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.
