McBratney Law

The Firm

McBratney Law is a boutique Brisbane corporate, commercial and IP firm providing top-tier, partner-led expertise, without the big-firm drawbacks. We are founded and led by Malcolm McBratney — one of Queensland’s most experienced corporate and IP lawyers, with more than 30 years in practice at some of Australia’s largest firms.

We are built without the technical depth of a top-tier firm, and deliver with the speed, focus and cost-efficiency of a specialist boutique. Clients work directly with senior lawyers. There are no layers, no hand-offs to junior solicitors and no oversized teams. We provide experienced counsel who understand the client’s business.

McBratney Law is a genuine one-stop shop for the front end of corporate life: we deal with mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and equity investment, commercial and technology contracts, and the full spectrum of intellectual property. We advise on strategy and commercialisation through to protection and enforcement. Corporate, commercial and IP capability of this depth in a single senior adviser is rare, and it means we can handle a transaction and the intellectual property at its heart together, delivering more efficient outcomes for clients.

We act for family-owned businesses, ASX-listed companies, multinationals establishing in Australia, and high-growth startups and their investors. Whether the matter is a cross-border acquisition, a SaaS or master services agreement, a brand-protection strategy or a contested IP dispute, clients receive the same thing, that is, pragmatic and commercially focused advice from lawyers who have extensive experience with businesses and companies.

Characterised by a senior-led team and an agile, responsive approach, McBratney Law consistently handles complex corporate, commercial, and IP matters traditionally reserved for national and global firms.

What Sets us Apart
• Partner-led, always. Clients receive direct access to a senior lawyer ensuring continuous, high-level oversight rather than delegated junior management.

• A rare triple capability. Corporate, commercial and IP expertise in one firm, unified in a single point of contact so the deal and the IP are handled together by your solicitor.

• Top-tier pedigree. Decades of experience drawn from Australia’s leading firms, applied at boutique speed and cost.

• Business-first. Commercial, concise advice aimed at getting the deal done.

• Efficient by design. A deliberately lean structure means lower overheads, faster turnaround and quicker decision-making

Sector Focus
Technology & IT • Fintech & payments • Life sciences & healthcare • Energy & resources • Agriculture • FMCG & consumer brands • Media, entertainment & talent • Private equity & venture capital • Startups & emerging companies.

Main Areas of Practice

Corporate & M&A:
Mergers, acquisitions and divestments; capital raisings; private equity and venture capital investment; ASX compliance and corporate governance; restructures; shareholder and joint-venture arrangements; employee share schemes; and pre-sale vendor due diligence and clean-ups. We regularly guide offshore corporations establishing in Australia and Australian companies expanding into the US, the EU and beyond.

Commercial & Technology Contracts:
The agreements that run a business: supply of goods and services, IT procurement, SaaS and cloud, master services agreements, joint ventures, R&D collaborations, franchising and IP licensing. We can assist in with drafting documents from a simple NDA to a complex platform or procurement deal, including agreements with banks, Visa, Mastercard and payment intermediaries for our fintech clients.

Intellectual Property:
End-to-end IP: strategy, commercialisation and portfolio development across trade marks, patents, designs and copyright, through to litigation and enforcement. We help clients in mining, agriculture, IT, life sciences and consumer sectors protect and exploit their most valuable assets, and we advise on brand protection and expansion, influencer and content arrangements, and cross-border IP issues.

Dispute Resolution & Litigation:
Commercial and IP disputes, including patent, trade mark and design litigation, brand and reputation protection and contractual disputes, are resolved commercially wherever possible and litigated effectively when necessary. Our litigation practice is led by Sarah Bryden.

Privacy & Data Protection:
Australian privacy and data-protection compliance, data-breach preparation and response, and the privacy dimensions of technology, marketing and cross-border operations.