When it comes to business, partners and shareholders are often as invested in the success of a company as its founders. Unfortunately, like marriages, business relationships can end disastrously, with savage money disputes and legal battles that can bring a company to its knees. Whether your relationship is in trouble, or you are involved in a dispute with another shareholder or partner, a well-versed partnership and contract dispute lawyer can provide guidance.
How do you handle disputes in a partnership?
Disputes between partnership and contract dispute lawyer often stem from disagreements over major issues, such as how profit-sharing and compensation will be split, and how important decisions will be made. A lawyer can help draft a partnership agreement to lay out these issues and help prevent future conflict. If you find yourself in the middle of a disagreement, mediation can often make sense so that your “dirty laundry” does not get aired in court for everyone to see.
Some partners are not good at keeping their personal funds separate from those of the business, and may take equipment or inventory for their own use without accounting for it. Such behavior can drain your company of cash and cut into profits, preventing you from meeting your obligations to investors or paying your bills. A lawyer can represent you in lawsuits filed to recover those stolen assets.
In some cases, it may be necessary to resolve a dispute with a partner or shareholder by terminating the relationship and selling or buying the shares of the company. A lawyer can present a variety of options, including a buyout or freeze-out merger, that will resolve the dispute in accordance with state law and any operating agreements in place.