Partnership and Shareholder Disputes
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Business partners and shareholders don’t always get along. Even in the best of times, personality conflicts, mismanagement, and control disputes can often lead to company collapse or financial ruin.
Whether the issues require complex forensic accounting or guidance to navigate an operating agreement, retaining a law firm with relevant experience and skill is vital.
Crane Law is the “go-to” law firm for individuals and companies seeking legal protection and recourse in shareholder and partnership disputes of any size. For more than 20 years, Steve Crane Jr has successfully prosecuted and defended hundreds of shareholder and partnership disputes.
Steve represents clients in jury and bench trials, class actions, arbitrations, and mediations in state and federal courts and other forums across the country. From individual partners and shareholders in closely-held businesses to limited liability corporations, he has successfully handled disputes involving:
- Asset division
- Buy-sell agreement valuations
- Corporate securities fraud
- Dissolution
- Embezzlement
- Fiduciary duty
- Unfair competition / trade secrets
Steve has successfully litigated [strike prosecuted] and defended against legal actions and has achieved client objectives through arbitrations and negotiated settlements.
As an experienced lawyer, Steve can gauge when it makes sense to go to court. He knows that a letter or phone call — with proper wording and timing — can be more effective or cost-efficient than suing for damages or injunctive relief. For those cases that must be presented to a judge or jury, he is eminently qualified to assert your interests.
If you have a partnership or shareholder dispute, you should contact Steve. He can and his team can assess the facts of your case and help you determine the best course of action to move forward.
To schedule a discrete and confidential consultation about your matter, email or call Steve at (248) 963-6300.
Partnership and Shareholder Dispute Quick Links
What Types of Disputes may arise in a Partnership or among Shareholders?
At any point in the life of a business, disputes between and among partners, shareholders, or members may arise. From disputes during the formation of the company to disagreements over its dissolution. Disputes requiring formal dispute resolution (including ADR and Arbitration) or litigation may include those related to:
- Partnership or shareholder agreements;
- Capital contributions by individual partners or shareholders, or the issuance of shares of other equity;
- Operating agreements, bylaws, or management agreements in a limited liability company;
- Employment agreements, including non-competition agreements and other restrictive covenants;
- Confidentiality or trade secret agreements;
- Breach of fiduciary duty claims;
- Severance agreements for partners, shareholders, officers, or employees; and
- Dissolution agreements, particularly distributions of remaining assets to individual partners or shareholders.
Is It Possible to Use ADR to Discretely Resolve Partners and Shareholders Resolve Disputes Privately?
Litigation can be both time-consuming and costly and may not be the best method of resolving differences within a business. Documents filed in lawsuits are usually public record, meaning that litigation may also expose a company’s inner conflict to public scrutiny. Various methods of alternative dispute resolution, or ADR, are available to help partners or shareholders resolve disputes privately.
Steve Crane Jr. is a highly experienced, respected, and successful ADR attorney.
Arbitration, for example, resembles a trial but takes place out of the public eye, and is conducted by a neutral arbitrator with specialized training and certification in dispute resolution. Another common form of ADR is mediation, in which a trained, neutral mediator attempts to facilitate a settlement between the parties.
Litigation among Partners and Shareholders requires a Flexible Response Approach
When partners, shareholders, and members cannot find a negotiated or mediated settlement, they may wish to proceed to litigation. Like most things in life, emotions may run high during disputes within a business. Accordingly, litigating a dispute between partners, shareholders, and members requires a disciplined, careful, and measured approach. Ligation is a process. The ultimate objective is the businesses and your best interest. And with those objectives always in mind, the process requires flexible thinking which response in kind as the process unfolds.
Steve’s experience anticipates and avoids known pitfalls to litigation. Nonetheless, his experience doesn’t render him myopic to the unknown unknowns that most often to arise when least expected.
Steve is a highly successful and respected business litigation lawyer, representing clients in metropolitan Detroit, Michigan. With each case he acts with rigor and objectivity, taking care to assert your rights while protecting your business interest.
Do you Require Short-Notice Emergency Relief such as filing a TRO?
Certain situations may arise during a dispute between shareholders or partners that call for a quicker response than is possible through the usual courthouse processes. Steve is able to provide his clients with emergency litigation assistance when, for example, they need to prevent an opposing party from taking a certain action, or when they anticipate being the defendant in a lawsuit and want to move first. He can file emergency motions for temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions, often on short notice, and can assert our clients’ rights through petitions for declaratory judgment.
Steve has successfully prosecuted and defended against legal actions and has achieved client objectives through arbitrations and negotiated settlements. As an experienced lawyer, Steve Crane can gauge when it makes sense to go to court. He knows that a letter or phone call — with proper wording and timing — can be more effective or cost-efficient than suing for damages or injunctive relief. For those cases that must be presented to a judge or jury, he is eminently qualified to assert your interests.
If you have a partnership or shareholder dispute, you should contact Steve. He can and his team can assess the facts of your case and help you determine the best course of action to move forward.
To schedule a discrete and confidential consultation about your matter, email or call Steve at (248) 963-6300.