Corporate∙Commercial Lawyer∙Melbourne
Quick answer
Hourly rates commonly run $350 to $550 for a solicitor, $500 to $750 for a senior associate and $700 to $1,100 for a partner. Commercial legal work in Melbourne is priced by the scope of the matter and how hard the other side pushes, not by how long the document is. Summit Legal sets the scope in writing first, then quotes, so you know what you are buying before anyone starts. Call 03 7035 3100 for a straight answer and a firm quote.
How much does a commercial lawyer cost in Melbourne? A contract review with written advice generally lands at $900 to $2,500 as a fixed fee, a shareholders agreement for a small business at $3,500 to $8,000, and buying or selling a small to mid sized business at $8,000 to $25,000 in legal fees, before ASIC fees, searches and stamp duty. Your price comes down to your matter, not your turnover. Summit Legal gives a written scope and an itemised estimate up front, never a flat rate guessed before the documents are read. Call 03 7035 3100 or request a consultation.
What you can expect to pay
| Source / basis | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Solicitor, hourly | $350 – $550 |
| Senior associate, hourly | $500 – $750 |
| Partner, hourly | $700 – $1,100 |
| Contract review, written advice | $900 – $2,500 |
| Shareholders agreement, small | $3,500 – $8,000 |
| Business sale or purchase | $8,000 – $25,000 |
These ranges are general indications only and are not a quote. We quote your matter itemised, never a flat number guessed up front.
What actually drives your price in Melbourne
| Factor | Effect on price |
|---|---|
| Scope and negotiation | The biggest driver. A signed contract costs a fraction of one argued over five drafts |
| Deal structure | A share sale needs more due diligence than an asset sale |
| Counterparty | An unadvised or aggressive one costs more to deal with |
| Regulatory overlays | Franchising, licensing and foreign investment approval add layers |
| Urgency | After hours work attracts 1.5 to 2 times normal rates |
Why the cheapest quote usually costs more
Be cautious of a suspiciously low fixed fee on a matter with no defined end. That is the classic lowball, followed by an argument about scope once the file is open. A fair quote is itemised, tied to a written scope, states what is excluded, and names who will do the work and at what rate.
Need the work itself? See commercial and contract advisory or compare our corporate law service.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average cost of a commercial lawyer in Melbourne?
Rates in 2026 generally run about $350 to $550 an hour for a solicitor and up to $1,100 for a partner, with fixed fees of $900 to $2,500 for a contract review. Your price depends on your scope and how contested the matter is. We give a written scope and an itemised estimate, so call 03 7035 3100.
Can you compare prices for commercial legal work in Melbourne?
Yes. We provide an itemised estimate tied to your actual scope and the people doing the work, so you can compare it fairly against other Melbourne firms, with no flat-rate bait and no hidden disbursements.
Why is commercial legal work priced by scope, not by document length?
Most of the cost sits in the thinking and the negotiation, not the typing. A two page agreement can take a day if the exit mechanics are contested, and a thirty page template an hour if it is standard. Scope and counterparty behaviour predict the work far better than page count.
Is a cheap fixed fee for commercial legal work a good deal?
Usually not. Extremely low fixed fees are bait for scope arguments and variations once the file is open. A realistic, itemised quote tied to a written scope, with exclusions stated, is the safer value.
How much does a commercial lawyer cost Mount Waverley, Melbourne per hour?
Most Melbourne commercial firms work out to roughly $350 to $550 an hour for a solicitor, $500 to $750 for a senior associate and $700 to $1,100 for a partner. Firms outside the CBD may charge lower rates. Ask for the rate of every person on the file, because staffing mix moves the bill more than the headline partner rate.
What affects the cost of a commercial legal matter in Melbourne?
The scope, how many rounds of markups are needed, whether the other side is advised, and the deal structure. Franchising, licensing and foreign investment approval each add layers. Urgent and after hours work attracts a premium. Two Melbourne businesses with the same document can price very differently.
Does a larger business pay more in legal fees?
Usually, but size is not the reason. Larger businesses tend to run more contracts, more jurisdictions and more stakeholders, and each of those adds real working time. A small business with one contested supply agreement can cost more than a larger business signing a standard set of terms.
How much does it cost to add a shareholders agreement to a company setup?
Adding a shareholders agreement to a company setup is cheaper than commissioning it later, because the structure is already mapped and the parties are already at the table. A standalone shareholders agreement for a small business runs $3,500 to $8,000. Bundled with the setup, it is one scope and one estimate. Retrofitting one after a dispute has started costs the most of all.
What should an itemised commercial lawyer quote include?
A quote you can compare states the scope in writing, lists every exclusion, names the rate of each person on the file, and itemises disbursements such as ASIC fees, PPSR searches, land registry fees and stamp duty rather than burying them. In Victoria a law practice must give you a written costs disclosure setting out the basis of charging and an estimate of the total, and must update it if anything significant changes. If a quote is a single number with no scope, you cannot tell what it covers.
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How to compare three Melbourne quotes side by side
Commercial legal work is one of the few services where the cheapest quote and the most expensive quote can describe completely different jobs. The gap is rarely greed. It is scope. One firm is quoting a full review of every agreement that touches the deal, and another is quoting a quick read of the one document you sent. Both are honestly reporting their price. Only one of them will protect you at settlement.
The fix is to make every quote answer the same five questions before you look at the totals. Put the three quotes next to each other and check:
Who does the work, and at what rate?
Ask for the rate of every person who will touch the file. A senior associate at $600 with a partner reviewing often costs less than a partner at $900 doing everything, and it is usually the better model for standard work.
What is the scope, and what is excluded?
A scope without exclusions is not a scope. Ask directly whether a second round of markups, a call with the other side’s lawyer, and a late variation sit inside the number or on top of it.
Fixed fee, capped hourly, or open hourly?
Fixed suits bounded work. If it is hourly, ask whether there is a cap, what happens when you reach it, and what triggers a move to a different rate.
Are disbursements itemised?
ASIC fees, PPSR searches and registrations, land registry fees, barrister fees and stamp duty are your money, not the firm’s revenue. Stamp duty alone can exceed every other line on a transaction.
Will you get interim bills with narrations?
Monthly interim bills with detail let you see a matter running hot while you can still change direction. One invoice at the end does not.
Once all three quotes answer those questions, the comparison usually resolves itself, and quite often the middle number turns out to be the only complete one.
Is a commercial lawyer worth the money for a Melbourne business?
We would rather answer this honestly than sell you work you do not need. Not every business needs a commercial lawyer on retainer. If you sign the same standard agreements repeatedly, a properly drafted template set will pay for itself by the third or fourth deal, and the drafting fee is a one off. If your contracts are simple and your counterparties reasonable, you may not need anything more.
Where legal spend earns its keep is at the points where the cost of getting it wrong dwarfs the cost of getting it right. Before you sign a commercial or retail lease, because it is typically a five to ten year obligation and reviewing it costs a fraction of unwinding it. Before you take on a co-founder or an investor, because a shareholders agreement costs $3,500 to $8,000 and a shareholder dispute often costs the business.
A large share of Melbourne businesses also carry two or three quiet problems that were cheap to fix and are expensive to fix later. A company set up without a shareholders agreement. Contracts copied from a template that do not match how the business actually operates. Intellectual property that legally sits with a contractor or a founder rather than with the company. None of these surface until a sale, a funding round or a falling out, and at that point each one is a price reduction or a delayed settlement.
Disputes deserve a separate warning label, because the spend is unpredictable and the recovery is partial. A contested commercial matter running to a defended hearing commonly costs six figures on each side. In Victoria, claims up to $100,000 generally sit within the Magistrates’ Court or VCAT’s Civil Claims List, while the County and Supreme Courts have unlimited civil jurisdiction. VCAT is faster and cheaper, but it generally does not order costs recovery, so each party usually bears their own. The recovery in a court is typically only part of what you spent.
If a formal review shows your contracts are in reasonable shape, we will tell you so and you will not be talked into anything. Read the longer discussion on our commercial and contract advisory page, or see what counts as an unfair contract term in Australia for the wider picture on standard form agreements.
Related reading for Melbourne businesses
Get a written scope and an itemised estimate
We review, show you what we find, and put every line in writing before any work starts. Call 03 7035 3100, email info@summitlegalco.com.au, or request a consultation.
This article is general information about legal costs in Victoria. It is not legal advice and does not take into account your circumstances. Cost ranges are general indications only and are not a quote. For advice on your matter, speak to a qualified solicitor.
