Geoffrey Bartels

Geoff Bartels is a very experienced lawyer having practiced both in government and private practice extensively on business and corporate law and building and construction. Geoff co-wrote the first Futures Markets Act in 1979 when a supervising solicitor in the Stock Exchange Regulation unit of the former NSW Corporate Affairs Commission. He has advised extensively on managed investment schemes and directors duties and liabilities, corporate structuring and restructuring, company and partnership constitutions. Geoff has lectured on many corporate issues, most recently on shareholder agreements. He has been involved in numerous business solvency issues. Geoff has over 40 years been corporate advisor to many business from start ups to public companies. He has advised both franchisors and franchisees.
Geoff is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors since 1988 and is also a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia. He has been a director of large public companies and start ups. He has been a venturer in several businesses including a JV with a large media organisation and also a start up which was sold to a publicly listed company in due course.
With Geoff's broad and deep experience in business matters both as a lawyer and a businessman he brings a unique set of talents to advise both small and large businesses on the corporate and commercial issues.

Geoff has additionally practiced extensively in building and construction being first exposed more than 3 decades ago when advising on construction contracts for a large property trust. He has advised on issues from large office towers to small granny flat contracts. He has run disputes in the Supreme Court, at arbitration and in the NCAT. He acts for both builders, sub-contractors and owners. He prefers to get engaged from contract stage and thereby avoid disputes occurring by tailoring one of the myriad construction contracts to a document both sides can use effectively.

Geoff has a university qualification in commercial arbitration is a registered arbitrator and mediator and a Professional member of the Resolution Institute.