ABOUT
Our experience with overseas businesses and their Australian operations and subsidiaries makes us well placed to understand some of the unique challenges faced by businesses working with teams spread over different jurisdictions.
Thirty years of litigation experience,
boutique service
Cross-border expertise
For close to thirty years, our founder and principal, Fiona Henderson has been a lawyer for corporate clients from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, the USA and other countries, helping them build their bottom line by establishing a strong legal foundation for their operations and protecting their ongoing interests in Australia.
Fiona’s experience with overseas businesses and their Australian operations and subsidiaries makes her well placed to understand some of the unique challenges faced by businesses working with teams spread over different jurisdictions.
Her clients can concentrate on achieving their commercial objectives confident that their legal affairs are in order.
Additionally, Fiona protects the interests of individuals in Australia and overseas in estate disputes and cases of elder abuse.
We specialize in:
- establishing business operations in Australia for overseas companies,
- commercial litigation and dispute resolution,
- contested-estate and elder abuse matters.
We are:
- regularly chosen by other lawyers to defend their and their family’s interests,
- selected by growing global businesses to represent their interests in Australia.
German-speaking lawyer acting for international businesses
The Australian legal system is different from the legal systems many of Fiona’s clients are accustomed to, especially clients in Germany, Austria, USA, Switzerland, Italy and Norway. Fiona’s ability to anticipate and explain the sometimes-surprising differences is key to helping her clients act effectively and decisively in their day-to-day business operations, as well as, in a cross-border dispute.
An uncompromising friend
Fiona’s clients gain a trusted ally – someone who understands their business and has their back.
They benefit from advice that is frank, strategic, uncompromising, and always carefully considered to achieve commercial objectives.
Respected advocate
Clients profit from Fiona’s reputation in the Australian legal profession which is built on an honest, ethical and straight-shooting approach.
Chosen by other lawyers to defend their and their family’s private interests, she will not mislead, but neither will she back down in the face of aggressive tactics.
And she never gives up.
Highly qualified
Clients benefit from Fiona’s experience as a non-executive director/council member dealing with assets and turnovers of $100+ million.
She has a master’s degree in corporate and commercial law.
She is also a notary public which allows her to certify the international documents often needed by her multinational clients.
Fluent German speaker
For Fiona’s clients in Germany, Austria and Switzerland it can be an advantage that she is a German-speaking Australian lawyer.
It can speed things up and it makes it easier that she can deal with witnesses and documents in their original German.
Fiona’s approach
to the law
Fiona represents astute individuals and businesses ranging in size from small to billions of dollars in turnover. They conduct themselves with integrity and deal fairly, but they want to protect themselves assertively in the event of a dispute.
Strategic legal advice
Strategic legal advice is not about winning the legal argument. A legal strategy is about achieving the best commercial outcome. Half of Fiona’s cases are resolved without going to court, and 85% of those that go to court settle before the final hearing. Clients profit from these settlements, which often permit commercial outcomes that would not have been possible in court.
The past five years of disputes settled, damages awarded, injunctions granted, claims dismissed and property reinstated have been worth close to $100 million to her clients.
Fiona’s recent clients have included:
- An Austrian manufacturer of glass processing machinery and laser machines
- A German listed manufacturer of woodworking equipment
- A German manufacturer of mining equipment
- An Australian hardware wholesaler
- A Norwegian healthcare information and communication technology (ICT) developer.
- A USA listed manufacturer of power transmission and fibre optic products
- A Swiss transport and logistics company
- A USA private-equity group focusing on high performance beauty products
- A German family-owned manufacturer of cleaning products
- A New Zealand health and wellness brand of supplements and skincare
- An Italian manufacturer of medical devices
Recent testimonials
Far better prepared than the other side
The way Fiona puts things together is exceptional; it’s diligent and thorough. In the cases that she’s handled for us, I’ve noticed we’ve been far better prepared than the other side. And, of course, that is the reason why we were successful!! It was only because of how diligent and how thorough Fiona is.
Sandro Ianni
Head of HUB Region Oceania/South East Asia,
LISEC Australia Pty Ltd
Maintains the human touch for her clients
Litigation can be a daunting maze, but Fiona was able to understand that it can be a rollercoaster, as well as break down what was happening so that we could work together effectively.
Ross Campbell
Managing Director,
HOMAG Australia Pty Ltd
Probing questions to get results
Fiona’s understanding of the business means she asks probing questions when we’re talking about a dispute or a claim we’re looking at pursuing.
She gets her head around the issues quickly and cuts through to what matters, including the commercial reasons why we would pursue one case and not another. And then she keeps us focused on what’s important.
She’s also able to use different strategies to get a positive result, not just litigation. If you can get the result you want without going to court, that’s excellent.
Malcolm Stewart
Managing Director,
Preformed Line Products (Australia) Pty Ltd
Focused on the actual issues
A common tactic in legal representation is for the other side to make claims and counterclaims to keep your lawyer distractedly spending your money chasing everything down. It’s a trap to wear you down and tie up your lawyer on things that aren’t the main point.
Fiona doesn’t let that happen. She keeps the matter focused on the end goal and the actual issues.
Also, with Fiona, you don’t get passed through the firm to people who might not understand your business. You’re dealing with Fiona, with her extensive network of colleagues and barristers.
Chad Brown
CEO,
James Glen Pty Ltd
Rapid grasp of key concepts in complicated matters
Even though our matter was involved, and I had to send through a lot of documentation, Fiona grasped the whole overview and concept of everything really, really quickly.
I was surprised how little we had to explain. Instead, she quickly gave us a detached, professional opinion about whether our case was worth pursuing.
With Fiona, it’s not like sitting with lawyers in boardrooms, getting bombarded or feeling like you’re a nuisance. It was actually pleasant.
Michel Scheuble
Managing Director,
Fracht Australia Pty Ltd
Excellent cross-cultural communicator
Fiona immediately understood the size of our business and the scale of our problem — being treated dismissively by a larger company. She knew exactly how to defend us. Now, they know her by name in the home office and often ask for her opinion.
Fiona is a great lawyer and an adept cross-cultural communicator. She’s insightful, listens well and provides seasoned advice with great customer service.
We appreciate that our work isn’t handed down to a junior associate; it’s handled by Fiona herself with all her skill. And with her experience, she quickly understands our context and the situation, and gives it due consideration and comes back with options that I would not have come up with myself.
Dan Credazzi
Country Manager,
Australia & New Zealand, DNV Imatis AS
Achieved all our goals
We found a competitor had substantially copied part of our software so asked Fiona to provide advice regarding our legal options and also how to manage aspects of the media communications.
Hans Egger
The Modern Adviser
Co-Founder Astute Wheel
Very capable in complex matters
Fiona works hard, is extremely motivated and positive, very capable in complex legal matters, realistic and very successful. At the same time she is a nice person too.
Wolfgang Bennedik
Former Managing Director,
Connect Hearing Australia Pty Ltd
Strong team member
Fiona has provided the NACC and its members with valuable advice, and been instrumental in the chamber’s growth. Fiona is a strong team member and I highly recommend her and her work.
Sophia Demetriades Toftdahl
President,
Norwegian Australian Chamber of Commerce
Using the law to get the right outcomes
Fiona is an exceptional lawyer who blends her ethics and morality into the way she practices law. Rather than using the law as a weapon, she leverages it as a guide to get the right outcomes.
Phillip Evans
Founder, Managing Director
eeStrategy
Culturally sensitive and tactful — but frank
Fiona’s assistance has been invaluable in negotiating the terms of several joint venture agreements and in resolving a few potentially expensive disputes, avoiding the need to commence court proceedings.
Fiona’s legal advice is always honest, practical and commercial. She has the ability to analyse a problem and master the detail whilst not losing sight of the big picture and commerciality of the situation. She explains complex legal concepts clearly and at a level that can be easily understood and applied in a commercial context.
At times her advice has needed to be frank and not necessarily what I wanted to hear. In those circumstances, she has always managed to communicate that advice with tact and understanding.
In addition to being an excellent lawyer, I have really appreciated the respect and sensitivity which she has shown towards my indigenous cultural heritage.
Scott Franks
CEO,
Tocomwall Pty Ltd
Negotiating excellent results
Fiona has saved us a lot of money negotiating complex contracts with large corporate venues. Her skills negotiating with difficult individuals and keeping track of the details while not losing sight of our broader goals are fantastic.
She achieved a great outcome for us every time.
She’s also helped me to be across the myriad legal issues and requirements that are often overwhelming when you don’t have in-house lawyers.
I am so grateful for her expertise, friendly manner and integrity.
Ainsley Poulos
Director,
Eastside Speech Solutions