A partnership dispute can disrupt your San Diego company and its profitability.  A partnership dispute affects not only the working environment within your company, it overshadows every aspect of conducting business transactions and ensuring the short and long term prosperity of your organization.

A partnership dispute can arise for many reasons.  In most cases these business disputes boil down to expectations between the parties.  Perhaps one partner feels another is not holding up their end of the bargain or contributing in an equal manner to the success of the business at hand.  There may be genuine, principled disagreement between business partners with good intentions, or there may be a suspicion of theft, commingling of assets or other dispute regarding the direction of the entity or the performance of an employee. A partnership dispute can disrupt your San Diego company and lead to extended and protracted legal and financial disputes.

The Watkins Firm has helped to resolve partnership disputes in San Diego for decades.  We take a unique approach to these disputes which is designed to resolve them quickly and in a cost-efficient manner.  Negotiation is the primary tool for resolving a San Diego partnership dispute.  Watkins Firm attorneys are experienced and effective negotiators who establish a productive working environment where issues can be quickly identified and resolved.

In some cases mediation or arbitration may be necessary to resolve all aspects of a partnership dispute.  The Watkins Firm represents our clients in every aspect of dispute resolution while seeking to accomplish their goals and objectives.  Most cases never wind up before the Court, but our experienced and proven trial attorneys prepare each case as if it will go to trial.  This attention to detail as well as our extensive experience in these cases allows our attorneys to resolve personal and business issues and successfully resolve the matter.

Pro-Tip: “Some people perceive they have a lot of control during negotiations, but have to give up some of that control in mediation. It seems like that would be true, but it’s not. When you have two people in the beginning, without lawyers talking to each other, either they’re going to solve it or they’re not. And if not personalities control, then when you have lawyers representing them, you get a better chance of settling. We’re all paying some good money to have someone who’s intelligent and well educated to solve our problems. But those lawyers’ personalities are going to mirror their client’s personalities a little bit, kind like a politician, not total control. Now you bring in former superior court, judge Jones, and he’s looking at us, the lawyers, and he knows BS when he sees it.

And he’s going to go back and forth and have the purpose of settlement on his mind, which is what we both want. And a lot of times here’s the thing why don’t settle. I’d say 50% of our cases don’t settle at mediation, but after a good mediation a month or two later, it’ll settle because of the mediation. Some mediators actually call us a month after when we came so close and say, ‘Dan, what can I do? Do you want me to call the other side?’ I’ll say, ‘yeah, good idea. Call the other side.’ And then he’ll call the other side. And they’ll their clients have calmed down. They’re relaxed and we’ll settle. We have to get to that 95% somehow. So there’s a lot of different ways using the ADR formula with the court has alternative dispute resolution systems, using them to your benefit. Understanding them gives you the best result in 95% of the cases, which is how we resolve the vast majority of our cases.

Arbitration is when you have an agreement in your contract that says, I’m going to resolve this by arbitration and it’s usually quicker and cheaper, but you waive the right to a jury trial and the arbitrator himself can be very expensive. But in the long run, waiting to go to trial for two and a half years and waiting for a judge who has an overburdened docket can be just as risky. So arbitrations are great. They cut to the chase and you really don’t have a lot of time for dramatics. You have to have accurate law and facts when you go in and it’s usually decided by your arbitration brief because the judge knows when he sees a case that has no merit or has great merit.

So it keeps a lot of the extraneous legal stuff out of the way and focuses the matter to a head.  And generally it keeps crazy verdicts from happening because if you win, you’re going to get something reasonable. And if you lose, it’s going to be something reasonable. Their goal is to try to be reasonable. They’ve seen crazy jury verdicts their whole life from time to time. And so, and they know the law on the facts. So normally I would expect, you know, a very reasonable sound fair resolution when I go to an arbitrator.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

A partnership dispute can disrupt your San Diego company and the quality of your professional and personal life.  We understand the crucial nature of these relationships and work to effectively resolve disputes. We invite you to review our podcast Episode 12 – Resolving a Business Dispute (part 2) as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.  Learn more about the most efficient and successful strategies to resolve a business partnership dispute.