Laura Young Bio

Laura specialises in a broad range of commercial matters, ranging from strategic transactions (acquisitions & disposals, joint ventures, restructures, partnerships and shareholders arrangements) to all aspects of daily commercial operations. Laura provides commercially driven and solution-oriented advice and support to her clients. Risk, risk appetite, strategic drivers and the broader commercial context all play a part in providing practical solutions and delivering excellent outcomes for her clients. Laura acts across a broad variety of industries (and acts for both private and government clients) and works closely with other practice groups and teams to deliver holistic support on a range of commercial matters. Her commercial contracting expertise includes the preparation, interpretation and negotiation of a variety of commercial contracts such as confidentiality arrangements, tenders, subcontractor arrangements, heads of agreement, supply & procurement arrangements, sponsorships, consultancy agreements, terms & conditions/credit applications, non-disclosure agreements, shareholders’ deeds, joint venture arrangements, partnerships, and manufacturing and distribution arrangements. As a core member of the firm’s Competition and Consumer group, Laura has a particular interest and expertise in the Australian Consumer Law, including advising on consumer guarantees and the unfair contract term regime. She also specialises in modern slavery and has a deep understanding of how to support organisations on their modern slavery compliance journey. Laura also acts on private sales and acquisitions (business and share sales), supporting her clients on either the buy or sell side through the diligence, negotiation and completion of such matters, providing strategic advice and focusing on risk mitigation and structuring to deliver the best outcome for her clients. Laura acts for various not-for-profit entities, has Board experience in the not-for-profit sector and works closely with the tax team to deliver excellent outcomes to clients operating in this space. Laura also has significant in-house experience through various client secondments in the past, including acting in a long-term appointment as Acting General Counsel of a major ASX listed client. Her time in-house played a key role in the development of both her legal skills as well as her practice style. Laura credits her ability to provide her clients with practical solution-based advice with a view of achieving a satisfactory commercial outcome to her time in-house.