence gathering
- Preliminary document drafting, including Statements of Claim, other pleadings and evidence
- Co-ordinating and communicating with parties, experts, legal support agencies, mediators and Counsel
- Arbitration, mediation and negotiation support
- Researching relevant case law, regulations and legal commentary
- Handling, reviewing and undertaking discovery
- Reviewing and reporting on Subpoenas and produced material
- Briefing and instructing Counsel
- Pre-trial, courtroom, and hearing support
- Judgment enforcement and recovery
- Costs assessment proceedings
Corporate and Commercial
- Loan security
- PPSR
- Contract drafting, deed drafting
Bankruptcy and Insolvency
- Investigation and evidence gathering
- Drafting and issuing letters of demand
- Issuing Bankruptcy Notices, overcoming service issues
- Drafting and serving Statutory Demands and supporting Affidavit evidence
- Preparation, filing and service of Creditors Petitions and supporting documentation
- Briefing and instructing Counsel
- Co-ordinating and communicating with parties, Trustees, Administrators, Liquidators, legal support agencies and Counsel
- Researching relevant case law, regulations and legal commentary
- Pre-trial, courtroom, and hearing support
Property and Retail
- Residential conveyancing transactions
- PEXA transactions
- Preparation and lodgement of Caveats
- Preparation, execution and registration of retail and commercial leases for both tenants and landlords
- Issuing relevant notices for lease breaches
Probate
- Investigation into assets, liabilities and claims against Estate
- Publishing statutory Notices
- Drafting Court pleadings and evidence
- Co-ordinating and communicating with Executors, beneficiaries and relevant third parties
- Administration of Estate, including liquidation and transfer of assets, both real and personal
- Distribution of Estate to beneficiaries, and passing of accounts to Court
Lynette Prichard
e. lprichard@teneolaw.com.au
Charlotte Bathgate, Paralegal
Charlotte Bathgate, Paralegal
Charlotte joins our team as a Paralegal supporting senior staff in all practice areas. In 2022, Charlotte commenced her legal studies, undertaking a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney.
Charlotte’s experience includes assisting on matters involving drafting advices, Court support including liaising with and preparing briefs to Counsel, legal research, small claims and Court hearings. Charlotte’s desire to broaden her knowledge and drive to exceed expectations for clients, contributes to her being a valued member of our team.
Practice Areas
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
- Preliminary document drafting
- Communicating with parties, legal support agencies, Counsel, experts and mediators
- Researching relevant case law, regulations and legal commentary
- Court support
Corporate and Commercial
- Assisting with drafting of advices
- Research and briefing memorandums
Bankruptcy and Insolvency
- Researching relevant case law, regulations and legal commentary
- Court support
Charlotte Bathgate
e. cbathgate@teneolaw.com.au
