Leisa Bayston
Principal Lawyer
+61 3 8600 6047
lbayston@aitken.com.au
Leisa Bayston
Areas of Law: Business Law, Intellectual Property, Commercial Law
Qualifications: Bachelor of Economics | Bachelor of Laws | Master of Laws
Leisa has more than 25 years’ experience in the legal industry. This has spanned large accounting firms, commercial law firms and in-house at large corporations including Macquarie Bank. In 2007 she started Bayston Group with her life and business partner Alister, which they owned and operated for 15 years.
Bayston Group was a boutique commercial firm that prided itself on supporting clients in navigating the legal landscape and finding practical and commercial solutions. Bayston Group’s clients ranged from listed companies to start-ups and SMEs.
Leisa focuses on cultivating great relationships with clients and aims to become their trusted adviser. The depth and breadth of Leisa’s experience allows her to ‘see around corners’, she is a natural problem solver and brings energy and wisdom to all her engagements.
Expertise
- Company establishment and structuring, including group structure advice, company incorporation, constitutions, trust establishment, provision of trust deeds, initial share and security issues and preparation of shareholders and security holders’ agreements
- Acting on funding requirements, from angel investors, through series A, B & C rounds, trade sales and roll ups, including due diligence processes, negotiation of Subscription Agreements and Shareholder Agreements with venture capital funders, SAFEs, Convertible notes, restructuring of capital structures, and related corporate law compliance issues
- Advising on employee and contractor arrangements, including contract templates, regulatory compliance advice, and creation of staff incentive programs, such as Employee Share Option Plans and Employee Share Schemes
- Protecting and managing the business’ intellectual property assets, including identifying sources of IP, contracting to ensure ownership by an entity quarantined from trading risk, and licensing to allow for safe exploitation
- Developing and protecting brands, including advising in connection with copyright, trademarks, domain names and consumer law issues
- Drafting contractual terms and agreements including SAAS, PAAS, Website Terms of Use, Master Services Agreements, Supplier Agreements, Customer Terms and API Agreements
- Assisting with general regulatory compliance, including corporations’ law, privacy and competition law including Unfair Contract Terms
Leisa is a Board Member of Foundation House (VFST Inc), a not-for-profit organisation which delivers specialist trauma focused services that work with the strengths and resilience of refugees, their families and communities, to rebuild lives shattered by torture and other traumatic events.