We are committed to resolving shareholder rights disputes and protecting client interests in closely held, non-publicly traded enterprises. Our firm’s geographic reach, size, depth, and breadth of experience enable us to successfully navigate the complex conflicts that affect closely held businesses and their owners. Our focus on planning helps prevent or minimize such conflicts before they arise.

Our Shareholder Disputes Group handles various issues involving shareholders, partners and members (owners). We are well-versed in the common characteristics guiding ownership structures that lend themselves to conflicts among investors and shareholders, including:

• Disputes arising from the nature of majority-minority shareholder relationships, in which the majority controls the enterprise and works to protect interests that clash with those of the minority
• Conflicts stemming from the minority feeling excluded from the benefits of its stake in the enterprise

The potential for conflict and impasse exists in all ownership structures. Our attorneys are well-positioned to handle such disagreements in business ventures with majority-minority ownership structures as well as 50/50 ownership structures.

Our team works quickly to resolve disputes so that they do not interrupt the daily operations of the organization and impede its overall success.

Our services include:

• Resolving, prosecuting and defending claims involving dissenters’ rights, oppression or unfair behavior, breaches of shareholder agreements and fiduciary duty, removal of directors and access to books and records
• Counseling owners in avoiding the appearance of oppressive or unfair behavior
• Negotiating and providing guidance on buy-sell agreements, voting trust agreements, and shareholder freeze-out or squeeze-out claims
• Planning and effecting ownership transfer or succession
• Negotiating and arranging mergers or reorganizations
• Adjusting governance structures
• Counseling clients regarding executive compensation
• Obtaining the fair value of clients’ ownership stakes
• Resolving stalemate

Our Shareholder Rights Group leverages our extensive experience across practice areas, allowing us to tailor resolutions to each client’s individual needs. We advise partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations and their owners. We provide clients with the foresight they need to address the inherent tension between majority and minority shareholders and their businesses. While the types of conflicts may be foreseeable, every dispute resolution requires a distinct understanding of each client’s unique situation. This is what we bring to the table on behalf of our clients.

Our attorneys’ collective perspectives and experience help get to resolutions before costly litigation results. Where mediation, arbitration or litigation is unavoidable, our experienced team is dedicated to efficiently and effectively guiding our clients to resolution.