Our expertise covers director disputes, shareholder disputes and partnership disputes:
Director Disputes
Disputes among company directors are a common but potentially damaging occurrence. While some issues can be swiftly and amicably resolved without legal intervention, others can escalate quickly creating significant risks to the company’s stability and reputation, as well as irreparably damaging the relationship between the key stakeholders in the business. Our dispute resolution team understands the intricacies of such conflicts and the stress they can bring. We have a wealth of specialist experience across all types of business structures, from small family companies to PLCs.
Director disputes often arise from:
- Differences in strategic vision: Disagreements regarding the long-term goals and direction of the company.
- Breaches of fiduciary duties: Conflicts stemming from perceived breaches of fiduciary duties. For example, a failure to act in the best interests of the company, to act within the powers conferred by the company’s articles of association and exercise those powers for proper purposes, and to avoid conflicts of interest and not to make any unauthorised profits.
- Breaches of agreements: Breaches of service contracts or shareholders agreements and restrictive covenant disputes.
- Corporate governance: Disputes relating to director appointments, removal or decision-making processes.
- Financial mismanagement: Disputes arising from allegations of financial impropriety or mismanagement. Often these involve allegations of fraud which must be handled with great sensitivity but may also require swift and decisive action to preserve company assets.
Our experienced and specialist team approach each case with a combination of wide-ranging legal expertise and strategic insight leading to the best possible outcome for your company.
Shareholder Disputes
Shareholder disputes are a recurrent feature of corporate life and often occur when a minority shareholder believes that the majority shareholders are acting in a way that unfairly harms their position. Prime examples include the withholding of a dividend, or the unlawful exclusion from the management of the company
Shareholders have a number of remedies that they can pursue, either under the companies legislation, or contractually if there is a shareholders agreement in place. We always look to see if the dispute can be resolved by asserting one of those and will advise the shareholder on the most proactive way to resolve their dispute, based on the applicable facts. .
Minority shareholders can bring various claims that they may be able to pursue to include a derivative action; a just and equitable winding up and/or an unfair prejudice petition. Our team can advise on any of these issues and we regularly advise both minority and majority shareholders. Please see our expertise page for further details.
Partnership/LLP Disputes
Disputes often occur when a partnership is looking to recruit, downsize or retire an older partner. In addition, the majority partners may want to shift the focus of the business, make changes or expel a partner for poor conduct or performance.
Often the rights and remedies of the partners will be contained within a partnership agreement.
These are all sensitive issues that need careful handling. We advise both remaining and departing partners in professional partnerships including general medical practitioners, accountants, solicitors and architects. We advise in respect of expulsion, breach of fiduciary duty, winding up, dissolution and actions for accounts.
