Practice Areas

Secured and Unsecured Collections Services

With over 45 years combined experience, Pauline Heng, Founding Director, Gino Pignone, Director of Legal Services and Matthew King, Corporate Counsel having acted across a broad range of legal and collections matters for bank and non-bank lenders and continue to act in, amongst other things, a wide range of secured and unsecured recoveries matters as well as litigation and advisory work for one of Australia's leading mortgage insurers. PH Legal is a panel firm on the Integris Limited Panel for the provision of legal services to its members.

Commercial and General Litigation

With over 45 years combined experience, Pauline Heng, Founding Director, Gino Pignone, Director of Legal Services and Matthew King, Corporate Counsel having acted across a broad range of litigation matters in all Courts of New South Wales, as well as the Federal and High Court of Australia.

Our litigation, dispute resolution and collections experience covers such areas as Insolvency, Commercial and Contractual disputes, Trade Practices disputes and Property disputes.

In particular we have acted in proceedings involving Deposit Bonds, Mortgage Insurance Shortfalls, Motor Vehicle Insurance, Workers Compensation Insurance, Banking and Finance litigation, Corporations Act applications, Recovery Enforcement, Individual and Corporate Insolvencies and Injunction applications. We have represented leading corporate and individual clients including financial institutions, creditors, liquidators, receivers, administrators and trustees in all areas of general commercial litigation and debt recovery.

Local Government, Planning and Environment law

Gino regularly advises corporate and individual clients as well as controllers and trustees of insolvent administrations and estates in all aspects of local government, environmental and related planning law and regulations.

Gino has had over 21 years of experience in this area of the law having acted for government, universities, financial institutions and other organisations in respect of planning and regulatory issues, environmental assessment matters as well as contamination and related issues. He has also been involved as the lawyer in charge of due diligence in respect of environmental issues concerning large acquisitions by clients.

Occupational Health and Safety

Gino has advised clients on compliance and acted in respect of prosecutions by WorkCover.

Conveyancing

PH Legal provides conveyancing and commercial services particularly with respect of sale of properties by controllers, trustees and mortgagees in possession. PH Legal is able to provide real estate transaction services particularly in respect of distress sale situations having acted for liquidators, private and public trustees as well as financial institutions on sales of this nature.

Corporate and Personal Insolvency

We regularly advise insolvency practitioners, directors and creditors both secured and unsecured on a wide variety of insolvency related issues. In addition to our banking and finance clients we act for private and public trustees and insolvency practitioners.

Migration Law

In conjunction with Hengfam Pty Ltd Pauline provides immigration advice to both corporate and private clients on various migration issues and has helped numerous families from all around the world settle in Australia successfully.

Pauline also provided pro bono immigration advice on behalf of the Immigration Rights and Advice Centre (IARC) from 1997 to 2007 when IARC ceased operating its "walk in" services at Parramatta and Surry Hills. PH Legal can assist you in the following areas:

  • most family, refugee and humanitarian visas, including:
    • De facto, spouse, fiancé and interdependency visas
    • Refugee and humanitarian visas
    • Child visas
    • Parent visas
    • Carer visas
    • Remaining relative visas
    • Aged dependent relative visas
    • Family members of a New Zealand citizen
  • many temporary visas, including bridging visas, visitor visas, electronic travel authorities and working holiday visas
  • resident return visas
  • Australian citizenship
  • the domestic violence provisions
  • conditions attached to visas, including condition 8503 ("no further stay")
  • criteria which must be met for visas, including health, character and provision of an assurance of support
  • avenues for merits review, including:
    • MRT, RRT and AAT review
      • Ministerial intervention following a decision of a Review Tribunal
      • information for people who do not hold a visa, including advice on detention, removal, bridging visas, cancellation procedures and exclusion periods
      • procedural issues, including Freedom of Information requests and complaints
      • whether an application can be made onshore