Director, shareholder, company & partnership disputes

When conversation turns into conflict, you need a legal team with the experience and expertise to protect your interests and achieve swift, commercially realistic results in the most cost efficient and risk free manner possible.

Clients ranging from individuals and entrepreneurs to corporations and multi-national organisations trust our commercial litigation lawyers, based in Kent, to deliver results for them in even the most complex of cases. We make it a point to get to know our clients, to understand their objectives thoroughly, provide clear advice and commercially minded recommendations in plain English, and to make ourselves available whenever and wherever our clients need us.

Our commercial litigation lawyers specialise in helping settle disputes using mediation, arbitration and other ADR approaches, but are equally skilled and experienced in fighting our clients’ corner in court where necessary. We can also offer risk management and litigation avoidance advice, to help stop issues developing into full disputes.

Individuals falling out in business is not uncommon, but it can have severe consequences for the organisation in question. Disputes between company directors, shareholders and partners can arise for a variety of reasons.

Our expert dispute lawyers work with clients including shareholders, directors, LLP members, partners and companies, taking a bespoke approach to understanding their specific issues so that we can resolve them in the quickest, least stressful and most cost effective way.

We combine deep legal expertise with commercial acumen to support clients in a wide range of disputes, including:

• The disputed removal or appointment of directors, LLP members or partners
• Disagreements over director loan accounts, remuneration, profit shares or distributions, dividends / the non-declaration of dividends
• The alteration of shares rights, or the creation of new share classes
• Failing to follow company articles, shareholder or partnership agreements, or implied agreements between business owners
• Changing company articles or partnership agreements to remove, limit or increase powers
• Excluding directors, LLP members or shareholders from operations, management or business information
• Unfair prejudice petitions for and against minority shareholders
• Bringing and defending derivative actions i.e. claims by shareholders on their company’s behalf, against a wrongdoing director
• Acting on behalf of shareholders to enforce their rights to purchase or sell shares under sale and purchase agreements
• Earn out or profit share disputes on business sales, transfers or when exiting a partner
• Breach of statutory duty or fiduciary duty claims for and against directors, partners and LLP members
• Fraud related disputes for and against directors, partners and LLP members
• Director misfeasance claims.

Ideally, any disputes should be dealt with by discussion and consensual resolution between the parties through negotiation, if possible. To avoid the extensive time and cost of court or arbitration proceedings, we will always consider if a dispute is suitable for mediation or another ADR method.

However, where this proves not to be possible, we are experts in the field and can comprehensively advise on the options and help to bring or defend claims that seek remedy and intervention from the Courts or, as appropriate, arbitral tribunals, such as for damages, compensation, injunctions or orders for the transfer of assets or shares.