Tag: business dispute

I feel sick – my business partner is stealing from me!

Andrew Marsden

You look at the bank online – someone in the business is syphoning off money from the business account.

You then work out that it’s one of your once-trusted business partners.

That feeling of betrayal is truly palpable.

For any director of a company, that will be a hard pill to swallow. It can be both hurtful and demoralising to think that your working relationship isn’t as strong as it once was. Of course, it’s not only the shareholder relationship that will suffer; your business could be impacted quite significantly too.

The not-so-bad news is a route to resolution can generally be found even in the most strained of circumstances. The success of this resolution will largely come down to what steps you take in the wake of the fallout and who you engage to assist with it.

Dealing with a fallout

When you’ve had someone cheat on you behind your back – whether that’s in work or in a personal relationship – there are generally two ways to move forward.

The first is to get emotional and upset and try to make the wrongdoer “pay” or to try to get “even”.

The other is to think logically and practically, taking a far more considered and constructive approach. This will almost always result in a more favourable result in the long term.

It can be very easy in the first instance to let emotion take over and lead your actions. It’s understandable, particularly when someone close to you has breached your trust. However, it’s important that this doesn’t cloud your judgement or negatively impact on your chances of resolving the dispute on the best terms available so that everyone can walk away, perhaps not amicably but at least satisfied with the outcome.

What outcome are you looking for?

This is the key question to ask yourself when you are in the midst of a conflict with a fellow shareholder or partner. Getting “even” may be the tempting option, but is it really the goal here? Take time to sit down and reflect on what outcome would be best for you in this situation.

Do you want to buy out your fellow shareholder or partner from the business and have them cease to be a director?

Do you wish for yourself to be able to walk away from the business in exchange for a fair value for your shares?

Having a clear goal will help define your route to resolution and the best steps to take to achieve it. A specialist barrister should be able to talk you through the process and advise on what, realistically, is achievable.

In my experience, often the most straightforward, efficient and cost-effective way to resolve disputes is to have one shareholder leave the company receiving a fair price for their shares. That being said, it has to be done in the right way; simply excluding a shareholder or director from the business can be potentially damaging.

A barrister experienced in these disputes should be able to clearly lay out the options for you and to explain what is involved at every stage of the process. Ultimately, they should help to ensure you are in the best possible place to make an informed decision on what is right for your situation.

The path to resolution

  • Having the right paperwork in place – If you already have a shareholders’ agreement in place, this will likely include provisions that can be used to help reach resolution. For example, a shareholders’ agreement might contain terms that permit you to force a shareholder to sell their shares. Again, care needs to be taken in enforcing such provisions and a barrister with specialist experience can help you iron this detail out. If you don’t have a suitable shareholders’ agreement, then it is certainly worth putting one in place before any conflict or dispute arises. Even if you have no shareholders’ agreement in place, you will have articles of association, the terms of which might also assist in finding the appropriate way forward.
  • Access to specialist legal advice – Getting appropriate, experienced and specialist legal advice from a barrister early on about your rights is perhaps the best way to ensure that disputes don’t escalate and that the path to resolution is as straightforward and pain-free as it can be. It is generally preferable to resolve disputes by using negotiation strategies or through engaging in mediation where possible. Your barrister can assist with this; trying always to ensure that sensible compromises are achieved while keeping relationships as intact and as amicable as possible. Of course, if things can’t be resolved via mediation, litigation through the courts may have to be considered as a final resort. Rest assured that if this is the route you end up taking, the right barrister will provide support throughout the process and keep costs transparent so that you enter into proceedings well-prepared and confident.

For the majority, this will be the first time you will have faced a shareholder dispute within your business. If this is the case, you will no doubt have many questions and concerns as to what to expect from the process.

Please do get in touch if you would like some more information or would like to discuss your own specific circumstances. An initial thirty-minute consultation is free, and I’d be very happy to advise you as to the best steps to take.

I can’t believe how deceitful Steve has been!

Andrew Marsden

Have you ever been in a position where you’ve discovered your business partner is ‘moonlighting’ behind your back? It’s not an easy place to come back from – trust is lost, reputations damaged and it can be the beginning of the end for many business relationships.

If this resonates with you and you’ve got a ‘Steve” in your business, you’re not alone; it’s actually a fairly common occurrence and something I see a lot of in my day-to-day work.

While it can be a really painful, frustrating and unsettling situation to find yourself in, there is hope; usually even the most acrimonious of situations can be resolved with the benefit of specialist and experienced advice and support. 

Of course, with emotions running high it can be very difficult to see a clear path and even knowing where to start can be overwhelming. So, what are your options?

1. Enlist the help of an experienced specialist

When you’re embroiled in a feud with a business partner – particularly one that is fuelled by strong emotion – don’t try to battle it out on your own or with inexperienced or non-specialist legal advice. This very rarely works out for the best! Disputes can quickly deepen and the greater the conflict between two parties, the less chance there is of resolving differences and enabling both sides to walk away amicably or at least satisfied. Right from the start, get the best advice you can. The best source of such advice is often an experienced, specialist barrister. They will be able to advise you on the best and most effective path to take. You can do so under the Bar Council’s Direct Access scheme without having to engage a solicitor and so substantially reduce the costs involved.  In doing so, you will no doubt save yourself a lot of time, stress, worry and, potentially, money.

2. Check the terms of your company’s articles of association and any shareholder’s agreement or your partnership/LLP agreement

The terms of your articles of association, shareholders agreement, partnership or LLP agreement can be incredibly effective in providing routes to a resolution. If they have been carefully drawn up they should provide mechanisms for resolving disputes cheaply, effectively, efficiently and with the least possible damage to your underlying business and its value to you. I always recommend having such agreements in place from the outset. If you haven’t got such agreements in place, do not delay. Get them put in place as soon as possible and well before any dispute arises. Again, speaking with an experienced, specialist barrister will ensure you are protected should the worst come to the worst. 

3. Use effective negotiation and mediation to try and resolve any dispute and avoid litigation

More often than not properly prepared for and conducted negotiation or mediation should be capable of resolving disputes without resort having to be had to any actual litigation; even where things might seem beyond repair. I always try to ensure that a sensible and fair compromise is reached with both parties being able to walk away satisfied even if relationships might not always remain fully intact. Litigation should really be considered the last resort.

4. If legal action is required then go ahead and take it!

If a dispute cannot be resolved without it then don’t be afraid to turn to litigation. For example, the courts have power under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 to grant relief where the affairs of a company are being conducted in a manner unfairly prejudicial to some of its shareholders and, where it is appropriate to do so, you should use it. But just make sure you use it when it’s right to do so, that it doesn’t come back to bite you and that you don’t end up regretting it. Again, turn to an experienced and specialist barrister. When my clients instruct me under the Bar Council’s Direct Access scheme they are often surprised by how effective it is and how reasonable the legal fees are compared with using a solicitor. Certainly, a good barrister should ensure you are well informed, well prepared, confident in any litigation and be transparent about the costs involved. And remember, never be afraid to ask questions; if anything is unclear or simply doesn’t feel right then demand an explanation.

What are your options?

Finding yourself in the midst of a business dispute is never fun or easy; particularly if there are feelings of resentment and ‘wrongdoing’ involved. Don’t try and fight your way through by yourself – even if you are not sure whether action is needed or just want to find out what your options are, please do get in touch with me. 

I offer a free thirty-minute initial consultation and I’m sure I can give you some helpful guidance as to the best way forward.

I’m being shut out from our business!

Andrew Marsden

If you’ve ever been in the position where you’ve been pushed out of your business by your business partner, you’ll know how painful and damaging it can be.

For many it comes “out of the blue”, when you least expect it and often results in feelings of betrayal.

It may be that you have caught sight of an email which suggests your fellow director is involved in another competing business. Perhaps you’ve been excluded from important decisions affecting your business. You may have discovered minutes of a meeting to which you were not invited or which went on without your knowledge.

Trust is immediately damaged and strong emotions can quickly take over. At this point confrontation might be your natural reaction; but remember – confrontation rarely leads to resolution so it is always best to hold back and plan your response to the situation carefully, pragmatically and guided by an experienced, and specialist legal professional.

The best route to dispute resolution

The temptation is to try to avoid doing so but seeking the help of an experienced legal specialist is always best. Preferably you should do so at as early a stage as possible. It can be tempting to try and battle it out alone to try to cut down on costs. However, the chances are you will pay the price in terms of stress, worry and money later down the line.

Initially, you should consider engaging an experienced, specialist barrister under the Bar Council’s Direct Access scheme. There is often no need to engage a solicitor and the costs involved can be substantially reduced. In fact, it might surprise you to know how reasonable an experienced specialist barrister’s fees are compared to those of firms of solicitors who face much larger overheads that they need to cover.

You will also get advice and representation from the barrister you actually chose to instruct. Your case will be handled personally by that barrister. It will not be passed down to more junior assistant solicitors or paralegals.

A common assumption is that once you’ve engaged a barrister you are tied into a costly and lengthy litigious battle. This couldn’t be further from the truth. My aim is always to try to secure the best terms of settlement in the quickest and cost effective way possible. Often this can be achieved effectively through negotiation or mediation and without the need to ever go to court.

Regain control

Finding yourself being shut out from your business and losing control can feel like a scary position. It may feel like all the work and effort put into building up your business is going down the drain. Things can certainly feel out of control.

Engaging an experienced and specialist barrister is one of the best things you can do in order to regain control. Your barrister will be able to advise you not only on how to protect your interests but also expertly  and clearly to guide you through the dispute resolution process so as to achieve the best resolution.

If you are currently being shut out of your business and are in need of some specialist legal advice please don’t hesitate to give me a call. There is no obligation and I offer an initial free thirty-minute consultation in which I can advise you as to the best way forward. So, to find out more and arrange a call just get in touch.

Working with Andrew Marsden to resolve your business dispute

Andrew Marsden

There’s no two ways around it, when business relationships start to break down challenging times lie ahead. If you are to resolve matters it is critical that you get experienced specialist legal advice from the outset.

Explaining the dispute resolution process in a nutshell

For the majority, taking the first steps to dispute resolution can be the hardest part of the process. I have spent many years working with clients navigating difficult shareholder or partnership disputes and I know that, all too often, those involved delay taking or turn to the wrong people for advice and live to regret it.

Dispute resolution and the legal process can be confusing. It may well be the first time you have faced something of this sort. To help I have prepared an “infographic” which seeks to explain what’s involved. You can get a copy here.

Instructing a barrister directly

You might also be surprised to know that you can engage a barrister directly instead of going through a solicitor. What does this mean for you? Well, it can streamline process, gives you immediate access to specialist expert advice and will often save you substantial costs!

What you can expect from Andrew Marsden

You may not be familiar with working with a barrister – it may even seem intimidating. That is why I have also prepared an outline of exactly what you can expect when working with me. You can obtain a copy here.

Establishing an effective working relationship

Every client I work with and the situation that they face is unique. But, what they all want is a practical and commercial solution that works for them. A collaborative working relationship is essential to achieving this. It is very much a two-way process. The service I provide must work for you. To achieve this I welcome open dialogue, regular review and feedback. When you engage a barrister to resolve your shareholder or partnership dispute it’s essential that you establish a good working relationship with clear lines of communication from the outset.

Cost savings and other benefits in going directly to a barrister

How much will it cost? Here complete transparency is key. There is no excuse for unexpected fees or hidden costs. It is imperative to be clear, open and straightforward. I agree all fees in advance so that there are no surprise charges and I bill regularly so you know where you are. Indeed, if your lawyer is unclear about the costs involved this should be a “red flag”.

Unknown to many, it is very often cheaper to engage a barrister directly rather than going through a solicitor. Solicitor’s firms generally face large overheads and those inevitably get passed down to you the client.

There are also other savings to consider. Going directly to a barrister can avoid significant delays. It reduces the chain of communication. Fundamentally, if you have a strong position you will know this quickly and can act accordingly. On the other hand, if your position is weak you can save yourself a great deal of time, trouble and money.

Engaging a specialist barrister from the very outset not only provides you with direct access to specialist advice but also ensures you avoid steps that might compromise the strength of your position further down the line. I will provide you with a clear “road map to resolution” on the best commercial terms possible.

Free 30 minute consultation

So how do you start the process to resolution? I offer a free 30 minute phone consultation. You will probably have a host of questions and I should be able to answer many of them for you immediately. So, if you’re facing a breakdown in your business relations, if your embroiled in a shareholder or partnership dispute or if your fellow directors/shareholders or partners are behaving in an unfair or prejudicial way please get in touch – an initial conversation won’t cost you anything so you’ve nothing to lose!