Partner and shareholder disputes
For owners of closely held companies, from two-person partnerships to family firms.
When the people who own a company stop agreeing, the business usually suffers before anyone files. Distributions stop, books go missing, one owner locks the other out of the accounts. We act for the owner who wants out, the owner who wants to stay, and sometimes the company itself.
The operating agreement or shareholder agreement sets most of the rules. We start there, then look at what the law adds where the agreement is silent, and tell you which way out is open and what each would cost.
Four ways these disputes end
A negotiated buyout
A price and terms for one owner to leave, often after a valuation both sides can live with.
Mediation
A day with a neutral, prepared like a hearing, which settles more of these cases than trial does.
A court-ordered remedy
Dissolution, an accounting or a receiver, where the agreement or the law allows one.
A trial on breach of duty
Claims that an owner or manager took money, an opportunity or a client that belonged to the company.
Before you call the other owner's lawyer
Can I be locked out of my own company?
It happens more than it should. What you can do about it depends on your agreement and on what kind of company it is. Bring the agreement and the last year of statements to the first call.
Do I need to keep working in the business during the dispute?
Often yes, and walking away can weaken your position. We tell you what to keep doing and what to stop doing before you change anything.
Can the company pay for my lawyer?
Sometimes, if the agreement says so or if you are defending a claim brought against you as a manager. We read that clause first.
Bring the agreement to the first call
We read the operating or shareholder agreement for the case assessment fee and tell you which exits it leaves open.